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Pharmaceutical pollution of water bodies is among the top-notch environmental health risks all over the world. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of two common pharmaceuticals namely ibuprofen and gemfibrozil on zebrafish at environmentally relevant concentrations. In zebrafish liver, gemfibrozil caused a decrease in glutathione and glutathione transferase and an increase in catalase but had no effect on lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation. Ibuprofen altered the antioxidant defense system, promoted protein carbonylation in zebrafish liver, and increased vitellogenin-like protein in the blood. Ibuprofen and particularly gemfibrozil induced lysosomes biogenesis. Lactate dehydrogenase in the blood was also found to be higher in the studied groups. Studied pharmaceuticals did not affect complex II of the electron respiratory chain. Ibuprofen affects zebrafish health status more profoundly than gemfibrozil. Our results showed that pharmaceuticals even in low, environmentally realistic concentrations, induced profound changes in the stress-responsive systems of zebrafish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object: Nowadays, organophosphates appear to be among the most used pesticides all over the world. Their amounts and amounts of their metabolites in surface water are expected to increase in the near future. In the light of potential organelles impairment, this work aims to investigate the effects of chlorpyrifos and malathion in environmentally relevant concentration on morphological and functional traits of zebrafish mitochondria and lysosomes. Methods: Adult zebrafish were exposed to widely used organophosphate pesticides namely malathion (5 and 50 µg L−1) and chlorpyrifos (0.1 and 3 µg L−1) for 14 days. The comprehensive set of biochemical markers that reflect oxidative/carbonyl/nitrosative stress and cytotoxicity (mitochondria swelling, lysosomal membrane stability, and cell damage) was determined in fish liver. Results: Chlorpyrifos and malathion in both concentrations were found to affect mitochondria and lysosome membranes: They caused a substantial decline in neutral red retention and an increase in mitochondria swelling. Also, the concentration-dependent enhancement of lactate dehydrogenase in blood was depicted. Even low pesticide concentrations were able to promote apoptosis and stimulated overproduction of methylglyoxal as reactive carbonyl species. We also revealed that reactive nitrogen species were sparked by organophosphates. This effect occurs only in animals treated with higher insecticides concentration. Moreover, the pesticides induced oxidative stress response measured by increasing of reactive oxygen species level (only after chlorpyrifos), as well as by variation in total antioxidant capacity with signs of deeper injury after chlorpyrifos exposure. The integrative biomarker response (IBR) index calculation supports the hypothesis that chlorpyrifos was significantly more toxic to zebrafish than malathion. Conclusion: Our study suggests that zebrafish markers can serve as a sensitive transferential model for evaluating mitochondrial and lysosomal toxicity of pesticides and extrapolating results to mammalian and human. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastropod mollusks have achieved an eminent importance as biological indicators of environmental quality. In the present study, we applied a multibiomarker approach to evaluate its applicability for the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis, exposed to common industrial and agricultural pollutants at environmentally relevant concentrations. The snails were exposed to copper (Cu2+, 10 µg L−1), zinc (Zn2+, 130 µg L−1), cadmium (Cd2+, 15 µg L−1), or the thiocarbamate fungicide "Tattoo" (91 µg L−1) during 14 days. Metal treatment and exposure to "Tattoo" caused variable patterns of increase or decrease of metal levels in the digestive gland, with a clear accumulation of only Cd and Zn after respective metal exposure. Treatment with Cu and "Tattoo" caused an increase of cytochrome P450-related EROD activity. Glutathione S-transferase was inhibited by exposure to Cu, Zn, and "Tattoo." Treatment with the "Tattoo" led to an inhibition of cholinesterase activity, whereas Cu and Cd increased its activity. Caspase-3 activity was enhanced by up to 3.3 times in all treatments. A nearly uniform inhibitory effect for oxidative stress response parameters was observed in all kinds of exposure, revealing an inhibition of superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) activity, a depression of glutathione (GSH and GSSG) and of protein carbonyl levels. Pollutant-specific effects were observed for the catalase activity, superoxide anion production, and lipid peroxidation levels. Due to the high response sensitivity of Lymnaea stagnalis to chemical impacts, we suggest our study as a contribution for biomarker studies with this species under field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple interactions between different pollutants in the surface waters can cause unpredictable consequences. The aim of the study was to evaluate the combined effect of two widespread xenobiotics, titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO2) and bisphenol A (BPA), on freshwater bivalve Unio tumidus. The specimens were exposed for 14 days to TiCl4 (Ti, 1.25 µM), TiO2 (1.25 μM), BPA (0.88 nM), or their combination (TiO2 + BPA). Every type of exposure resulted in a particular oxidative stress response: TiO2 had antioxidant effect, decreasing the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phenoloxidase (PhO) activity, and doubling reduced glutathione (GSH) concentration in the digestive gland; Ti caused oxidative changes by increasing levels of ROS, PhO and superoxide dismutase; BPA decreased the GSH level by a factor of two. In the co-exposure treatment, these indices as well as lysosomal membrane stability were not affected. All Ti-containing exposures caused elevated levels of metalated metallothionein (Zn,Cu-MT), its ratio to total metallothionein protein, and lactate/pyruvate ratio. Both BPA-containing exposures decreased caspase-3 activity. All exposures, and particularly co-exposure, up-regulated CYP450-dependent oxidation, lipid peroxidation and lipofuscin accumulation, lysosomal cathepsin D and its efflux, as well as alkali-labile phosphates in gonads and caused DNA instability (except for TiO2). To summarize, co-exposure to TiO2 + BPA produced an overlap of certain individual responses but strengthened the damage. Development of water purification technologies using TiO2 requires further