Taurine Alleviates Cadmium-Induced Toxicity via Genetically Specific Strategies in Two Strains of Gibel Carp (Carassius gibelio)

Abstract

Our previous studies in gibel carp (Carassius gibelio) have shown that cadmium (Cd) exposure elicits deleterious effects depending on the genetic background, and thus we hypothesized that mitigation via nutritional intervention may vary between strains. Therefore, two gibel carp strains (the A and F strains) were fed diets supplemented with 0% or 1% taurine for 8 weeks prior to 96 h Cd exposure, and the responses of antioxidant pathways, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, autophagy, and apoptosis were investigated. The results showed that taurine supplementation had no effect on the growth performance of gibel carp. After Cd exposure, histological damage to mitochondria and ER, induction of oxidative stress and antioxidant responses, occurrence of ER stress, and apoptotic signals were observed in the livers. Upon the diet effects, taurine supplementation alleviated the ER-stress-induced autophagy and apoptosis after Cd exposure and stimulated antioxidant pathways. Regarding the difference between strains, taurine played a protective role in alleviating Cd toxicity through the antioxidant response, ER stress, and autophagy in the F strain, whereas such effects were achieved by the attenuation of apoptosis in the A strain. Taken together, our results demonstrate the potential use of taurine in the mitigation of heavy metal toxicity in aquatic organisms.

Oxidative Stress in Aquatic Organisms

“…Taxonomically, these papers cover freshwater fish ( Carassius auratus [ 4 ], Monopterus albus [ 5 ], Ictalurus punctatus [ 6 ], Megalobrama amblycephala [ 7 ], Micropterus salmoides [ 8 ], Lateolabrax maculatus [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], Carassius gibelio [ 13 , 14 ], Aplodinotus grunniens [ 15 ], Pangasianodon hypophthalmus [ 16 ], Danio rerio [ 17 ], and hybrid grouper [ 18 ]), marine fish ( Scophthalus maximus [ 19 ]), crustaceans ( Macrobrachium rosenbergii [ 20 , 21 , 22 ], Litopenaeus vannamei [ 23 , 24 , 25 ], Penaeus monodon [ 26 ], Scylla paramamosain [ 27 ], and Eriocheir sinensis [ 28 ]), and molluscs ( Crassostrea hongkongensis [ 29 ], Trachinotus ovatus [ 30 ], and Pacific abalone [ 31 ]). Meanwhile, these papers reveal several endogenous and exogenous factors that induce oxidative stress, such as environmental factors (water hardness [ 4 ], chronic hyperthermia [ 6 ], acute hypoxic stress [ 10 ], acute ammonia nitrogen [ 12 ], hypothermia [ 15 ], low salinity [ 23 ], and ammonia-N-stress [ 26 ]), nutritional factors (high carbohydrate levels [ 5 ], oxidized lipids [ 7 ], high-fat diet [ 12 , 20 ], and lipopolysaccharide [ 29 ...…”

“…Meanwhile, these papers reveal several endogenous and exogenous factors that induce oxidative stress, such as environmental factors (water hardness [ 4 ], chronic hyperthermia [ 6 ], acute hypoxic stress [ 10 ], acute ammonia nitrogen [ 12 ], hypothermia [ 15 ], low salinity [ 23 ], and ammonia-N-stress [ 26 ]), nutritional factors (high carbohydrate levels [ 5 ], oxidized lipids [ 7 ], high-fat diet [ 12 , 20 ], and lipopolysaccharide [ 29 , 31 ]), essential or heavy metals (Zn [ 4 ], cadmium [ 13 , 27 ], Cu 2+ [ 28 ], and polyinosinic–polycytidylic acid sodium salt [ 31 ]), pathogenic bacteria or virus (aflatoxin B1 and cyprinid herpesvirus 2 [ 14 ], water bubble disease (WBD) [ 21 ], Vibrio harveyi [ 29 , 31 ], and Streptococcus agalactiae [ 30 ]), and feeding practices (stocking density [ 8 ], transport stress [ 11 ]). Therapeutically, some papers have also explored some medicines or immunostimulants to resist oxidative stress, such as herbal medicine (mulberry leaf flavonoids [ 5 ], emodin [ 7 ], berberine [ 17 ], Sophora flavescens root extract [ 19 ], and tea tree oil [ 22 ]), nutritional stimulants ( Atractylodes macrocephala polysaccharide [ 9 ], taurine alleviates [ 13 ], histamine [ 16 , 18 ], vitamin E [ 20 ], β-Glucan [ 23 ], krill oil [ 24 ], and zinc [ 25 ]), antibiotics (florfenicol and ofloxacin [ 21 ]), and feeding admin...…”

“…Dong et al [ 12 ] revealed that the potent endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERs) inhibitor 4-PBA could decrease the peroxidation content and attenuated ERs induced by high-fat diet (HFD) and acute ammonia nitrogen. Xu et al [ 13 ] revealed that taurine (1%) alleviates cadmium-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress via autophagy and apoptosis in gibel carp ( C. gibelio ), demonstrating the potential use of taurine in the mitigation of heavy metal toxicity in aquatic organisms. Xue et al [ 14 ] investigated the defensive ability of gibel carp exposed to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) by challenging it with cyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) infection.…”