Proteome modifications of juvenile beluga (Huso huso) brain as an effect of dietary methylmercury.
Methylmercury (MeHg) is the most toxic form of mercury which is bioaccumulated in the aquatic food chain. It has been shown that one of the main targets of MeHg toxicity is the brain, but there is little knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of its toxic effects. In this work we used a proteomics analysis to determine the changes in the brain proteome of juvenile beluga (Huso huso) exposed to dietary MeHg. The juvenile beluga were fed the diet containing 0.8 ppm MeHg for 70 days. Proteins of the brain tissue were analyzed using two-dimensional electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. We found eight proteins with significant altered expression level in the fish brain exposed to MeHg. These proteins are involved in different cell functions including cell metabolism, protein folding, cell division, and signal transduction. Our results support the idea that MeHg exerts its toxicity through oxidative stress induction and apoptotic effects. They also suggest that chronic MeHg exposure would induce an important metabolic deficiency in the brain. These findings provide basic information to understand possible mechanisms of MeHg toxicity in aquatic ecosystems.
Keyvanshokooh
Saeed
S
Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Marine Natural Resources, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology, Khorramshahr, Khouzestan, Iran. Electronic address: keyvan56@yahoo.com.
Vaziri
Behrouz
B
Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Gharaei
Ahmad
A
Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Mazandaran, Iran.
Mahboudi
Fereidoun
F
Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Esmaili-Sari
Abbas
A
Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Mazandaran, Iran.
Shahriari-Moghadam
Mohsen
M
Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Resources, Zabol University, Zabol, Iran.
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D020543:Proteome / Q000032:analysis* / Q000187:drug effects*
D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D020543:Proteome