posted on 2024-03-04, 19:30authored byChunsheng Liu, Zihan Zhang, Boqun Li, Kai Huang, Yongkang Zhang, Meng Li, Robert J. Letcher
The Yangtze River fishery resources have declined strongly
over
the past few decades. One suspected reason for the decline in fishery
productivity, including silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys
molitrix), has been linked to organophosphate esters
(OPEs) contaminant exposure. In this study, the adverse effect of
OPEs on lipid metabolism in silver carp captured from the Yangtze
River was examined, and our results indicated that muscle concentrations
of the OPEs were positively associated with serum cholesterol and
total lipid levels. In vivo laboratory results revealed that exposure
to environmental concentrations of OPEs significantly increased the
concentrations of triglyceride, cholesterol, and total lipid levels.
Lipidome analysis further confirmed the lipid metabolism dysfunction
induced by OPEs, and glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids were the
most affected lipids. Hepatic transcriptomic analysis found that OPEs
caused significant alterations in the transcription of genes involved
in lipid metabolism. Pathways associated with lipid homeostasis, including
the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signal pathway,
cholesterol metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and steroid biosynthesis,
were significantly changed. Furthermore, the affinities of OPEs were
different, but the 11 OPEs tested could bind with PPARγ, suggesting
that OPEs could disrupt lipid metabolism by interacting with PPARγ.
Overall, this study highlighted the harmful effects of OPEs on wild
fish and provided mechanistic insights into OPE-induced metabolic
disorders.