Histopathological damage and stress‐ and immune‐related genes' expression in the intestine of common carp, Cyprinus carpio exposed to copper and polyvinyl chloride microparticle

Abstract

The present study aimed at assessing the singular and combined effects of water copper and polyvinyl chloride microplastic (MPVC) on intestinal copper accumulation, histopathological damage, and stress‐/immune‐related genes' expression in common carp, Cyprinus carpio. Four groups of fish were maintained in triplicate: control (kept in clean water), Cu (exposed to 0.25 mg/L of copper), MPVC (exposed to 0.5 mg/L of MPVC), and Cu‐MPVC (exposed to 0.25 mg/L of copper + 0.5 mg/L of MPVC). After 14‐day exposure, the fish of Cu and Cu‐MPVC treatments exhibited significantly higher intestinal copper contents, compared to the fish of control and MPVC treatments. In this regard, the Cu‐MPVC fish had significantly higher copper content than the Cu fish. Exposure to copper and/or MPVC significantly upregulated the intestinal heat shock protein 70 (hsp70), cytochrome P450 family 1 subfamily A member 1 (cyp1a1), lysozyme (lys), defensin (def), mucin 2 (muc2), and mucin 5 (muc5) expression. The highest expression of hsp70, cyp1a1, lys, and def was related to Cu‐MPVC treatment; whereas, the highest expression of muc2 and muc5 was observed in Cu and MPVC treatments. Exposure to copper and/or MPVC induced intestinal damage, which Cu‐MPVC fish exhibited the highest severity. The present study revealed that exposure to copper and/or MPVC causes intestinal histopathological damage and upregulation in stress‐ and immune‐related genes' expression. The most serious effects were observed in Cu‐MPVC treatment that might be due to additive effects of copper and MPVC and/or higher copper accumulation in this treatment.

Imperative role of electron microscopy in toxicity assessment: A review

“…Role of TEM in NP research is unquestionable but its impact on aquatic system needs to be assessed carefully (Mazzaglia et al, 2018; Mineo, Faggio, Micali, Scamporrino, & Villari, 2014; Mühlfeld et al, 2007). Nanoplastics are obtained after degradation of plastic and have been illustrated to possess negative impact in fish upon its accumulation (Hoseini et al, 2021). The study conducted on mice evidenced ultrastructural change in the macrophage line upon exposure to carbon nanotubes (Di Giorgio et al, 2011).…”

Individual and Combined Toxic Effects of Nano-ZnO and Polyethylene Microplastics on Mosquito Fish (Gambusia holbrooki)

“…Damaged DNA, oxidative stress, histopathology, and changes in the blood biochemical parameters are reported in the finfish and shellfish exposed to MPs [7,10,13,14]. Moreover, exposure to MPs could induce immunotoxicity and change the intestinal microbiota [15]. MPs can act like Trojan horses that can transit various environmental contaminations [16][17][18][19].…”

“…These act as absorbers of other chemical and biological pollutants by virtue of their physical and chemical properties. Heavy metals are known pollutants that MPs can carry in water ecosystems [15,[20][21][22][23]. Thus, MPs can affect the toxicity and bioavailability of other xenobiotics.…”

“…Previous studies indicated that metal nanoparticles in combination with MPs, could induce reactive oxygen species production, the imbalance between ROS and cellular antioxidant capacity, developing oxidative stress [15]. Endocrine dysfunctions, decreasing growth rate, increasing mortality rate, and disruption in reproductive systems were reported in various aquatic organisms exposed to nanoparticle mixture with MPs [33].…”

Exploration of immune response mechanisms in cadmium and copper co-exposed juvenile golden cuttlefish (Sepia esculenta) based on transcriptome profiling

“…And Sheir et al indicated that Cd could inhibit the innate immune response of shellfish (24). Meanwhile, Cu has been reported in previous research to significantly inhibit the functions of immune cells, and inhibit lysozyme activity and phagocytosis, resulting in immune system disorders (25)(26)(27). Hitherto, the effects of Cd and Cu coexposure on immune response mechanisms have been rarely studied in marine organisms and have not been studied in cephalopods.…”