Differential Toxicokinetics Determines the Sensitivity of Two Marine Embryonic Fish Exposed to Iranian Heavy Crude Oil.

Interspecific difference in the developmental toxicity of crude oil to embryonic fish allows the prediction of injury extent to a number of resident fish species in oil spill sites. This study clarifies the comparative developmental effects of Iranian heavy crude oil (IHCO) on the differences of biouptake and toxic sensitivity between embryonic spotted sea bass (Lateolabrax maculates) and olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). From 24 h after exposure to IHCO, several morphological defects were observed in both species of embryonic fish, including pericardial edema, dorsal curvature of the trunk, developmental delay, and reduced finfolds. The severity of defects was greater in flounder compared to that in sea bass. While flounder embryos accumulated higher embryo PAH concentrations than sea bass, the former showed significantly lower levels of CYP1A expression. Although bioconcentration ratios were similar between the two species for some PAHs, phenanthrenes and dibenzothiophenes showed selectively higher bioconcentration ratios in flounder, suggesting that this species has a reduced metabolic capacity for these compounds. While consistent with a conserved cardiotoxic mechanism for petrogenic PAHs across diverse marine and freshwater species, these findings indicate that species-specific differences in toxicokinetics can be an important factor underlying species' sensitivity to crude oil.

Combined effects of Iranian heavy crude oil and bacterial challenge (Streptococcus iniae) on biotransformation and innate immune responses in rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli).

To clarify the effects of spilled crude oil on fish bacterial disease resistance, rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli) were exposed to Iranian Heavy crude oil (IHCO) and Streptomyces iniae in combination. Hepatic biotransformation enzymes (ethoxyresorufin O-de-ethylase, glutathione-S-transferase) and plasma biochemical parameters (glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase and glucose) in fish exposed to IHCO were not significantly different from those in unexposed fish. The level of biliary 1-OH-pyrene and cytochrome P4501A mRNA expression increased in a dose-dependent manner with IHCO exposure. The interferon stimulated gene 15, interleukin-1beta and cathepsin L were increased significantly in the liver in IHCO-exposed fish, but not dose-dependently, but the granulocyte colony stimulating factor was not related to IHCO exposure. The percentage mortality in fish following a single exposure to S. iniae was positively correlated with IHCO exposure concentration. We concluded that IHCO exposure exacerbates fish mortality following environmental bacterial infection.

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of two lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-α factors (LITAFs) from rock bream, Oplegnathus fasciatus.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α factor (LITAF) plays an important role controlling the expression of TNF-α and the other cytokine genes in the presence of LPS. However, two LITAF homologues have not been characterized in fish. In this study, we cloned two distinct LITAF (RbLITAF1 and RbLITAF2) cDNAs from rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) and characterized their expression profiles after infection with Edwardsiella tarda, Streptococcus iniae or red seabream iridovirus (RSIV). The coding regions of RbLITAF1 and RbLITAF2 cDNAs were 492 bp and 417 bp, encoding 153 and 138 amino acid residues, respectively. The genes consisted of a LITAF domain. RbLITAF1 was highly expressed in the spleen and heart of healthy rock bream, whereas RbLITAF2 was highly expressed in the gill, intestine and stomach. In spleen, the gene expression of RbLITAF1 and RbLITAF2 were increased until 5 days post-infection (dpi), and then decreased at 7 dpi. In kidney, E. tarda and RSIV infection led to induction of the RbLITAF1 gene at 1 dpi, RbLITAF2 gene was down-regulated after pathogen infection. These results suggest that RbLITAFs may be involved in the LITAF-mediated immune response and regulate systemic immune responses against pathogen infection.

Fish biological effect monitoring of chemical stressors using a generalized linear model in South Sea, Korea.

To evaluate the health status at six different study areas, we used the generalized linear model approach with selected biochemical markers in resident fish from uncontaminated and contaminated sites. We also confirmed the independence between the biochemical indices and the morphometric indices including the hepato-somatic index (HSI), gonado-somatic index (GSI), and condition factor (CF) in fish from the sampling areas. The effect of area on the presence of biotransformation markers (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity; EROD) was significantly high in Masan Bay. The area with the greatest effect on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was Jindong Bay, while there was no significant effect of GSI, HSI, CF, and sex in the EROD model and HSI, CF and sex in the AChE model. These results clarify that fish from Masan, Gwangyang and Jindong Bay were affected by pollutant stress, and the analysis of sensitive biochemical responses allowed for an improved interpretation of the results.

Acute toxic responses of the rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli) to Iranian heavy crude oil: feeding disrupts the biotransformation and innate immune systems.

