Metabolomics-based approach for assessing the toxicity mechanisms of dibutyl phthalate to abalone (Haliotis diversicolor supertexta)

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2015-04, Vol.22 (7), p.5092-5099
• Main Authors: Zhou, Jin, Chen, Baiyang, Cai, Zhonghua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: abalone; Air pollution; Animals; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; betaine; Contaminants; dibutyl phthalate; Dibutyl Phthalate - toxicity; dose response; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Endocrine disruptors; Endocrine Disruptors - toxicity; energy metabolism; Energy Metabolism - drug effects; Environment; Environmental changes; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Environmental stress; Female; Gastropoda; Gastropoda - drug effects; Gastropoda - metabolism; glutamine; Haliotis; Haliotis diversicolor; Haliotis diversicolor supertexta; lipid metabolism; Lipid Metabolism - drug effects; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Marine environment; Marine pollution; Metabolism; Metabolites; Metabolomics - methods; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Osmoregulation; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Phthalates; Principal components analysis; Proteomics; Research Article; Seawater; Software; Spectrum analysis; Studies; Toxicity; Toxicity Tests; tricarboxylic acid cycle; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-014-3859-7

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a ubiquitous contaminant in the marine environment, and relatively little is known about the toxicological mechanisms of this compound at the metabolite level. In this study, marine gastropods (abalone) were exposed to DBP at environmentally relevant concentrations (2, 10, and 50 μg/L) for 30 days. The plasma metabolite profiles were determined at the 5th, 15th, and 30th. The major metabolite changes corresponding to DBP exposure were related to osmotic regulation, energy metabolism, and environmental stress, and the effects displayed a dose-dependent pattern. The most obvious change was the increase in the levels of intracellular metabolites (betaine, dimethylglycine, homarine, glutamine, and lactate) and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates. The results revealed that DBP may lead to abalone oxidative stress, lipid metabolism dysfunction, energy metabolism disturbance, and osmoregulation imbalance. These results would be helpful in better understanding the mechanisms of abalone response to DBP stress at the system level.