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Liu Z, Zhang Y, Jia X, Hoskins TD, Lu L, Han Y, Zhang X, Lin H, Shen L, Feng Y, Zheng Y, Hu C, Zhang H. Microcystin-LR Induces Estrogenic Effects at Environmentally Relevant Concentration in Black-Spotted Pond Frogs ( Pelophylax nigromaculatus): In Situ, In Vivo, In Vitro, and In Silico Investigations. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:9559-9569. [PMID: 38710655 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c01322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are frequent and intense worldwide, creating hazards for aquatic biodiversity. The potential estrogen-like effect of Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is a growing concern. In this study, we assessed the estrogenic potency of MC-LR in black-spotted frogs through combined field and laboratory approaches. In 13 bloom areas of Zhejiang province, China, the MC-LR concentrations in water ranged from 0.87 to 8.77 μg/L and were correlated with sex hormone profiles in frogs, suggesting possible estrogenic activity of MC-LR. Tadpoles exposed to 1 μg/L, an environmentally relevant concentration, displayed a female-biased sex ratio relative to controls. Transcriptomic results revealed that MC-LR induces numerous and complex effects on gene expression across multiple endocrine axes. In addition, exposure of male adults significantly increased the estradiol (E2)/testosterone (T) ratio by 3.5-fold relative to controls. Downregulation of genes related to male reproductive endocrine function was also identified. We also showed how MC-LR enhances the expression of specific estrogen receptor (ER) proteins, which induce estrogenic effects by activating the ER pathway and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. In aggregate, our results reveal multiple lines of evidence demonstrating that, for amphibians, MC-LR is an estrogenic endocrine disruptor at environmentally relevant concentrations. The data presented here support the need for a shift in the MC-LR risk assessment. While hepatoxicity has historically been the focus of MC-LR risk assessments, our data clearly demonstrate that estrogenicity is a major mode of toxicity at environmental levels and that estrogenic effects should be considered for risk assessments on MC-LR going forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiquan Liu
- School of Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Yinan Zhang
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Xiuying Jia
- Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310015, China
| | - Tyler D Hoskins
- Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Liping Lu
- School of Public Health, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Yu Han
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Xiaofang Zhang
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Huikang Lin
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Lilai Shen
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Yixuan Feng
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Yueyue Zheng
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Chao Hu
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Hangjun Zhang
- School of Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
- Hangzhou International Urbanology Research Center, Hangzhou 311121, China
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
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Li SC, Gu LH, Wang YF, Wang LM, Chen L, Giesy JP, Tuo X, Xu WL, Wu QH, Liu YQ, Wu MH, Diao YY, Zeng HH, Zhang QB. A proteomic study on gastric impairment in rats caused by microcystin-LR. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 917:169306. [PMID: 38103614 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Microcystins (MCs) are the most common cyanobacterial toxins. Epidemiological investigation showed that exposure to MCs can cause gastro-intestinal symptoms, gastroenteritis and gastric cancer. MCs can also accumulate in and cause histopathological damage to stomach. However, the exact mechanisms by which MCs cause gastric injury were unclear. In this study, Wistar rats were administrated 50, 75 or 100 μg microcystin-LR (MC-LR)/kg, body mass (bm) via tail vein, and histopathology, response of anti-oxidant system and the proteome of gastric tissues at 24 h after exposure were studied. Bleeding of fore-stomach and gastric corpus, inflammation and necrosis in gastric corpus and exfoliation of mucosal epithelial cells in gastric antrum were observed following acute MC-LR exposure. Compared with controls, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly greater in gastric tissues of exposed rats, while activities of catalase (CAT) were less in rats administrated 50 μg MC-LR/kg, bm, and concentrations of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were greater in rats administrated 75 or 100 μg MC-LR/kg, bm. These results indicated that MC-LR could disrupt the anti-oxidant system and cause oxidative stress. The proteomic results revealed that MC-LR could affect expressions of proteins related to cytoskeleton, immune system, gastric functions, and some signaling pathways, including platelet activation, complement and coagulation cascades, and ferroptosis. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that transcriptions of genes for ferroptosis and gastric function were altered, which confirmed results of proteomics. Overall, this study illustrated that MC-LR could induce gastric dysfunction, and ferroptosis might be involved in MC-LR-induced gastric injury. This study provided novel insights into mechanisms of digestive diseases induced by MCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shang-Chun Li
- Environmental Health Effects and Risk Assessment Key Laboratory of Luzhou, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Li-Hong Gu
- Environmental Health Effects and Risk Assessment Key Laboratory of Luzhou, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Yan-Fang Wang
- Environmental Health Effects and Risk Assessment Key Laboratory of Luzhou, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Li-Mei Wang
- Environmental Health Effects and Risk Assessment Key Laboratory of Luzhou, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Liang Chen
- Qilu Lake Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Plateau Shallow Lake in Yunnan Province, Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China; Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region, Faculty of Water Resources and Hydroelectric Engineering, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China.
| | - John P Giesy
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3, Canada
| | - Xun Tuo
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Wen-Li Xu
- Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Qian-Hui Wu
- School of Ecology and Environment, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
| | - Yi-Qing Liu
- Qilu Lake Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Plateau Shallow Lake in Yunnan Province, Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Ming-Huo Wu
- Environmental Health Effects and Risk Assessment Key Laboratory of Luzhou, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Yang-Yang Diao
- Department of Pediatrics, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Hao-Hang Zeng
- Environmental Health Effects and Risk Assessment Key Laboratory of Luzhou, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Qing-Bi Zhang
- Environmental Health Effects and Risk Assessment Key Laboratory of Luzhou, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China.
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Liao Y, Deng Y, Yu X, Zhang P, Liu R. The mediating role of AKT/ERK/JNK signaling on the malignant phenotype of microcystin-LR in gastric adenocarcinoma cells. Food Chem Toxicol 2023; 182:114174. [PMID: 37949205 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2023.114174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR), a widely distributed and highly toxic environmental pollutant, plays crucial roles in cancer malignancy by activating characteristically toxic signaling pathways. Traditional animal-based toxicity evaluation methods have proven insufficient for identifying the specific role of these signaling pathways. Therefore, this study aimed to uncover the regulatory relationship between the toxic pathways and the progression of gastric cancer (GC). The findings provide novel avenues for conducting in vitro toxicity tests based on the investigated pathways. We found that MC-LR promoted the migration and invasion of SGC-7901 cells while simultaneously inhibiting their apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. This observed cytotoxicity was primarily mediated through the AKT, JNK, and ERK signaling pathways. By using a mediation analysis model, we determined that AKT and ERK exhibited competitive effects in MC-LR-treated GC malignancy, while AKT and JNK acted independently from one another. This study establishes an in vitro toxicity test model of MC-LR based on toxicity-related pathways and underscores the pivotal roles of AKT, ERK, and JNK signaling in MC-LR toxicity. The findings offer a novel, fundamental framework for conducting chemical toxicity risk assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinghao Liao
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Yali Deng
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China; Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Huizhou, No. 10, Fumin Road, Huizhou, 516003, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaojin Yu
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- Huzhou Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Huzhou, 313000, China.
| | - Ran Liu
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China.
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