Histopathological, genetic and endocrine effects of pharmaceuticals of emerging concern under the reproduction of Astyanax lacustris (Characiformes: Characidae)

• Grant number: 22/10856-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Compared Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Renata Guimarães Moreira Whitton
• Grantee: Giovana Souza Branco
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/01964-0 - Impacts of climate changes on the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonads axis of juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), BE.EP.PD

Abstract

The occurrence of pharmaceutical and personal care products has been identified for years in groundwater, surface water, soil and wastewater treatment in Brazil and worldwide. Pharmaceutical products are considered environmental pollutants of emerging concern, that is, they have a potential risk to the environment and aquatic organisms. These risks can occur at different scales, ranging from biomolecule, cell, organ, system, organism, population, community, ecosystem and biosphere levels. Among the ecotoxicological tests with fish, Astyanax lacustris popularly known as lambari-do-rabo-amarelo, has been a native model species because it is easy to handle in the laboratory and presents short generations with numerous offspring. Among the pharmaceutical products that are considered pollutants of emerging concern, there are the anti-inflammatory drugs ibuprofen and diclofenac, detected in large quantities in the aquatic environment. The aim of this study is to evaluate biological responses of A. lacustris to ibuprofen and diclofenac, focusing both on their individual action and in mixtures. Biomarkers at different levels of biological organization will be used to identify histopathological changes in the liver, testes and gills. It will be evaluated if these drugs act as endocrine disruptors, if they change the expression of genes related to reproduction and drug detoxification, in addition to evaluating their direct effects on embryonic development. To make these analyses possible, initially the transcriptome of the pituitary, testes and liver will be performed, to make the functional annotation of the genes. Afterwards, ex vivo studies and bioassays will be carried out with A. lacustris males, to evaluate the effects of these anti-inflammatory drugs on reproduction, fertilization/hatching and embryonic development.