环境污染物对精子损伤机制的研究进展

越来越多的研究表明,环境污染是多种生物生殖力下降的主要原因之一,而精子作为雄性生物的生殖细胞,因高度分化丧失了自我修复能力,极易受环境因素的胁迫。但环境污染物致生物体精子损伤机制的研究目前尚缺乏完整、系统的体系。本文在总结近年来国内外相关研究的基础上,从环境污染物诱导精子产生氧化应激、改变生精细胞的细胞周期、诱导正常生精细胞发生细胞凋亡和扰乱生物体雄激素水平4个方面综合探讨了环境污染物损害精子形态结构、功能以及降低精子数量的潜在作用模式,为开发精子损伤的早期特异性分子标记物奠定了理论基础,同时也为污染物致精子损伤的机制研究提供新的思路。     

污染物对鱼类的甲状腺激素干扰效应及其作用机制

环境中可以影响生物体甲状腺激素合成、运输、作用和代谢等过程的化学污染物称为甲状腺激素干扰物(TDCs),TDCs被认为是继环境雌激素之后最重要的一类内分泌干扰物.鱼类甲状腺的结构、甲状腺激素的转运和功能等与哺乳动物有较大差别.与哺乳动物相比,污染物干扰鱼类甲状腺激素的研究还较为缺乏.在介绍鱼类甲状腺结构、功能以及甲状腺激素在鱼体内动态过程的基础上,分析了污染物对鱼类的甲状腺激素干扰效应及其作用机制,探讨了今后鱼类甲状腺激素干扰研究的主要方向.污染物能对鱼类甲状腺激素水平、相关酶活性及甲状腺结构等产生直接影响;同时,污染物还可以通过干扰鱼类甲状腺系统对由甲状腺激素调节的重要生理过程如生长、繁殖和发育等产生间接影响.污染物主要通过干扰鱼类甲状腺激素的合成与分泌、转运、清除以及与甲状腺激素受体(TR)的相互作用等机制对鱼类产生不利影响.在污染物对鱼类甲状腺激素干扰的研究中,今后应重点关注环境中"新型"卤化有机污染物、鱼类早期发育过程与甲状腺激素干扰效应的关系、TR介导机制以及TDCs的筛选方法等.     

酚类环境雌激素对水生生物毒性效应的研究进展

已有研究发现多种酚类化合物可以干扰水生生物正常内分泌代谢,对生物生殖系统、神经系统、免疫系统等产生毒性效应,进而通过食物链的生物放大作用对人体产生危害。酚类化合物对生物体的内分泌干扰效应已经成为了近年来的研究热点。结合近年来国内外毒理学研究进展,在详细概述酚类化合物对水生生物的毒性效应及作用机制的基础上,并对目前研究中存在的问题以及未来的研究方向进行了探讨和展望。     

环境污染物发育毒性机制研究的系统生物学方法进展

基因调控网络(gene regulatory network,GRN)是用于研究基因调控的一种新兴的系统生物学方法,尤其适合描述生物体早期发育的调控系统和机制。由于它能体现出调控过程的网络特性和动态关系,从整体的角度全面审视环境扰动所造成的真实影响,因此有望在内分泌干扰物等环境污染物的发育毒性机制研究中发挥重要作用,解决多年来一直困扰相关研究的种种难题。针对基因调控网络的结构、研究方法、应用成果和案例进行综述,并对将这一方法应用于污染物发育毒性机制研究的前景做出展望。     

微塑料对疏水性有机污染物的生物富集影响研究进展

近年来,海洋和淡水环境中微塑料污染已成为全球关注的热点问题。微塑料不仅会对生物体造成物理损伤,而且微塑料会吸附环境中的疏水性有机污染物(HOCs),也能释放其本身含有的添加型疏水性有机化合物至表面,从而形成复合污染物进入生物体。然而,有关微塑料在污染物生物富集过程中发挥的作用及其机制还不清楚。本文从实验室暴露、野外富集和模型模拟研究3个方面对微塑料作用下HOCs的生物富集规律进行了综述,总结了微塑料作用下的生物富集机制。最后,针对微塑料对HOCs生物富集作用的研究方向提出了几点建议。     

持久性有机污染物的作物吸收及迁移模型研究进展

持久性有机污染物(Persistent Organic pollutant,POPs)是指通过各种环境介质(大气、水、生物体等)能够长距离迁移并长期存在于环境中的人工合成的有机污染物。本文阐述了全球POPs的主要环境过程和各环境介质中POPs的暴露水平,探讨了作物对POPs的吸收过程、吸收机制和生态效应,并基于现有的环境多介质逸度模型和根区水质模型,分析了持久性有机污染物作物吸收过程模拟模型中存在的问题及未来的发展方向。目前,对POPs作物吸收机制及其模拟的研究较少,但随着我国对粮食安全和农业可持续发展的持续关注,这一领域的模拟研究将对科学解析POPs归趋、合理制定风险管控措施和有效确保粮食质量安全等提供重要科学支撑。     

