Metabolomic disorders unveil hepatotoxicity of environmental microplastics in wild fish Serranus scriba (Linnaeus 1758)

Nesrine Zitouni; Tiziana Cappello; Omayma Missawi; Iteb Boughattas; Giuseppe De Marco; Sabrina Belbekhouche; Moncef Mokni; Vanessa Alphonse; Hamadi Guerbej; Noureddine Bousserrhine; Mohamed Banni

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155872

Metabolomic disorders unveil hepatotoxicity of environmental microplastics in wild fish Serranus scriba (Linnaeus 1758)

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Sep 10;838(Pt 1):155872. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155872. Epub 2022 May 13.

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Biochemistry and Environmental Toxicology, Higher Institute of Agronomy, University of Sousse, Tunisia; University of Monastir, Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia.
² University of Messina, Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, 98166 Messina, Italy. Electronic address: tcappello@unime.it.
³ Laboratory of Biochemistry and Environmental Toxicology, Higher Institute of Agronomy, University of Sousse, Tunisia.
⁴ University of Messina, Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, 98166 Messina, Italy.
⁵ Paris-Est Institute of Chemistry and Materials, UMR 7182 CNRS, Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne, 2 rue Henri Dunant, 94320 Thiais, France.
⁶ Department of Pathology, CHU Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia.
⁷ Laboratory Water, Environment and Urban Systems, University Paris-Est Créteil, Faculty of Science and Technology, Créteil Cedex, France.
⁸ Laboratory of Blue Biotechnology and Aquatic Bioproducts (B3Aqua), National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies (INSTM), Monastir Center, Monastir, Tunisia.

PMID: 35569658
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155872

Abstract

Coastal areas are worldwide subject to large inputs of anthropogenic wastes that are discharged directly into inshore waters, where they will be weathered into small microplastics (MPs) of up to a size <20 μm. This study provides information about the presence of small environmental MPs (≤3 μm) in the liver of adult benthopelagic fish Serranus scriba (Linnaeus 1758), caught from three coastal regions in Tunisia distinguished by different patterns of human activity. Polymer composition in fish liver was identified using Raman microspectroscopy. Results revealed differences in the abundance, size distribution and presence of plastic additives over the investigated sites. Polyethylene-vinyl acetate (PEVA: 34% particles/g of tissue), high density polyethylene (HDPE: 24.4%) and the two smaller size classes, i.e. 3-1.2 μm and 1.2-0.45 μm, were the most abundant MPs types and size distribution found, respectively, in Bizerte channel (BC) site (Bizerte city, Tunisia). Moreover, at hepatic level data showed a significant site-dependent cytotoxicity expressed by changes in malondialdehyde (MDA) content, presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) expressed by altered level of catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities and in the content of metallothioneins (MTs), as well as genotoxicity by changes in the amount of micronucleus (MN), and neurotoxicity by altered activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). A innovative metabolomics analysis was also performed to further investigate the distinct patterns of key metabolite changes in the liver of Serranus scriba. A total of 36 metabolites were significantly affected, mainly involved in energy, amino acid and osmolyte metabolism. These findings emphasised for the first time a close relationship between the source, abundance and size ranges of environmental MPs ≤ 3 μm and their hepatotoxicity in wild organisms.

Keywords: Benthopelagic fish; Coastal pollution; Ecotoxicological endpoints; Liver; Microplastic polymers; NMR-based metabolomics.

MeSH terms

Acetylcholinesterase / metabolism
Animals
Bass* / metabolism
Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury*
Environmental Monitoring
Metabolomics
Microplastics
Plastics / toxicity
Polyethylene / analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / toxicity

Substances

Microplastics
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Polyethylene
Acetylcholinesterase