Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol
January 2025
Intestinal microbiota has profound effects on host health and adaptation to environmental changes. Bufo gargarizans and Rana chensinensis coexist in the same habitat and have been paid much attention to economically because of their medicinal value. To date, no comparison of differences between single and mixed populations has been made.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo explore the remediation mechanism of chitosan-modified biochar (passivator) on Cd-contaminated farmland soil, pot experiments were conducted to determine the effects of passivator on soil physical and chemical properties, ryegrass biomass, enzyme activity, and the response of soil bacterial diversity and structure. The results showed that when the amount of passivating agent was increased from 0.5% to 3%, the content of available Cd in soil was significantly decreased compared with that in the control, and the above-ground and subsurface biomass of ryegrass was increased by 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZinc (Zn) contaminants in the aquatic environment have an intricate impact on amphibians. Amphibian gut and skin microbiota are participated in regulating their normal physiological functions. Here, we investigated the effects of Zn on the gut and skin tissues and microbiota of Bufo gargarizans and Rana chensinensis tadpoles using histological methods and 16S rRNA sequencing technology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTail resorption during amphibian metamorphosis is one of the most dramatic processes that is obligatorily dependent on thyroid hormone (TH). Heavy metals could result in thyroid gland damages and disturb TH homeostasis. Lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) often co-exist in natural aquatic ecosystems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChitosan-modified biochar (CBC) was prepared as a low-cost and highly efficient adsorbent for Cd in aqueous solutions. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the adsorption performance. Characterization experiments with SEM-EDS, FTIR, and XPS were used to analyze the surface microstructure and chemical composition of the adsorbent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCu and Pb are ubiquitous environmental contaminants, but there is limited information on their potential impacts on gut microbiota profile in anuran amphibians at different developmental stages during metamorphosis. In this study, Bufo gargarizans tadpoles were chronically exposed to Cu alone or Cu combined with Pb from Gs26 throughout metamorphosis. Morphology of tadpoles, histological characteristic and bacterial community of intestines were evaluated at three developmental stages: Gs33, Gs36, and Gs42.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFAM76B has been reported to be a nuclear speckle-localized protein with unknown function. In this study, FAM76B was first demonstrated to inhibit the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory pathway by affecting the translocation of hnRNPA2B1 in vitro. We further showed that FAM76B suppressed inflammation in vivo using a traumatic brain injury (TBI) mouse model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLead (Pb) and copper (Cu) are two common heavy metal contaminants in environments, and liver is recognized as one of the main target organs for toxicity of Pb and Cu in animal organisms. Bile acids play a critical role in regulating hepatic metabolic homeostasis by activating farnesoid X receptor (Fxr). However, there were few studies on the interactions between bile acids and liver pathology caused by heavy metals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough numerous investigations on the adverse impact of Cr and Pb have been performed, studies on intestinal homeostasis in amphibians are limited. Here, single and combined effects of Cr (104 μg/L) and Pb (50 μg/L) on morphological and histological features, bacterial community, digestive enzymes activities, as well as transcriptomic profile of intestines in Rana chensinensis tadpoles were assessed. Significant decrease in the relative intestine length (intestine length/snout-to-vent length, IL/SVL) was observed after exposure to Pb and Cr/Pb mixture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Pollut Res Int
April 2023
The differential transcriptomic responses of intestines in Bufo gargarizans tadpoles to Pb alone or in the presence of Cu were evaluated. Tadpoles were exposed to 30 μg/L Pb individually and in combination with Cu at 16 or 64 μg/L from Gosner stage (Gs) 26 to Gs 38. After de novo assembly, 105,107 unigenes were generated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics
March 2023
Temperature is one of the important factors affecting the growth, development, and metamorphosis of amphibians. Endochondral ossification during metamorphosis plays a crucial role in amphibian survival and adaptation on land. In this study, we explored the effects of different temperature treatments on the growth, development, and endochondral ossification of Rana chensinensis tadpoles during metamorphosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Pollut Res Int
March 2023
Climate change such as global warming is considered a major threat to amphibians. The guts of amphibians are home to trillions of microbes, which are key regulators of gastrointestinal digestion and play a crucial role in lipid metabolites. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of temperature change on intestinal microbiota and lipid metabolism in Rana chensinensis tadpoles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLead (Pb) and copper (Cu) are ubiquitous metal contaminants and can pose a threat to ecosystem and human health. Bile acids have recently received considerable attention for their role in the maintenance of health. However, there were few studies on whether Pb and Cu affect bile acid metabolism in amphibians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Pollut Res Int
February 2023
