Effects of cadmium exposure on metabolism, antioxidant defense, immune function, and the hepatopancreas transcriptome of Cipangopaludina cathayensis

Y Y Wu; W F Tian; C X Cheng; L Yang; Q Q Ye; W H Li; J Y Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115416

Effects of cadmium exposure on metabolism, antioxidant defense, immune function, and the hepatopancreas transcriptome of Cipangopaludina cathayensis

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2023 Oct 1:264:115416. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115416. Epub 2023 Aug 28.

Authors

Y Y Wu¹, W F Tian², C X Cheng¹, L Yang¹, Q Q Ye¹, W H Li³, J Y Jiang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection, Guangxi Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guilin 541004, China.
² College of Biotechnology, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541004, China.
³ College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection, Guangxi Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guilin 541004, China; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rare and Endangered Animal Ecology, Gangxi Normal University, Guilin 541004, China; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Guangxi Veterinary Research Institute, Nanning 530001, China. Electronic address: jiangjy@mailbox.gxnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37647801
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115416

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a common contaminant in aquatic environments. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying Cd toxicity in the freshwater snail Cipangopaludina cathayensis (Heude, 1890). This study to investigate the toxic effects of Cd on the standard metabolism, antioxidant activities, immune function, and hepatopancreas transcriptome profiles of C. cathayensis. C. cathayensis was exposed to 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 mg/L Cd for 3 h, with results showing that Cd significantly inhibited oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion and disrupted the respiratory metabolism of C. cathayensis. In addition, the O:N ratio dropped below 7, indicating that C. cathayensis may rely exclusively on proteins as an energy source under Cd stress. To understand how Cd impacts the antioxidant activities, immune function, and transcriptional profiles, C. cathayensis were exposed to 0.5 (low exposure, L14) or 1.5 (high exposure, H14) mg/L Cd for 14 days. Our results indicate that Cd exposure leads to oxidative stress and immunosuppression, with the latter effect being larger for exposure to higher Cd concentrations. A total of 2172 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by transcriptome analysis of the hepatopancreas, of which 885 were upregulated and 1287 were downregulated. Gene ontology and KEGG analyses revealed that the DEGs in the H14 group are enriched for energy generation terms and the "oxidative phosphorylation" pathway, respectively. Therefore, up-regulation of energy metabolism may be an adaptive strategy under Cd stress. Moreover, several genes involved in antioxidant activity were downregulated, whereas genes related to reactive oxygen species generation were upregulated. In addition, many immunity-related genes were identified within the DEGs, indicating that Cd toxicity may affect immune defense. Further, DEGs in the H14 group were enriched for disease-associated pathways. Taken together, our results indicate that Cd exposure leads to metabolic disorders, oxidative stress, and immunosuppression and thus may potentially contribute to disease outbreaks.

Keywords: Cadmium; Cipangopaludina cathayensis; Oxidative stress; Standard metabolism; Transcriptome analysis.

MeSH terms

Animals
Antioxidants* / metabolism
Cadmium / metabolism
Hepatopancreas / metabolism
Immunity
Transcriptome*

Substances

Antioxidants
Cadmium