基于数据非依赖型采集质谱技术的血液脂质分子高通量分析

脂质是生物体的重要代谢分子,参与重要的细胞生物功能,已有报道表明环境中污染物会干扰生物体正常循环及代谢机制,导致脂肪代谢紊乱。基于数据非依赖型(DIA)采集质谱技术,通过优化UPLC-QTOF MS(超高效液相色谱飞行时间质谱联用)液相分离方法,开发了少量人体血液样品中脂质代谢分子的高通量分析方法,并将其应用于57个普通人群的血液样品分析,在10μL人体血液样品中检出2 598个信号,经脂代组学质谱库匹配解析鉴定出八大类1 780个脂质分子,其中分子数目占比最大的脂质为甘油磷脂类(37%),其次依次为脂肪酸类(23%)、固醇脂类(13%)、甘油脂类(10%)、鞘脂类(9.0%)、孕烯醇酮脂类(4.8%)。上述研究建立的脂质分子高通量分析方法为以脂质代谢为毒性终点的污染物毒性筛查和毒理机制研究提供方法学基础。     

微塑料与有毒污染物相互作用及联合毒性作用研究进展

随着塑料产品的广泛应用,微塑料(microplastics,MPs)污染已经成为全球关注的重大环境问题.海洋中的MPs能够与有毒污染物(如有机污染物、重金属和纳米颗粒等)发生相互作用,对海洋生物产生复合效应.因此,MPs与环境中有毒污染物的联合毒性效应越来越引起人们的关注.本文首先概括总结出MPs对海洋生物的毒性效应及致毒机制,包括遮蔽效应、氧化应激、免疫毒性、生殖毒性、遗传毒性、神经毒性和行为毒性等方面:随后分别讨论了MPs和有机污染物、重金属以及人工纳米颗粒的联合毒性效应,从微塑料对污染物的吸附、富集和载体效应着手分析微塑料与污染物之间的相互作用,凝练得出MPs增强或抑制污染物毒性的作用机制,包括微塑料改变污染物的生物可利用性、微塑料改变生物体对污染物的胁迫响应、微塑料与污染物发生交互作用等;最后对微塑料与有毒污染物联合毒作用研究的发展方向进行了展望,建议在未来研究中重点关注环境特征的次生微塑料与有毒污染物相互作用的环境行为和生物效应,特别是通过食物链的传递作用.以期为准确评估和深入理解微塑料的海洋环境和人类健康风险提供理论依据.     

黑碳对污染物环境地球化学过程的影响

黑碳是生物体和化石燃料不完全燃烧形成的一种富含芳香族基团的产物,普遍存在环境中.由于其具有超强的吸附能力,影响污染物在环境中的存在形态,进而影响其生物有效性,并最终改变污染物的归宿.因此,有必要考察黑碳对环境中的污染物的环境行为的影响进行研究,才能更加准确地预测污染物在环境中的归趋.文章在黑碳对污染物的吸附及其影响因素、黑碳对污染物的生物毒性和污染物的生物降解影响方而进行了综述,并提出黑碳对污染物环境地球化学过程影响的末来研究方向.     

重金属影响中枢神经系统的微生物-肠-脑轴途径

人类生产活动排放出的过量重金属直接危害人体健康.目前,有关重金属诱导中枢神经系统疾病发生的研究受到越来越多的关注,经胃肠道吸收是重金属进入人体的主要途径之一,而肠道作为人体内最大的微生态系统,对维持神经系统的正常功能具有重要的生物作用.本文对表征肠道微生物多样性改变的测序方法,以及环境中广泛存在的重金属锰(Mn)、铅(Pb)、镉(Cd)、砷(As)通过影响微生物-肠-脑轴造成神经系统疾病的潜在机制进行总结,并对重金属等污染物基于肠道微生物引发神经系统疾病的预防和治疗进行展望.     

全氟化合物发育神经毒性研究进展

全氟化合物(PFCs)在工业生产和生活中广泛应用,已成为环境中一类普遍的污染物。由于PFCs污染表现出全球性、持久性和富集性等特征,其毒性备受关注。近期研究结果显示,PFCs除对肝脏、免疫系统和生殖内分泌系统等有明显影响外,还具有发育神经毒性。在总结了近年来PFCs发育神经毒性的研究进展基础上,讨论了PFCs发育神经毒性可能的几个机制,并且分析该领域研究存在的问题,提出应该加强环境相关剂量下PFCs发育神经毒性研究,关注PFCs与其他神经毒物复合暴露的发育神经毒性,以推进对实际环境中PFCs所产生的神经损伤的认识。     

Entwicklung von Prüfwertempfehlungen für ausgewählte Schadstoffe zum Schutz des Bodens als Lebensraum für Bodenorganismen

Goal and Scope

In the German Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance there are no ecotoxicological trigger values for the protection of soil as a habitat for soil organisms. The objective of this study was to derive preliminary trigger values for the habitat function of soils. This was done by collecting data on the impact of priority pollutants on soil organisms and plants followed by the parallel use of the Factorial Application Method (FAME) and Distribution Based Extrapolation (DIBAEX) and a final verification of the plausibility of the calculated trigger values by means of an ecotoxicological test battery.

