This study investigates the combined toxicity of microplastics (MPs) and florfenicol (FLO) on biotransformation enzymes and oxidative stress biomarkers in the liver and kidney of yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus). Fish were fed 15 mg kg of FLO and 100 or 500 mg kg of MPs for 10 days. Biomarkers, including ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, glutathione-S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, malondialdehyde (MDA), and protein carbonylation (PC), were measured in both organs at 1, 7, and 14 days post-exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), the primary persistent metabolite of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), has toxic effects on cells, but its dose-dependent impact on mitochondrial proteins involved in mitochondrial fusion and fission processes associated with cell viability impairment has not yet been analysed. Mitochondrial fusion and fission processes are critical to maintaining the mitochondrial network and allowing the cell to respond to external stressors such as environmental pollutants. Fusion processes are associated with optimizing mitochondrial function, whereas fission processes are associated with removing damaged mitochondria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe invertebrate innate immunity is a crucial characteristic that represents a valuable basis for studying common biological responses to environmental pollutants. Cell defence mechanisms are key players in protecting the organism from infections and foreign materials. Many haemocyte-associated immunological parameters have been reported to be immunologically sensitive to aquatic toxins (natural or artificial).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Toxicol Pharmacol
October 2021
1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)-ethane (DDT) and its main metabolite 1,1-Dichloro-2,2-bis (p, p'-chlorophenyl) ethylene (DDE) act as endocrine disruptors in humans and wildlife. Immunomodulatory functions have also been attributed to both xenobiotics. DDT was banned in the 1970s due to its toxicity, but it is still produced and used for indoor residual spraying with disease vector control purposes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman and wildlife are continually exposed to a wide range of compounds and substances, which reach the body through the air, water, food, or personal care products. Plasticizers are compounds added to plastics and can be released to the environment under certain conditions. Toxicological studies have concluded that plasticizers, phthalates, and bisphenols are endocrine disruptors, alter the endocrine system and functioning of the immune system and metabolic process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) are small noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and fine-tune gene functions. Global repression of miRNAs expression in different types of human tumors, after exposure to cigarette smoke, or to the hormone estrogen, have been shown to be associated with guanine (G) enrichment in the terminal Loops (TLs) of their precursors.
Methods: We integrated the G content of miRNA mature forms and precursor miRNA TLs with their described function in the literature, using the PubMed database.
The variations of haematological parameters hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, leukocyte and erythrocyte count have been used as pollution and physiological indicators of organic dysfunction in both environmental and aquaculture studies. These parameters are commonly applied as prognostic and diagnostic tools in fish health status. However, there are both extrinsic and intrinsic factors to consider when performing a blood test, because a major limitation for field researchers is that the "rules" for animal or human haematology do not always apply to wildlife.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrown adipose tissue (BAT) with its thermogenic function due to the presence of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), has been positively associated with improved resistance to obesity and metabolic diseases. During recent years, the potential influence of environmental pollutants on energetic homoeostasis and obesity development has drawn increased attention. The purpose of this review is to discuss how regulation of BAT function could be involved in the environmental pollutant effect on body energy metabolism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitochondria play a crucial role in energetic metabolism, signaling pathways, and overall cell viability. They are in the first line in facing cellular energy requirements in stress conditions, such as in response to xenobiotic exposure. Recently, a novel regulatory key role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in important signaling pathways in mitochondria has been proposed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress have been suggested to play a key role in insulin resistance development. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and lipid accumulation due to mitochondrial dysfunction seemed to be important mechanisms leading to cellular insulin resistance. Moreover, mitochondria are functionally and structurally linked to ER, which undergoes stress in conditions of chronic overnutrition, activating the unfolded protein response, which in turn activates the principal inflammatory pathways that impair insulin action.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: microRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding segments of RNA that negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and fine-tune gene functions. A global repression in miRNA expression is a phenomenon observed in different types of cancer. In this study we aimed to reveal a possible association of miRNAs downregulation in cancer, with the guanine (G) content in the terminal loop (TL) sequences of their precursors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBivalve mollusks have been employed as sentinel organisms in environmental health programs due to their sedentary lifestyle, filter-feeding behavior and their ability to accumulate pathogens or toxin molecules inside tissues. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can be up taken and bioaccumulated, and due to sensibility of mollusks to these EDCs, being able to cause immune alterations. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) were shown to be involved in modulation and buffering developmental processes against the effects of environmental alterations and pathogenic microorganisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWidespread microRNA (miRNA) repression is a phenomenon observed in mammals after exposure to cigarette smoke and in many types of cancer. A comprehensive reduction in miRNA expression after treatment with the hormone estrogen has also previously been described. Here, we reveal a conserved association of miRNA downregulation after estrogen exposure in zebrafish, mouse, and human breast cancer cell line, with a high guanine content in the terminal loop sequences of their precursors, and offer a possible link between estrogen-related miRNA-adducts formation and carcinogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis is an ecologically and economically important species. It has been used in programs of monitoring of pollution, since it is sessile organism that is capable of accumulating pollutants in tissues through filter feeding. Due to an increase of pollutants in the environment, marine mussels present physiological alterations that compromise their innate immune system, which can latter lead to opportunistic diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFish Shellfish Immunol
November 2016
Elucidating the mechanisms of estrogens-induced immunomodulation in teleost fish is of great importance due to the observed worldwide continuing decrease in pristine environments. However, little is know about the immunotoxicological consequences of exposure to these chemicals in fish, or of the mechanisms through which these effects are mediated. In this review, we summarize the results showing estrogens (natural or synthetic) acting through estrogen receptors and regulating specific target genes, also through microRNAs (miRNAs), leading to modulation of the immune functioning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlteration in the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is associated with oncogenesis and cancer progression. In this review we aim to suggest that elevated levels of estrogens and their metabolites inside the lungs as a result of cigarette smoke exposure can cause widespread repression of miRNA and contribute to lung tumor development. Anti-estrogenic compounds, such as the components of cruciferous vegetables, can attenuate this effect and potentially reduce the risk of lung cancer (LC) among smokers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small molecules that regulate gene expression and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of many human diseases, including cancer. This review describes the results that show a global repression in miRNA expression in various tumors and cancer cell lines. Intriguingly, recent discoveries have shown a widespread downregulation of miRNA after exposure to the steroid hormone estrogen.
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