BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS AND CYTO-GENETIC ASPECTS OF NUCLEIC ACID METABOLISM IN CRUCIAN CARP TISSUES UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MYCOTOXINS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58407/bht.2.26.13Keywords:
ichthyotoxicology, aquaculture, aflatoxin B1, T-2 toxin, nucleic acid metabolism, RNA, RNA/DNA ratio, DNase, RNase, ribotoxic stress, apoptosisAbstract
ABSTRACT
The intensification of industrial aquaculture and current climate changes increase the risk of mycotoxin contamination in fish feed and the aquatic environment, which requires a profound understanding of the molecular mechanisms of their pathogenic action. Traditional pathomorphological studies are increasingly being supplemented by subtle molecular genetic and cytological test systems capable of recording homeostatic disturbances in hydrobionts at the subcellular level. A particular threat to the stability of ichthyocenoses is posed by the chronic dietary intake of biological contaminants, specifically aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and T-2 toxin, which directly affect the genetic apparatus and plastic metabolism of target cells. In this regard, the biochemical and cytogenetic substantiation of the informativeness of nucleic acid metabolism markers for the early diagnosis of mycotoxicoses in fish is highly relevant.
The aim of the work was to elucidate the cytological and genetic mechanisms of nucleic acid metabolism disorders in cells of various fish organs (liver, muscles, gills, and brain) under the isolated and combined action of aflatoxin B1 and T-2 toxin.
The methodology was based on a systematic analysis, comparative assessment, and generalization of the results of modern field and experimental ichthyotoxicological studies from the global and domestic scientific space. The subject of the analytical review was the regularities of quantitative shifts in RNA content, the dynamics of the integral index of plastic metabolism (RNA/DNA ratio), as well as fluctuations in the activity of hydrolytic enzymes of nucleic acid metabolism (acid and alkaline DNases and RNases) in the cells of cyprinid fish under intoxication conditions.
The scientific novelty of the work lies in the comprehensive disclosure and systematization of the multilevel pathological effects of mycotoxins on the protein-synthesizing and genetic apparatus of fish cells. For the first time, the differences between the cytogenetic action of AFB1 (via metabolic activation to epoxides and transcription blockade) and T-2 toxin (via initiation of ribotoxic stress and translation inhibition) have been conceptualized, and the mechanism of their synergism under conditions of mixed contamination, leading to a total collapse of nucleic acid metabolism, has been theoretically substantiated.
Conclusions. It has been proven that isolated and combined exposure to mycotoxins causes a systemic regression of the plastic balance, reducing the RNA level (by up to 41.7 %) and the RNA/DNA coefficient (by up to 25.3 %) in all studied organs, with the most pronounced manifestations in the liver and brain. It has been established that the key molecular genetic trigger of nucleic acid degradation is the stable activation of DNase and RNase (by ~1.8 times), which cytologically is accompanied by the destruction of the granular endoplasmic reticulum ultrastructure, nucleolar degradation, karyolysis, and the trigger of apoptosis. The obtained results substantiate the feasibility of the practical implementation of nucleic acid metabolism markers into multi-marker panels for monitoring fish health in industrial aquaculture.
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