Methods

Data on the effects of pollutants on soil organisms and plants were recorded in a specific data base (Soil Value). Subsequently, we derived so-called ‘working trigger values’ using the extrapolation methods FAME (factorial application method) and DIBAEX (distribution based extrapolation). In the second phase of the project, we verified experimentally the plausibility of these values by means of an ecotoxicological test battery. Test substrate was a sandy soil with low sorption capacity and organic carbon content which was mixed with fresh pollutants (e.g. heavy metal salts) and polluted soil material from contaminated sites (aged contamination), respectively. Organisms tested were microorganisms, plants, earthworms, springtails and nematodes.

Results and Conclusions

We calculated working trigger values for 12 pollutants based on 900 datasets compiled in he data base. The laboratory investigations showed the freshly added contaminants to be less strongly adsorbed to the soil than those added by the use of contaminated soil material. Nevertheless, aged contaminations displayed often the same inhibitive effects as the freshly added chemicals. The results achieved in the second phase of the project were also recorded in the Soil-Value database. Based on the new data set, final trigger values were derived for the experimentally tested substances.

Outlook

The procedure described in this contribution exemplarily for copper can be used for the derivation of recommended trigger values for the pathway soil ? soil organisms. Besides copper, preliminary trigger values were derived for zinc, mercury, lead and HCH.     

海洋酸化与重金属、有机污染物和人工纳米颗粒的联合毒性效应研究进展

由于大量人类活动的影响,大气CO_2浓度持续增加,其中约1/3被海洋吸收,导致表层海水pH值降低和碳酸盐平衡体系波动,即"海洋酸化"现象。污染物的海洋环境效应一直是全球环境科学领域研究的热点。在实际环境中,海洋酸化往往与污染物共同存在并作用于海洋生态系统,且海洋酸化极有可能改变污染物的海洋环境行为从而影响其毒性效应。但现有研究大多针对海洋酸化或者污染物单独作用下的毒性效应展开,对海洋酸化与污染物的联合毒性效应的研究不足、亟待加强。为此,综述了近年来海洋酸化与典型污染物(重金属、有机污染物)及新型污染物(人工纳米颗粒)的相关文献,重点阐述了海洋酸化对污染物环境行为的影响和海洋酸化与污染物对海洋生物的联合毒性效应,指出当前的研究不足,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望。     

Consequences of manganese compounds: a review

Manufacturing of manganese (Mn) compounds, their industrial applications as well as mining overburden, has generated a potential environmental pollutant. Occupational exposure to elevated levels of Mn occurs during mining, welding, smelting and other industrial anthropogenic sources. Chronic and acute exposure of this metal pollutant leads to adverse consequences and is clinically categorized by various symptoms of neurotoxicity including cognitive, psychiatric symptoms, Parkinson's disease, extra pyramidal signs, manganism, dystonia, and motor system dysfunction. The aim of this review is to summarize the possible mechanism underlying Mn compounds-mediated neurotoxicity leading to neurodegenerative diseases. Our review endeavours to examine recent advances in research on Mn-related environmental pollution, Mn-induced poisoning, molecular mechanisms underlying Mn-induced neurotoxicity with case studies as well as current approaches employed for treatment and prevention of Mn exposure.     

Voltammetric analysis of metallothioneins and copper (II) in fish for water biomonitoring studies

An major research area in environmental chemistry is the development of methods for the analysis of biomarkers. Metallothioneins are used as biomarkers in studies of heavy metals exposure in water, because metallothioneins are synthesized and accumulated when organisms are exposed to toxic concentrations of pollutants. In this work, simple and sensitive voltammetric methods were developed for metallothionein and copper (II) determinations in fish liver Lepomis gibbosus. Both analytical methodologies were optimized and applied to samples extracted from individuals previously submitted to sub-lethal toxicological trials with copper sulphate (CuSO₄) and cadmium chloride (CdCl₂). The obtained results showed that both methods are very precise, sensitive, and involve simple sample preparation processes. Moreover, metallothioneins showed better correlation with the toxic exposure than Cu²⁺. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that hepatic metallothioneins and Cu²⁺ contents are voltammetrically determined in order to be compared in their function as heavy metal biological indicators.     

