A screening assay for thyroid hormone signaling disruption based on thyroid hormone-response gene expression analysis in the frog Pelophylax nigromaculatus

Amphibian metamorphosis provides a wonderful model to study the thyroid hormone (TH) signaling disrupting activity of environmental chemicals, with Xenopus laevis as the most commonly used species. This study aimed to establish a rapid and sensitive screening assay based on TH-response gene expression analysis using Pelophylax nigromaculatus, a native frog species distributed widely in East Asia, especially in China. To achieve this, five candidate TH-response genes that were sensitive to T3 induction were chosen as molecular markers, and T3 induction was determined as 0.2 nmol/L T3 exposure for 48 hr. The developed assay can detect the agonistic activity of T3 with a lowest observed effective concentration of 0.001 nmol/L and EC50 at around 0.118–1.229 nmol/L, exhibiting comparable or higher sensitivity than previously reported assays. We further validated the efficiency of the developed assay by detecting the TH signaling disrupting activity of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), a known TH signaling disruptor. In accordance with previous reports, we found a weak TH agonistic activity for TBBPA in the absence of T3, whereas a TH antagonistic activity was found for TBBPA at higher concentrations in the presence of T3, showing that the P. nigromaculatus assay is effective for detecting TH signaling disrupting activity. Importantly, we observed non-monotonic dose-dependent disrupting activity of TBBPA in the presence of T3, which is difficult to detect with in vitro reporter gene assays. Overall, the developed P. nigromaculatus assay can be used to screen TH signaling disrupting activity of environmental chemicals with high sensitivity.     

双酚A与其替代品对黑斑蛙急性毒性的比较

双酚F(BPF)和双酚S(BPS)作为双酚A(BPA)替代品广泛使用,然而有关BPF和BPS的毒性数据非常有限。采用系列浓度的BPA、BPF、BPS溶液,暴露黑斑蛙胚胎和蝌蚪96 h,通过半致死浓度(LC50)、最小生长抑制浓度(MCIG)和致畸率等指标比较3种化合物的急性毒性。结果显示:100 mg·L-1BPS未导致黑斑蛙胚胎及蝌蚪畸形和死亡。BPA和BPF对黑斑蛙胚胎的96h-LC50分别为7.68 mg·L-1和7.99 mg·L-1,MCIG分别为4.47 mg·L-1和4.77 mg·L-1,最大致畸率为33.33%;对蝌蚪的96 h-LC50分别为9.00 mg·L-1和9.52 mg·L-1。依据《化学农药环境安全评价准则》的毒性分级标准,判定BPA和BPF的毒性等级为中毒,BPS的毒性等级为低毒。表明BPF急性毒性与BPA相当,BPS急性毒性低于BPA。本研究数据可为BPF、BPS作为BPA替代品的生产和使用以及相应的环境管理提供毒理学参考。     

异噻唑啉酮类杀菌剂对黑斑蛙胚胎和蝌蚪的急性毒性

异噻唑啉酮类杀菌剂1,2-苯并异噻唑-3-酮(BIT)和甲基异噻唑啉酮(MIT)虽已在多种行业中广泛使用,但目前有关其毒性尤其对水体中生物毒性的数据还较少。鉴于BIT和MIT在水体中普遍存在,本文研究了这两种污染物对两栖动物黑斑蛙胚胎和蝌蚪的急性毒性。黑斑蛙胚胎和蝌蚪分别暴露系列浓度的BIT和MIT,观察化学品对其生长、发育和运动的影响,计算96小时半数致死浓度(96 h-LC50)和96小时半数致畸浓度(96 h-TC50),确定最小生长抑制浓度(MCIG)。结果发现,BIT对黑斑蛙胚胎的96 h-LC50和96 h-TC50分别为2.99 mg·L-1和0.60 mg·L-1,MCIG小于0.40 mg·L-1,对蝌蚪的96 h-LC50为6.44 mg·L-1。MIT对黑斑蛙胚胎的96 h-LC50和96 h-TC50分别为5.30 mg·L-1和2.36 mg·L-1,MCIG为2.59 mg·L-1,对蝌蚪的96 h-LC50为7.58 mg·L-1。根据《化学农药环境安全评价准则报批稿》中两栖动物蝌蚪急性毒性的分级标准,判定BIT和MIT的毒性等级为中等。该毒性数据可为异噻唑啉酮类杀菌剂的环境管理提供参考。     