In amphibians, lead (Pb) exposure could alter the composition and structure of gut microbiota, but changes involving microbiota of several successive phases following Pb exposure have been less studied. In the present study, we compared the effects of Pb exposure on morphological parameters and gut microbiota of Bufo gargarizans at Gosner stage (Gs) 33, Gs36, and Gs42. Our results showed that total length (TL), snout-vent length (SVL), and body wet weight (TW) of B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBile acids, as metabolic regulators and signaling molecules, play key roles in the regulation of host metabolism and immune responses. Heavy metals such as lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) are widespread environmental pollutants that threaten public health. However, the effects of heavy metals on bile acid metabolism and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear, particularly for ecologically important amphibian species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoexistence of heavy metals in aquatic environments exert complex effects on amphibians. Here, the adverse effects of Pb (0.14 μM) combined with Cu at concentrations of 0, 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiotransformation, especially by human CYP450 enzymes, plays a crucial role in regulating the toxicity of organic compounds in organisms, but is poorly understood for most emerging pollutants, as their numerous "unusual" biotransformation reactions cannot retrieve examples from the textbooks. Therefore, in order to predict the unknown metabolites with altering toxicological profiles, there is a realistic need to develop efficient methods to reveal the "unusual" metabolic mechanism of emerging pollutants. Combining experimental work with computational predictions has been widely accepted as an effective approach in studying complex metabolic reactions; however, the full quantum chemical computations may not be easily accessible for most environmentalists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Toxicol Pharmacol
May 2022
Discovery of elevated concentrations of cadmium in the natural environment has increased awareness because of their potential threats. Amphibians are negatively affected due to their moderate sensitivity to cadmium. Here, we conduct acute and subchronic toxicity tests to examine whether, and to what extent, cadmium exposure disturbs metamorphosis, growth, and kinetic ability of Rana zhenhaiensis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Pollut Res Int
July 2022
Nitrite, as a part of nitrogen cycle, is one of the most common toxic compounds in aquatic ecosystems. Since skeletal development is an essential process during amphibian metamorphosis, exposure of larval amphibians to nitrite might disrupt skeletal development. To evaluate whether nitrite affects skeletal development of amphibian larvae, Bufo gargarizans larvae at Gs26 were exposed to 10, 100, 500 and 1000 μg/L nitrite-nitrogen (NO-N) in the present study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntramolecular phenol coupling reactions of alkaloids can lead to active metabolites catalyzed by the mammalian cytochrome P450 enzyme (P450); however, the mechanistic knowledge of such an "unusual" process is lacking. This work performs density functional theory computations to reveal the P450-mediated metabolic pathway leading from -reticuline to the morphine precursor salutaridine by exploring possible intramolecular phenol coupling mechanisms involving diradical coupling, radical addition, and electron transfer. The computed results show that the outer-sphere electron transfer with a high barrier (>20.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are ubiquitous in aquatic environments and most studies have examined the potential effects of Cd or Pb alone on aquatic organisms. In the present study, chronic effects of Cd and Pb, alone and in combination, on Bufo gargarizans were investigated by exposing embryos to these contaminants throughout metamorphosis. Significant reductions in body mass and snout-to-vent length were observed in B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics
March 2022
The tail resorption process was an inevitable and pivotal transformation during amphibian metamorphosis. The present study investigated the mechanisms of tail resorption through histological and transcriptome analysis in Rana chensinensis. The results showed that tail resorption was initiated before the onset of metamorphic climax, and dramatically regressed after metamorphic climax by external-morphology measurement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeveral endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been proven to interfere with the physiological function of thyroid hormone (TH), which affected growth and development. However, few studies have investigated the effects of EDCs on TH axis with consequence for skeletal development in amphibians. This study thus examined the potential role of perchlorate and T4 in growth, development and endochondral ossification during metamorphosis of Bufo gargarizans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrecision biotransformation is an envisioned strategy offering detailed insights into biotransformation pathways in real environmental settings using experimentally guided high-accuracy quantum chemistry. Emerging pollutants, whose metabolites are easily overlooked but may cause idiosyncratic toxicity, are important targets of such a strategy. We demonstrate here that complex metabolic reactions of tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) catalyzed by human CYP450 enzymes can be mapped via a three-step synergy strategy: (i) screening the possible metabolites via high-throughout (moderate-accuracy) computations; (ii) analyzing the proposed metabolites by human liver microsomes and recombinant human CYP450 enzymes; and (iii) rationalizing the experimental data via precise mechanisms using high-level targeted computations.
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