Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea.
Institute for Environment and Energy, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea.
Environ Pollut. 2024 Oct 15;359:124525. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124525. Epub 2024 Jul 14.
With aging population increasing globally, the use of pharmaceutically active compounds is rising. The cardiovascular drug telmisartan has been widely detected in various environmental compartments, including biota, surface waters, and sewage treatment plant effluents at concentrations ranging from ng/L to μg/L levels. This study evaluated the effects of telmisartan on the microcrustacean Daphnia magna at a wide range of concentrations (0.35, 0.70, 1.40, 500, and 1000 μg/L) and revealed significant ecotoxicological implications of this drug, even at environmentally relevant concentration. Acute exposure to telmisartan (1.40, 500, and 1000 μg/L) resulted in a notable decrease in heart rate, while chronic exposure accelerated the time to the first brood by 3 days and reduced neonate body size. Molecular investigations revealed marked downregulation of vitellogenin genes (Vtg1 and Vtg2). Non-monotonic dose responses were observed for gene expression, early-stage body length, and the total number of offspring produced, while the heart rate and time to the first brood showed clear concentration-dependent responses. These findings highlight the potential risks, notably to reproductive capacity, associated with exposure to telmisartan in environmentally relevant concentration, suggesting the need for further studies on the potential long-term ecological consequences.
随着全球人口老龄化的加剧，药用化合物的使用量不断增加。心血管药物替米沙坦已广泛存在于各种环境介质中，包括生物区系、地表水和污水处理厂的废水中，浓度范围从 ng/L 到 μg/L 不等。本研究评估了替米沙坦在广泛浓度范围内（0.35、0.70、1.40、500 和 1000μg/L）对淡水甲壳类动物大型溞的影响，结果表明，即使在环境相关浓度下，这种药物也具有显著的生态毒性影响。急性暴露于替米沙坦（1.40、500 和 1000μg/L）会导致心率明显下降，而慢性暴露会将首次产卵时间提前 3 天，并降低幼体的体型。分子研究表明，卵黄蛋白原基因（Vtg1 和 Vtg2）明显下调。基因表达、早期体长和产生的后代总数表现出非单调剂量反应，而心率和首次产卵时间则表现出明显的浓度依赖性反应。这些发现强调了在环境相关浓度下暴露于替米沙坦可能带来的潜在风险，尤其是对生殖能力的影响，这表明需要进一步研究其对潜在的长期生态后果的影响。
