Salinity variation modulates cellular stress response to ZnO nanoparticles in a sentinel marine bivalve, the blue mussel Mytilussp.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles are released into marine environments from industrial, medical and consumer uses sparking concerns about their potential ecotoxicological effects. Ecological hazard assessment of nZnO in marine ecosystems is hindered by the lack of understanding of the potential interactive effects of nZnO toxicity with other common abiotic stressors, such as salinity fluctuations, in marine organisms. To close this gap in our knowledge, we carried out a comprehensive biomarker-based assessment of the combined effects of salinity and nZnO in a sentinel marine bivalve, the blue mussels Mytilus edulis. The mussels were exposed for 21 days to clean seawater (control), an environmentally relevant concentration (100 μg Zn l) of nZnO or dissolved Zn (to identify the toxic effects attributable to Zn toxicity) under the normal (15), low (5) and fluctuating (5-15) salinity regimes. The selected molecular and biochemical markers focused on the oxidative stress, apoptosis, detoxification system and inflammation in the gills and the digestive gland of the mussels. Biomarker analysis showed different effects of nZnO and dissolved Zn on biomarkers of oxidative stress, xenobiotic detoxification and apoptosis but similar effects of both pollutants on the levels of metallothioneins and inflammatory markers. Exposure to nZnO led to elevated levels of lipid peroxidation, upregulation of p53 and p38 stress kinases and apoptosis-related genes, most notably in the gills. Exposure to dissolved Zn led to accumulation of protein carbonyls and activated redox-sensitive detoxification enzymes (NADPH-P450 reductase and glutathione-S-transferase) in the mussels. The ambient salinity had significant effects the cellular adverse effects of nZnO in the mussels. The nZnO-induced cellular stress was detectable under the normal (15) and fluctuating (5-15) salinity conditions in the studied brackish water population of the mussels. At low salinity (5), nZnO toxicity signal was almost completely dampened. These findings indicate that chronic osmotic stress close to the tolerance limits of M. edulis prevails over the effects of the environmentally relevant nZnO and dissolved Zn concentrations in combined exposures. These stressor interactions might ameliorate the cellular toxicity of nZnO in the mussels but limit applicability of cellular stress biomarkers for detecting the toxic effects of nanopollutants in low salinity habitats.