Institute for Agri-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Science, Shanghai 201403, China.
College of Agriculture and Forestry, Puer University, Yunnan 665000, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2022 Mar 1;232:113284. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113284. Epub 2022 Feb 8.
Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) has drawn significant attention due to its suppression of immune functions in animals and even humans. In order to explore the mechanism through which BDE-209 affects the immune system, broiler chicks were fed a diet containing various concentrations of BDE-209 (0, 0.004, 0.04, 0.4, and 4 g/kg) for 42 days. Histopathological observations of immune organs found damaged and necrotic lymphocytes in the spleen and bursa, and losses of lymphoid cells in thymic gland. The activities of catalase, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase in both the spleen and serum were affected by BDE-209. Obvious bioaccumulation effect was found in spleen tissues (high to 1339 ± 181.9 μg/kg). Furthermore, transcriptome sequencing analyses of the spleen identified 424 upregulated and 301 downregulated DEGs, and the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction signal pathway was most significantly enriched based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database. Quantitative real-time PCR affirmed the decreased expressions of interleukin IL18, IL18R1, IL18RAP, IL21, as well as interferon gamma IFNG and tumor necrosis factor superfamily members TNFSF8, indicating significant interference to immunomodulation function and possible disease progression in inflammatory effects resulting from BDE-209 exposure. The immunotoxicity of BDE-209 may cause the suppression of immune and physiological functions of spleen cells, leading to inflammation and apoptosis and ultimately spleen atrophy.
十溴二苯醚（BDE-209）因其抑制动物甚至人类的免疫功能而受到广泛关注。为了探讨 BDE-209 影响免疫系统的机制，用含有不同浓度 BDE-209（0、0.004、0.04、0.4 和 4 g/kg）的饲料喂养肉鸡雏鸡 42 天。免疫器官的组织病理学观察发现脾脏和法氏囊中有淋巴细胞坏死和损伤，胸腺中有淋巴细胞丢失。BDE-209 影响了脾脏和血清中过氧化氢酶、谷胱甘肽、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶和超氧化物歧化酶的活性。在脾脏组织中发现了明显的生物蓄积效应（高达 1339±181.9 μg/kg）。此外，脾脏转录组测序分析鉴定出 424 个上调和 301 个下调的差异表达基因，基于京都基因与基因组百科全书数据库，细胞因子-细胞因子受体相互作用信号通路最显著富集。定量实时 PCR 证实白细胞介素 IL18、IL18R1、IL18RAP、IL21、干扰素 γ IFNG 和肿瘤坏死因子超家族成员 TNFSF8 的表达减少，表明 BDE-209 暴露对免疫调节功能的显著干扰以及炎症效应中可能导致疾病进展的炎症。BDE-209 的免疫毒性可能导致脾脏细胞的免疫和生理功能受到抑制，导致炎症和细胞凋亡，最终导致脾脏萎缩。