To clarify the toxic effects of Iranian Heavy Crude Oil (IHCO) from the "Hebei spirit" oil spill, innate immune toxic effects defending on biotransformation pathway have been investigated on fish exposed to IHCO. Juvenile rockfish were exposed to IHCO in gelatin capsules by feeding. The effects on multiple fish biotransformation enzymes (Cytochrome P4501A and glutathione-S-transferase) and the expression level of the several immune response genes, including interleukin-1beta, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and Cathepsin L, were measured in the liver, spleen and kidney. The tissue-specific expression patterns of these genes demonstrated that the highest expression levels of Cytochrome P4501A, glutathione-S-transferase, interleukin-1beta, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, interferon stimulated gene 15 and Cathepsin L were found in the liver and that the TNF receptor was high in spleen. The oil-fed fish had significantly higher concentrations of biliary fluorescent metabolites and Cytochrome P4501A expression during the initial stage (12 ∼ 48 h after exposure) than those in the liver and kidney of the sham group. Similarly, the highest mRNA expression levels of interleukin-1beta and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor were detected in the liver at the early stages of exposure (12 h after exposure). Following exposure, the levels of interferon stimulated gene 15 and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor mRNA remained high at 120 h after exposure in the liver but the levels of interleukin-1beta and Cathepsin L gradually decreased to an expression level equal to or less than the sham group. Our data suggest that the innate immune and hepatodetoxification responses in oil-fed fish were induced at the initial stage of exposure to the IHCO at the same time but several immune-related genes decreased to less than that of the sham group after the initial stage of response. Therefore, immune disturbances in fish exposed to IHCO may allow the pathogens, including the infectious diseases, to more easily affect the oil exposed fish.

[The protective factors of suicide probability in religious male high school students].

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify the protective factors that influence suicide probability in religious male high school students. METHODS: The data was collected from Nov. 5 to Dec. 10, 2009. Data were collected by self-report questionnaire from 255 students selected from 2 religious male high schools in B city. The instruments for this study were the Suicide Probability Scale for Adolescence (SPS-A), Inventory Parents Peer Attachment-Revision (IPPA-R), Spiritual Well-being Scale (SWBS), and Ego-identity Scale. The data were analyzed using t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffe test, Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression with the SPSS 14.0 program. RESULTS: The protective factors of suicide probability in religious male high school students were identified as existential spiritual well-being (ß= -.46, p<.001), self-identity (ß= -.30, p<.001), and mother attachment (ß= -.21, p<.001). These three factors explained 61.5% of the variance in suicide probability. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that improvement in spirituality, ego-identity, and mother attachment for religious male high school students is important to reduce the probability of suicide.

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of two distinct F-type lectins from the rock bream, Oplegnathus fasciatus.

Several lectin families characterized by distinct signature sequence motifs and structural folds, such as C-type, peptidoglycan recognition protein, ficolin, pentraxins, and most recently galectins, have been implicated in immune surveillance. In this study, two distinct F-type lectins RbFTL-1 and RbFTL-2, from the rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus), were identified and their expression was analyzed. The full-length cDNA of RbFTL-1 was composed of 1204 bp with a 945-bp open reading frame (ORF) that encoded a 314 amino-acid protein, while that of RbFTL-2 consisted of 1614 bp with a 951-bp ORF encoding a 316 amino-acid protein. RbFTL-1 and RbFTL-2 mRNAs were predominately expressed in the head-kidney and in the liver, respectively. Levels of the RbFTL-1 mRNA transcript increased up to 5.0- and 2.8-fold in the head-kidney and trunk-kidney compared to the muscle, respectively, while those of the RbFTL-2 mRNA transcript increased up to 12.0-fold in liver. The expression of RbFTL-1 and RbFTL-2 were differentially up-regulated in rock bream challenged with Edwardsiella tarda, Streptococcus iniae, and RSIV, with significant increases at 1 and 3h post-challenge compared to the controls.

Molecular identification and expression analysis of cathepsins O and S from rock bream, Oplegnathus fasciatus.

Cathepsins are lysosomal cysteine proteases belonging to the papain family, members of which play important roles in normal metabolism for maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) cathepsin O and S (RbCTSO and RbCTSS, respectively) cDNAs were identified by expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis of a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated rock bream liver cDNA library. The full-length RbCTSO cDNA (1698 bp) contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 1017 bp encoding 338 amino acids. The full-length RbCTSS cDNA was 1401 bp in length and contained an ORF of 1014 bp encoding 337 amino acids. RbCTSO was significantly expressed in the liver, peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and spleen. On the other hand, RbCTSS showed significant expression in the liver, trunk kidney, muscle and gills. Real-time RT-PCR was used to examine RbCTSO and RbCTSS mRNA expression in several tissues (kidney, spleen, liver and gill) under conditions of bacterial and viral challenge. Experimental infection of rock bream with Streptococcus iniae and red sea bream iridovirus (RSIV) resulted in significant increases in RbCTSO and RbCTSS mRNA levels in the tissues.