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Altered transcriptional levels of autophagy-related genes, induced by oxidative stress in fish Channa punctatus exposed to chromium

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Abstract 

Chromium has been detected in various water bodies as a harmful metallic stressor to aquatic organisms. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism associated with autophagy, oxidative stress, and genotoxicity after chromium (Cr6+) exposure (1/20th of 96 h-LC50, 1/10th of 96 h-LC50, and 1/5th of 96 h-LC50 of Cr6+) of common food fish Channa punctatus. The mRNA levels of autophagy-related genes ATG5, LC3, GABARAP, and mTOR were assessed in the liver and kidney tissue of fish. An upregulation of ATG5, LC3, and GABARAP was observed in both liver and kidney tissue samples, while mTOR showed transcriptional downregulation in both the tissue samples. This depicts autophagic vesicle formation due to stress signals. All the studied oxidative stress markers SOD, CAT, GSH, GR, and GPx showed an increase in the activity level of treated groups in a dose-dependent manner. Particularly, SOD and CAT have shown a significant elevation in activity level. ROS levels in blood cells increased significantly (p < 0.05) in all the treated groups (groups II, III, and IV) in a time-dependent manner as compared to the control (group I). There was a significant induction in MN frequency in all the treated groups. The highest frequency of micronuclei induced by Cr6+ was recorded in group IV after 28 days of exposure period. Collectively, it can be concluded that the information about Cr6+-induced oxidative stress–mediated autophagy in vital organs of fish Channa punctatus remains largely obscure hitherto; to fill the aforesaid gap, this study was undertaken, which gives a snapshot for the mechanisms of autophagy induced by Cr6+ in fish.

Highlights

• Chronic exposure to Cr6+ induces eco-toxicological manifestations in a fish Channa punctatus.

• Altered transcriptional profile of autophagy-related genes suggests autophagic vesicle formation due to stress signals.

• Increased activity levels of oxidative stress biomarkers reveal that Cr6+ annihilates antioxidative defense system in fish.

• Genotoxicity due to chromium exposure is evident by increased frequency of MN in red blood cells of fish.

• The information presented in this study is helpful to get an insight into the mechanism of Cr6+-induced oxidative stress–mediated induction of autophagy in the liver and kidney of Channa punctatus.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript.

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Acknowledgements

We record our sincere thanks to the Department of Higher Education, Uttar Pradesh Government, UP, India, for providing the Center of Excellence Project 2019–2020. We are also grateful to the Head, Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow (226007), for providing laboratory facilities.

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Higher Education, Uttar Pradesh Government, UP, India, but no fund was asked by the authors for preparation and publication of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow-226007, India

    Manoj Kumar, Shefalee Singh, Shikha Dwivedi & Sunil P. Trivedi

  2. Department of Zoology, DBS College, CSJM University, Kanpur, India

    Indrani Dubey

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  1. Manoj Kumar
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Correspondence to Manoj Kumar.

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Under the provisions of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), Government of India, an Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) vide registration no. 1861/GO/Re/S/16/CPCSEA already exists in the University of Lucknow, Lucknow. We have followed the protocols mentioned therein CPCSEA for maintenance and experiment.

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Kumar, M., Singh, S., Dwivedi, S. et al. Altered transcriptional levels of autophagy-related genes, induced by oxidative stress in fish Channa punctatus exposed to chromium. Fish Physiol Biochem 48, 1299–1313 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01119-8

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