Exposure to acute levels of waterborne aluminium modifies the legacy of early life stage irradiation, including the communication of radiation-induced bystander signals, in adult rainbow trout

PURPOSE: To determine if the legacy of early life stage irradiation seen in rainbow trout is modified in adult fish by acute exposure to waterborne aluminium (Al). METHODS: Two-year-old trout which had been irradiated as either eggs 48 h after fertilization, eyed eggs, yolk sac larvae or as first feeders, were exposed to 100 or 200 μg l(-1) Al. These fish were then paired with untreated fish. Gill and skin samples from both the irradiated and Al-exposed, and the untreated bystander fish, were then assayed for the production of toxic or pro-death signals, using the HPV-G reporter cell line. RESULTS: Depending on the life stage, irradiated and the tissue assayed acute Al exposure modified both the radiation legacy, and the radiation-induced bystander effect in untreated fish, either by reducing reporter cell survival or increasing reporter cell growth. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of early irradiation and adult Al exposure were complex but clearly demonstrated that both the direct radiation effects and the communication of a radiation-induced bystander effect can be modified by a second environmental stressor.