应用黑斑蛙胚胎测试化学品发育毒性的方法

选择合适的尤其是本土生物种进行化学品生态毒性评估,对于各国化学品的环境管理十分重要.本文选择我国本土两栖种黑斑蛙的胚胎为试验生物,以半数致死浓度LC50、半数致畸浓度TC50、致畸指数TI及最小抑制生长浓度MCIG为终点指标,建立了黑斑蛙胚胎发育毒性试验方法.以五氯酚、视磺酸、氯化镉、重铬酸钾为测试物研究了方法的敏感性,并以五氯酚为测试物研究了方法的可重复性.结果显示:五氯酚、视磺酸、氯化镉和重铬酸钾对黑斑蛙胚胎的LC50分别为572.3 μg·L-1、54.8 μg·L-1、6.8 mg·L-1和97.5 mg· L-1.五氯酚、视磺酸和氯化镉对黑斑蛙胚胎的TC50分别为246.5 μg·L-1、18.7 μg· L-1和3.4 mg·L-1,TI分别为2.3、2.9和2.0,MCIG分别为160.0 μg· L-1、10.1 μg·L-1和2.4 mg·L-1.重复性试验发现,五氯酚的LC50、TC50、TI及MCIG的变异系数分别为12.6％、18.0％、23.0％和18.6％.与文献中非洲爪蟾胚胎试验的数据比较,这些数据显示黑斑蛙胚胎与非洲爪蟾胚胎对测试物的敏感性存在一定的差异,各个终点指标的变异系数相当.因此,本文建立的黑斑蛙胚胎发育毒性试验可以用于化学品的发育毒性评价,为我国化学品环境管理提供技术支持.     

Pesticides alter ion transport across frog (Pelophylax kl. esculentus) skin

We have measured, in the edible frog (Pelophylax kl. esculentus), the effect of two fungicides (8-hydroxyquinoline and captan), and four herbicides (DCMU, glyphosate, paraquat, and propachlor) on the short-circuit current, whose value gives an estimate of the net ion transport taking place across isolated skin. Glyphosate and paraquat treatment produced a modest increase in short-circuit current, corresponding to 2.6±0.7 and 4.6±0.8 μA·cm^?2, whereas the other substances had a more sustained effect, ranging from 9.1±0.6 (propachlor) to 14.8±0.9 μA·cm^?2 (captan), which is mainly attributable to an increase in the Na⁺ absorption, and, to a lesser extent, Cl^? secretion. The increase in short-circuit current after pesticide treatment, was partially abolished by AF12198, indomethacin, SC58125, SQ 22536, and W7; these results suggest that pesticides, independently from their chemical structure, induce the release of interleukin-1, which triggers the activity of cyclooxygenase-2, whose products, via a concentration in intracellular cAMP and Ca²⁺ concentration, increase Na⁺ absorption. The resulting Na⁺ disequilibrium must be compensated for by other epithelia, with the only consequence being the dissipation of energy. However, our results are important because they indicate that pesticides interact with the basic cellular machinery, which is responsible for the myriad of biological functions of different cell types.     

Effects of triclosan on gonadal differentiation and development in the frog Pelophylax nigromaculatus

Previous studies have reported that triclosan (TCS) could possess an androgenic activity. We aimed to investigate the effects of TCS on gonadal differentiation and development in the frog Pelophylax nigromaculatus, a sensitive amphibian species to androgenic chemicals. P. nigromaculatus tadpoles at stage 24 were exposed to TCS (3, 30, and 300 nmol/L) to stage 46 in a semi-static exposure system. At the end of exposure, gonadal morphology and histology, sex ratio and gonadal expression of sex-biased genes were examined in P. nigromaculatus. In each TCS treatment group, we found several individuals whose gonads exhibited morphological and/or histological abnormalities. Gonadal histological abnormalities were characterized by few oocytes and many somatic cells. Although the percentage of the individuals with abnormal gonads was low (7.8%) among all animals treated with TCS, statistical test revealed the sex ratios in the 3 and 300 nmol/L TCS treatment groups were significantly different from the solvent control. In the 30 nmol/L TCS treatment group, abnormal gonads were also observed, although the sex ratio was not changed compared with the solvent control, which was possibly due to the smaller sample size in this group. In all the TCS treatment groups, the sex ratios were not obviously male-biased, but the expression levels of some sex-biased genes were significantly altered by TCS. Altogether, our results suggest that TCS, even at environmentally relevant concentrations, could disrupt gonadal differentiation and development in P. nigromaculatus, but we are not sure whether the disrupting effects were associated with masculinization or feminization.     

三氯生和三氯卡班对两栖动物蝌蚪的急性毒性

三氯生(TCS)和三氯卡班(TCC)是个人护理品中常用抗菌剂,在水体中普遍存在,但目前其对两栖动物的毒性研究仍较少。本研究以黑斑蛙蝌蚪和非洲爪蛙蝌蚪为受试生物,研究TCS和TCC对蝌蚪的急性毒性。将处于第一个蝌蚪发育期的黑斑蛙蝌蚪(Gosner 26期)和非洲爪蛙蝌蚪(NF 46期)分别暴露于系列浓度的TCS和TCC,测定其对蝌蚪的半数致死浓度(96 hLC_(50))。结果发现,TCS对黑斑蛙蝌蚪和非洲爪蛙蝌蚪的96 h-LC_(50)分别为441μg·L~(-1)和280μg·L~(-1);TCC对黑斑蛙蝌蚪和非洲爪蛙蝌蚪的96 h-LC_(50)为252μg·L~(-1)和217μg·L~(-1)。这些数据显示TCS和TCC对两种蝌蚪的毒性较高,且对非洲爪蛙蝌蚪毒性均略高于对黑斑蛙蝌蚪的毒性,整体来看TCC的毒性略高于TCS。