studies of the biological effects of its mixtures. U. tumidus can serve as a sentinel organism in such studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of cyanobacteria in freshwaters attracts much attention due to its associated health threats and ecological implications. Yet data on the composition of cyanobacteria taxa and toxigenicity in some regions is still scarce. Here, we explored the occurrence of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in three locations in Ukraine (reservoir for Kasperivtsi Hydrothermal Power Plant and outflowing River Seret, and cooling pond of Khmelnytsky Atomic Power Plant) in summer 2017. Cyanobacteria were a dominant fraction at all stations. A number of potent-toxin producers were identified including Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Aphanizomenon gracile, Dolichospermum flos-aquae, and Planktothrix agardhii. Screening for the presence of dissolved and particulate content of microcystins (-LR, -YR, and -RR), cylindrospermopsin, and anatoxin-a yielded negative results. The studied waters displayed no toxicity in human platelets in vitro. Further toxicological and ecological studies are necessary to evaluate the potential presence of cyanotoxin producers in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was the investigation of the effect of in situ exposure history on the responses of freshwater mussels to thiocarbamate fungicide. Male bivalve mollusks Anodonta anatina (Unionidae) from polluted (A) and unpolluted (F) sites were subjected to 14 days of exposure to fungicide Tattoo (mixture of propamocarb and mancozeb, 91 μg L). When unexposed mussels were compared, chronic effect of toxic environment in site A was confirmed by oxidative stress indices (high levels of superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyls and oxyradical production, low level of total glutathione (GSH)), genotoxicity (high levels of DNA-strand breaks and caspase-3 activity in digestive gland), and cytotoxicity (low lysosomal membrane stability in hemocytes), elevated vitellogenin-like proteins (Vtg-LP) concentration in gonads, high levels of Cu, Zn, Cd, metallothionein (MT)-bound metals (MT-Me) and MT-related thiol (MT-SH), and low ethoxyresorufin- O-deethylase (EROD) activity in digestive gland. The major differences in the responses of the two exposed groups were related to antioxidant defense and MT: in the group A, prominent oxidative stress response with the participation of MT-SH and GSH in the gills, EROD activation, but decrease of MT-Me level was shown, whereas in group F exposure provoked the elevation of MT-Me, caspase-3 and Vtg-LP values. Carbamate did not cause cholinesterase depletion and cytotoxicity. However, genotoxic and pro-oxidant effects (increased levels of hemocytes with micronuclei and nuclear abnormalities, DNA-strand breaks and oxyradical in digestive gland), were common responses for both the exposed groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to compare environmental quality in two sites in western Ukraine—rural (R) and urbanized (U)—with the usage of the resident bivalve mollusk Anodonta cygnea. The study was realized during three seasons. The metal uptake and a set of biochemical markers were determined. For each season, Cd and metallothioneins (MTs) contents in the digestive gland and gills of the mollusc were higher at the U site, reflecting its chronic pollution. The oxidative stress in the mollusk was observed at the U site during spring and at the R site during summer and autumn according to the differences in Mn–superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, O production, lipid peroxidation, and glutathione levels. The elevated vitellogenin-like protein levels in the hemolymph and the ethoxyresorufin- O-deethylase activity in the digestive gland in summer–autumn suggested pollutions by organic substances at the R site. The acetylcholinesterase activity was similar in both groups. The centroid grouping analysis of biomarkers and morphological and water indexes demonstrated the clear differentiation of general response in each group in spring and, at the R site, in summer and autumn but its similarity at the U site in summer and autumn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to elucidate the seasonal and spatial regularity of the properties of metallothioneins (MTs) from the liver and kidney of the frog Rana ridibunda in rural (R) and urban (U) sites in Western Ukraine. This allowed examination of their possibility use in biomonitoring of environmental quality. The positive correlation for Zn and negative correlation for Cu were reflected between their content in the liver and MTs. The content of MTs was higher in summer compared to other seasons and also at the U site compare to the R site. MTs had been comprised of two chromatographic forms (MT-1 and MT-2/MT-2a), with lesser and variable MT-2/2a in frogs from the U site, particularly in the kidney. MTs accumulated about 75% of Cd in the liver. In summary, the ability MTs to elevate content as a stress response, together with the sensitivity of MT-2, may be explored to understand the health status of the frog in each season, reflecting the higher overall anthropogenic impact at the U site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change (GCC) can negatively affect freshwater ecosystems. However, the degree to which freshwater populations can acclimate to long-term warming and the underlying molecular mechanisms are not yet fully understood. We used the cooling water discharge (CWD) area of a power plant as a model for long-term warming. Survival and molecular stress responses (expression of molecular chaperones, antioxidants, bioenergetic and protein synthesis biomarkers) to experimental warming (20-41 °C, +1.5 °C per day) were assessed in invasive clams Corbicula fluminea from two pristine populations and a CWD population. CWD clams had considerably higher (by ~8-12 °C) lethal temperature thresholds than clams from the pristine areas. High thermal tolerance of CWD clams was associated with overexpression of heat shock proteins HSP70, HSP90 and HSP60 and activation of protein synthesis at 38 °C. Heat shock response was prioritized over the oxidative stress response resulting in accumulation of oxidative lesions and ubiquitinated proteins during heat stress in CWD clams. Future studies should determine whether the increase in thermal tolerance in CWD clams are due to genetic adaptation and/or phenotypic plasticity. Overall, our findings indicate that C. fluminea has potential to survive and increase its invasive range during warming such as expected during GCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]