An ecotoxicological view on neurotoxicity assessment

The numbers of potential neurotoxicants in the environment are raising and pose a great risk for humans and the environment. Currently neurotoxicity assessment is mostly performed to predict and prevent harm to human populations. Despite all the efforts invested in the last years in developing novel in vitro or in silico test systems, in vivo tests with rodents are still the only accepted test for neurotoxicity risk assessment in Europe. Despite an increasing number of reports of species showing altered behaviour, neurotoxicity assessment for species in the environment is not required and therefore mostly not performed. Considering the increasing numbers of environmental contaminants with potential neurotoxic potential, eco-neurotoxicity should be also considered in risk assessment. In order to do so novel test systems are needed that can cope with species differences within ecosystems. In the field, online-biomonitoring systems using behavioural information could be used to detect neurotoxic effects and effect-directed analyses could be applied to identify the neurotoxicants causing the effect. Additionally, toxic pressure calculations in combination with mixture modelling could use environmental chemical monitoring data to predict adverse effects and prioritize pollutants for laboratory testing. Cheminformatics based on computational toxicological data from in vitro and in vivo studies could help to identify potential neurotoxicants. An array of in vitro assays covering different modes of action could be applied to screen compounds for neurotoxicity. The selection of in vitro assays could be guided by AOPs relevant for eco-neurotoxicity. In order to be able to perform risk assessment for eco-neurotoxicity, methods need to focus on the most sensitive species in an ecosystem. A test battery using species from different trophic levels might be the best approach. To implement eco-neurotoxicity assessment into European risk assessment, cheminformatics and in vitro screening tests could be used as first approach to identify eco-neurotoxic pollutants. In a second step, a small species test battery could be applied to assess the risks of ecosystems.     

Strategies to design modified activated carbon fibers for the decontamination of water and air

The rapid industrialization has induced the entry of organic and inorganic contaminants into the environment at a rate greater than environmental cleaning. As a consequence, pollutants have accumulated in environmental media, thus posing health risk for living organisms. Here, we present surface treatment strategies that modify physicochemical properties of activated carbon fibers for environmental remediation. In particular, we review metals, metal oxides and various advanced materials used for modifying activated carbon fibers. We discuss the utilization of modified activated carbon fibers for adsorption of organic pollutants and inorganic pollutants, and for the degradation of organic pollutants by photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, Fenton process and dielectric barrier discharge. We also discuss air pollutant removal, capacitive deionization, removal of inorganic ions and microbial decontamination by modified activated carbon fibers.     

Accumulation of lead, cadmium and chromium in some plants cultivated along the bank of river Ribila at Odo-nla area of Ikorodu, Lagos state, Nigeria

Heavy metal in soil samples and in washed and unwashed samples of Telfaria occidentalis (ugwu) and Talinum triangulare (waterleaf) cultivated on the bank of river Ribila in Odo-nla village were determined. The soil was moderately polluted with cadmium when compared with Federal Environmental Protection Agency standards. The difference between the unwashed and washed plant samples revealed that metal pollutants exist as superficial contaminants on the foliage surface which is the edible portion and if the foliage portion is washed thoroughly it may be safe for dietary consumption. There is no doubt that continuous discharge of effluent and gaseous emissions from the industries located in this area and dumping of domestic wastes into the river may lead to higher concentrations of these heavy metals in the soil and in the tissue of the leafy vegetables cultivated on the river bank over time. This can eventually lead to pollution of the soil and the cultivated plants, which are ready source of food for the people and other organisms in the food chain.     

Role of mushrooms in soil mycoremediation:a review

Bioremediation is an innovative and promising technology available for the removal and recovery of heavy metals from contaminated media. Bioremediation uses organisms to absorb heavy metals at low cost and with no secondary pollution. Bioremediation by macrofungi that degrade pollutants or wastes is referred to as mycoremediation. Macrofungi, like mushrooms, can produce enzymes and have the ability to degrade and accumulate a wide range of toxic metals. In this paper, the research status and advances in the field of mycoremediation using different mushroom species are reviewed. Generally mushrooms use three effective strategies to recover contaminated or polluted soils: biodegradation, bioconversion, and biosorption. Mushrooms can degrade and recycle wastes and pollutants to their mineral constituents and convert wastes, sludge, and pollutants into useful forms. In addition, they can uptake heavy metals from substrates via biosorption, which is a very effective method to reclaim polluted lands. Different wild and cultivated mushroom species are used in mycoremediation, which can degrade large quantities of organic and inorganic pollutants and produce vendible products. Mycoremediation is still in its infancy, but it has notable remediation potential for pollutants or metals in soil. Mushroom species that can biodegrade, bioconvert, or absorb pollutants and metals effectively should be given the highest preference. Further research is needed to verify that this method is an easy, cost effective,and eco-friendly tool.