PUBLICATION

Morphological alterations and acetylcholinesterase and monoamine oxidase inhibition in liver of zebrafish exposed to Aphanizomenon flos-aquae DC-1 aphantoxins

Authors
Zhang, D.L., Zhang, J., Hu, C.X., Wang, G.H., Li, D.H., Liu, Y.D.
ID
ZDB-PUB-141203-32
Date
2014
Source
Aquatic toxicology (Amsterdam, Netherlands)   157C: 215-224 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Zhang, Jing
Keywords
Acetylcholinesterase, Cyanobacterial neurotoxin, Monoamine oxidase, Morphological alteration, Neurotoxicity, Zebrafish liver
MeSH Terms
  • Acetylcholinesterase/metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Aphanizomenon/chemistry
  • Bacterial Toxins/chemistry
  • Bacterial Toxins/toxicity*
  • Enzyme Activation/drug effects
  • Liver/chemistry
  • Liver/drug effects*
  • Marine Toxins/chemistry
  • Marine Toxins/toxicity*
  • Monoamine Oxidase/metabolism*
  • Oxidative Stress/drug effects
  • Saxitoxin/analogs & derivatives
  • Saxitoxin/toxicity
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity*
  • Zebrafish/physiology*
PubMed
25456236 Full text @ Aquat. Toxicol.
Abstract
Aphanizomenon flos-aquae is a cyanobacterium that produces neurotoxins or paralytic shellfish poisons (PSPs) called aphantoxins, which present threats to environmental safety and human health via eutrophication of water bodies worldwide. Although the molecular mechanisms of this neurotoxin have been studied, many questions remain unsolved, including those relating to in vivo hepatic neurotransmitter inactivation, physiological detoxification and histological and ultrastructural alterations. Aphantoxins extracted from the natural strain of A. flos-aquae DC-1 were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The main components were gonyautoxins 1 and 5 (GTX1, GTX5) and neosaxitoxin (neoSTX), which comprised 34.04%, 21.28%, and 12.77% respectively. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed intraperitoneally to 5.3 or 7.61μg STX equivalents (eq)/kg (low and high doses, respectively) of A. flos-aquae DC-1 aphantoxins. Morphological alterations and changes in neurotransmitter conduction functions of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and monoamine oxidase (MAO) in zebrafish liver were detected at different time points 1-24h post-exposure. Aphantoxin significantly enhanced hepatic alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities and histological and ultrastructural damage in zebrafish liver at 3-12h post-exposure. Toxin exposure increased the reactive oxygen species content and reduced total antioxidative capacity in zebrafish liver, suggesting oxidative stress. AChE and MAO activities were significantly inhibited, suggesting neurotransmitter inactivation/conduction function abnormalities in zebrafish liver. All alterations were dose- and time-dependent. Overall, the results indicate that aphantoxins/PSPs induce oxidative stress through inhibition of AChE and MAO activities, leading to neurotoxicity in zebrafish liver. The above parameters may be useful as bioindicators for investigating aphantoxins/PSPs and cyanobacterial blooms in nature.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping