Effect of exposure to the antibiotic azithromycin on intestinal homeostasis in fish

• Grant number: 22/07597-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2022
• End date: May 10, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Renata de Britto Mari
• Grantee: Giovanna Stancato Martins
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The increase in consumption of drugs, especially antibiotics, has caused great concern since their constant desire in aquatic environments can cause several harmful impacts on biota and, consequently, on the ecosystem. The adverse effects of exposure of aquatic organisms to active metabolites of antibiotics are described in several papers, among them damage at the tissue, cellular and molecular levels. Therefore, an evaluation of the partially unknown ecotoxicological effects of these compounds on non-target organisms through the use of biomarker organs, such as the gastrointestinal tract (TGI), is necessary. In this sense, studies reveal that these xenobiotics are related to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may cause a possible loss of function of cells that compose the enteric nervous system, dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota, and also a considerable increase in oxidative stress, verified through the expression of cytoprotective antioxidant enzymes such as peroxiredoxins (Prx) and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx). This project aims to evaluate the expression of Prx and Gpx proteins related to oxidative stress and the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis, as well as the evaluation of the general population and nitrergic subpopulation of myenteric neurons of Poecillia reticulata specimens, exposed to different concentrations of azithromycin. The antibiotic in question has great environmental relevance due to the significant increase in its use in recent years, as a potential treatment of questioned efficacy, for respiratory syndromes and COVID-19.(AU)