title: Effect of pharmaceuticals exposure on acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity and on the expression of AchE gene in the monogonont rotifer, Brachionus koreanus.
abstract: Pharmaceuticals are widely used in human and veterinary medicine. However, they are emerging as a significant contaminant in aquatic environments through wastewater. Due to the persistent and accumulated properties of pharmaceuticals via the food web, their potential harmful effects on aquatic animals are a great concern. In this study, we investigated the effects of six pharmaceuticals: acetaminophen, ATP; atenolol, ATN; carbamazepine, CBZ; oxytetracycline, OTC; sulfamethoxazole, SMX; and trimethoprim, TMP on acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7) activity and its transcript expression with chlorpyrifos (as a positive control) in the monogonont rotifer, Brachionus koreanus. ATP, CBZ, and TMP exposure also remarkably inhibited Bk-AChE activity at 100 μg/L (24 h) and 1000 μg/L (12 h and 24 h). ATP, CBZ, and TMP exposure showed a significant decrease in the Bk-AChE mRNA level in a concentration-dependent manner. However, in the case of OTC and SMX, a slight decrease in Bk-AChE mRNA expression was found but only at the highest concentration. The time-course experiments showed that ATP positively induced Bk-AChE mRNA 12 h after exposure at both 100 and 1000 μg/L, while the Bk-AChE mRNA expression was significantly downregulated over 6 to 24 h after exposure to 1000 μg/L of CBZ, OTC, SMX, and TMP. Our findings suggest that Bk-AChE would be a useful biomarker for risk assessment of pharmaceutical compounds as an early signal of their toxicity in aquatic environments. Particularly, ATP, CBZ, and TMP may have a toxic cholinergic effect on rotifer B. koreanus by inhibiting AChE activity.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Sung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.forename: Bo-Mi
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Chang-Bum
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Heum Gi
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Kenneth Mei Yee
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Young-Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jae-Seong
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000633:toxicity; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000633:toxicity; D001262:Atenolol / Q000633:toxicity; D001483:Base Sequence; D055162:Biocatalysis / Q000187:drug effects; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000633:toxicity; D004390:Chlorpyrifos / Q000633:toxicity; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000187:drug effects*; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010118:Oxytetracycline / Q000633:toxicity; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012403:Rotifera / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole / Q000633:toxicity; D013997:Time Factors; D014295:Trimethoprim / Q000633:toxicity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity; D015262:Xenobiotics / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D015262:Xenobiotics; D002220:Carbamazepine; D000082:Acetaminophen; D001262:Atenolol; D014295:Trimethoprim; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D004390:Chlorpyrifos; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole; D010118:Oxytetracycline
keywords: Acetylcholinesterase; AchE; Antibiotics; Brachionus koreanus; Pharmaceutical; Rotifer