Borges Filipe, Freitas Rosa, Silva Ana L Patrício, Soliz Rojas Dulce Lucy, Paniagua González Gema, Solé Montserrat
Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (CESAM), Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
Toxics. 2025 Feb 28;13(3):181. doi: 10.3390/toxics13030181.
Mussels serve as indicators of anthropogenic chemical pollution; however, the effects of microplastics and plastic-related chemicals on their health performance remain an emerging issue. In this study, mussels were exposed to a polyamide (PA; 5 μg/L) and tricresyl phosphate (TCP; 1 μg/L) for 28 days. The exposures to the two contaminants were performed independently or in combination and lasted 28 days. The results showed that the independent exposure altered enzyme activities more significantly than the combined one. Exposure to the PA significantly ( < 0.05) inhibited the antioxidant enzyme catalase (CAT) by 43.5% and the neurotransmitter enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) by 40.6%, while TCP specifically inhibited carboxylesterase (CE) activity by 38.5%, all in respect to the solvent control. When both pollutants were combined, most biomarker responses were similar to control levels. To further investigate if the mussels' response to contaminants (here, chemical compounds only) could be population-specific, a comparative study between Atlantic and Mediterranean mussels was included. Firstly, baseline detoxification defenses were contrasted in the digestive glands of each mussel population, followed by an assessment of in vitro responses to a wide range of plastic additives. The results revealed that Mediterranean mussels expressed higher baseline activities for most detoxification enzymes, although the in vitro sensitivity to the targeted chemicals was similar in both populations. Of all the plastic additives tested, TCP significantly inhibited CE activity both in vivo and in vitro. The in vitro screening also indicated that other plastic additives could act as strong inhibitors of CE. However, additional in vivo exposures in mussels are needed to confirm CE suitability as a biomarker of these chemical exposures. All together, these results also suggest critical population-level differences in susceptibility to microplastic pollution, highlighting a need for targeted conservation efforts.
贻贝可作为人为化学污染的指标；然而，微塑料和与塑料相关的化学物质对其健康状况的影响仍是一个新出现的问题。在本研究中，将贻贝暴露于聚酰胺（PA；5微克/升）和磷酸三甲苯酯（TCP；1微克/升）中28天。对这两种污染物的暴露分别进行或联合进行，持续28天。结果表明，单独暴露比联合暴露对酶活性的改变更显著。暴露于PA显著（<0.05）抑制抗氧化酶过氧化氢酶（CAT）43.5%，抑制神经递质酶乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）40.6%，而TCP特异性抑制羧酸酯酶（CE）活性38.5%，均相对于溶剂对照而言。当两种污染物联合时，大多数生物标志物反应与对照水平相似。为了进一步研究贻贝对污染物（此处仅为化合物）的反应是否可能具有种群特异性，纳入了一项大西洋贻贝和地中海贻贝的比较研究。首先，对比了每个贻贝种群消化腺中的基线解毒防御，随后评估了对多种塑料添加剂的体外反应。结果显示，地中海贻贝的大多数解毒酶表现出更高的基线活性，尽管两个种群对目标化学物质的体外敏感性相似。在所有测试的塑料添加剂中，TCP在体内和体外均显著抑制CE活性。体外筛选还表明，其他塑料添加剂可能是CE的强抑制剂。然而，需要在贻贝中进行额外的体内暴露以确认CE作为这些化学暴露生物标志物的适用性。总之，这些结果还表明在对微塑料污染的易感性方面存在关键的种群水平差异，突出了针对性保护措施的必要性。
