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To assess the interaction effect between cadmium (Cd) and 17 β-estradiol (E2), male Chinese loaches ( Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) were exposed to E2 (1 μg/L) and Cd (50 or 500 μg/L) alone and in combination using a semi-static waterborne exposure system. The effects of E2 on the accumulation and distribution of Cd, as well as the effects of Cd on vitellogenin (Vtg) synthesis induced by E2, were investigated. Cd mainly accumulated in the kidneys, liver, intestines, and gills, with little amounts in muscles, bones, and gonads. Co-exposure with E2 did not change the main targets for Cd. E2 could induce Vtg synthesis in male Chinese loaches, and co-exposure with 50 or 500 μg/L Cd could inhibit the Vtg induced by 1 μg/L E2. Compared with the results reported in the literature, it can be concluded that factors such as fish species, Cd dosage, and manner of exposure might make contributions to the interaction between Cd and E2. Our results also suggested that male Chinese loaches are susceptible to Cd, and can be recommended as a potential sentinel species to study the ecotoxicology of heavy metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a kind of recognition molecule, aptamer has been studied and applied widely in numerous science fields in recent years. Immobilized enzymatic reactor has drawn much attention because of its striking advantages, such as high digestion efficiency and ease in coupling with the separation and detection systems. In this study, a novel microfluidic enzymatic chip, which immobilized trypsin based on aptamer, was prepared and proposed. An online analysis platform, which consisted of an aptamer-based chip and high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, was established by using a 6-port valve and applied to protein analysis. The enzymatic capacity and stability performance of chip reactor were characterized by using mixed protein sample, which consisted of bovine serum albumin (BSA), myoglobin (Mb) and cytochrome c (Cyt. c). The sample digestion time of the chip reactor was about 5.76 s while 1 microL/min of flow rate was adopted; and moreover, 5 ng of Mb was identified successfully with the sequence coverage of 37%. Furthermore, the sequence coverages and the relative standard deviations were 44.3% and 6.5% for BSA, 65.0% and 2.7% for Mb, 62.0% and 5.6% for Cyt. c respectively when 500 ng digest of mixed proteins were analyzed in three runs. According to experimental results, the online analysis platform possesses the ability of high sensitivity and good stability, which can provide a promising tool for rapid and high-throughput proteomics study in the near future.