title: Hepatic gene expression profiles of a non-model cyprinid (Barbus plebejus) chronically exposed to river sediments.
abstract: In this study, we characterized the gene expression responses of the Padanian barbel (Barbus plebejus), a native benthivorous cyprinid with a very compromised presence within the fish community of the River Po. Barbel juveniles were exposed in the laboratory to two river sediments reflecting an upstream/downstream gradient of increasing contamination and collected from one of the most anthropized tributaries of the River Po. After 7months of exposure, hepatic transcriptional changes that were diagnostic of sediment exposure were assessed. We investigated a set of 24 genes involved in xenobiotic biotransformation (cyp1a, gstα, ugt), antioxidant defense (gpx, sod, cat, hsp70), trace metal exposure (mt-I, mt-II), DNA repair (xpa, xpc), apoptosis (bax, casp3), growth (igf2), and steroid (erα, erβ1, erβ2, ar, vtg) and thyroid (dio1, dio2, trα, trβ, nis) hormone signaling pathways. In a consistent overall picture, the results showed that long-term sediment exposure mainly increased the levels of mRNAs encoding proteins involved in xenobiotic metabolism, oxidative stress defense, repair of DNA damage and activation of the apoptotic process. Transcript up-regulation of three receptor genes (erβ2, ar, trβ), likely representing compensatory responses to antagonistic/toxic effects, was also observed, confirming the exposure to disruptors of the reproductive and thyroidal axes. In contrast to expectations, a few genes showed no response (e.g., casp3) or even downregulation (vtg), further suggesting that the timing of exposure/assessment, potential compensatory effects or post-transcriptional modifications interact to modify the gene expression profiles, particularly during exposure to mixtures of contaminants.
authors.affiliation: Water Research Institute, National Research Council of Italy, Via del Mulino 19, 20861 Brugherio, (MB), Italy. Electronic address: casatta@irsa.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Casatta
authors.affiliation: Water Research Institute, National Research Council of Italy, Via del Mulino 19, 20861 Brugherio, (MB), Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stefani
authors.affiliation: Water Research Institute, National Research Council of Italy, Via del Mulino 19, 20861 Brugherio, (MB), Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Viganò
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001711:Biotransformation / Q000187:drug effects; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003530:Cyprinidae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000187:drug effects; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000633:toxicity; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000819:agonists / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000662:veterinary; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects*; D007558:Italy; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D045483:Rivers; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D036401:Toxicity Tests, Chronic; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D029941:Fish Proteins; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Barbus juveniles; Chronic exposure; Environmental mixtures; Gene expression; River sediment