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Frontiers in Public Health 2020Over the last 15 years, the advent of high-throughput "omics" techniques has revealed the multiple roles and interactions occurring among hosts, their microbial partners... (Review)
Review
Over the last 15 years, the advent of high-throughput "omics" techniques has revealed the multiple roles and interactions occurring among hosts, their microbial partners and their environment. This microbiome revolution has radically changed our views of biology, evolution, and individuality. Sitting at the interface between a host and its environment, the microbiome is a relevant yet understudied compartment for ecotoxicology research. Various recent works confirm that the microbiome reacts to and interacts with contaminants, with consequences for hosts and ecosystems. In this paper, we thus advocate for the development of a "microbiome-aware ecotoxicology" of organisms. We emphasize its relevance and discuss important conceptual and technical pitfalls associated with study design and interpretation. We identify topics such as functionality, quantification, temporality, resilience, interactions, and prediction as major challenges and promising venues for microbiome research applied to ecotoxicology.
Topics: Ecotoxicology; Microbiota
PubMed: 32974256
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00407 -
Journal of Proteomics Apr 2019Anthropogenic pollutants are found worldwide. Their fate and effects on human and ecosystem health must be appropriately monitored. Today, ecotoxicology is focused on... (Review)
Review
Anthropogenic pollutants are found worldwide. Their fate and effects on human and ecosystem health must be appropriately monitored. Today, ecotoxicology is focused on the development of new methods to assess the impact of pollutant toxicity on living organisms and ecosystems. In situ biomonitoring often uses sentinel animals for which, ideally, molecular biomarkers have been defined thanks to which environmental quality can be assessed. In this context, high-throughput proteomics methods offer an attractive approach to study the early molecular responses of organisms to environmental stressors. This approach can be used to identify toxicity pathways, to quantify more precisely novel biomarkers, and to draw the possible adverse outcome pathways. In this review, we discuss the major advances in ecotoxicoproteomics made over the last decade and present the current state of knowledge, emphasizing the technological and conceptual advancements that allowed major breakthroughs in this field, which aims to "make our planet great again". SIGNIFICANCE: Ecotoxicoproteomics is a protein-centric methodology that is useful for ecotoxicology and could have future applications as part of chemical risk assessment and environmental monitoring. Ecotoxicology employing non-model sentinel organisms with highly divergent phylogenetic backgrounds aims to preserve the functioning of ecosystems and the overall range of biological species supporting them. The classical proteomics workflow involves protein identification, functional annotation, and extrapolation of toxicity across species. Thus, it is essential to develop multi-omics approaches in order to unravel molecular information and construct the most suitable databases for protein identification and pathway analysis in non-model species. Current instrumentation and available software allow relevant combined transcriptomic/proteomic studies to be performed for almost any species. This review summarizes these approaches and illustrates how they can be implemented in ecotoxicology for routine biomonitoring.
Topics: Animals; Ecosystem; Ecotoxicology; Environmental Monitoring; Humans; Proteomics
PubMed: 30529745
DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2018.12.001 -
Current Opinion in Biotechnology Jun 2017Man-made xenobiotics, whose potential toxicological effects are not fully understood, are oversaturating the already-contaminated environment. Due to the rate of... (Review)
Review
Man-made xenobiotics, whose potential toxicological effects are not fully understood, are oversaturating the already-contaminated environment. Due to the rate of toxicant accumulation, unmanaged disposal, and unknown adverse effects to the environment and the human population, there is a crucial need to screen for environmental toxicants. Animal models and in vitro models are ineffective models in predicting in vivo responses due to inter-species difference and/or lack of physiologically-relevant 3D tissue environment. Such conventional screening assays possess limitations that prevent dynamic understanding of toxicants and their metabolites produced in the human body. Organ-on-a-chip systems can recapitulate in vivo like environment and subsequently in vivo like responses generating a realistic mock-up of human organs of interest, which can potentially provide human physiology-relevant models for studying environmental toxicology. Feasibility, tunability, and low-maintenance features of organ-on-chips can also make possible to construct an interconnected network of multiple-organs-on-chip toward a realistic human-on-a-chip system. Such interconnected organ-on-a-chip network can be efficiently utilized for toxicological studies by enabling the study of metabolism, collective response, and fate of toxicants through its journey in the human body. Further advancements can address the challenges of this technology, which potentiates high predictive power for environmental toxicology studies.
Topics: Animals; Ecotoxicology; Environmental Pollutants; Humans; Manufactured Materials; Microfluidics; Models, Animal; Models, Biological; Xenobiotics
PubMed: 28088094
DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2016.11.019 -
Cytometry. Part a : the Journal of the... Mar 2022Environmental toxicology focuses on identifying and predicting impact of potentially toxic anthropogenic chemicals on biosphere at various levels of biological... (Review)
Review
Environmental toxicology focuses on identifying and predicting impact of potentially toxic anthropogenic chemicals on biosphere at various levels of biological organization. Presently there is a significant drive to gain deeper understanding of cellular and sub-cellular mechanisms of ecotoxicity. Most notable is increased focus on elucidation of cellular-response networks, interactomes, and greater implementation of cell-based biotests using high-throughput procedures, while at the same time decreasing the reliance on standard animal models used in ecotoxicity testing. This is aimed at discovery and interpretation of molecular pathways of ecotoxicity at large scale. In this regard, the applications of cytometry are perhaps one of the most fundamental prospective analytical tools for the next generation and high-throughput ecotoxicology research. The diversity of this modern technology spans flow, laser-scanning, imaging, and more recently, Raman as well as mass cytometry. The cornerstone advantages of cytometry include the possibility of multi-parameter measurements, gating and rapid analysis. Cytometry overcomes, thus, limitations of traditional bulk techniques such as spectrophotometry or gel-based techniques that average the results from pooled cell populations or small model organisms. Novel technologies such as cell imaging in flow, laser scanning cytometry, as well as mass cytometry provide innovative and tremendously powerful capabilities to analyze cells, tissues as well as to perform in situ analysis of small model organisms. In this review, we outline cytometry as a tremendously diverse field that is still vastly underutilized and often largely unknown in environmental sciences. The main motivation of this work is to highlight the potential and wide-reaching applications of cytometry in ecotoxicology, guide environmental scientists in the technological aspects as well as popularize its broader adoption in environmental risk assessment.
Topics: Animals; Ecotoxicology; Models, Animal; Prospective Studies; Risk Assessment; Technology
PubMed: 34652065
DOI: 10.1002/cyto.a.24508 -
FEMS Microbiology Ecology Sep 2023Environmental pollution is one of the main challenges faced by humanity. By their ubiquity and vast range of metabolic capabilities, microorganisms are affected by... (Review)
Review
Environmental pollution is one of the main challenges faced by humanity. By their ubiquity and vast range of metabolic capabilities, microorganisms are affected by pollution with consequences on their host organisms and on the functioning of their environment. They also play key roles in the fate of pollutants through the degradation, transformation, and transfer of organic or inorganic compounds. Thus, they are crucial for the development of nature-based solutions to reduce pollution and of bio-based solutions for environmental risk assessment of chemicals. At the intersection between microbial ecology, toxicology, and biogeochemistry, microbial ecotoxicology is a fast-expanding research area aiming to decipher the interactions between pollutants and microorganisms. This perspective paper gives an overview of the main research challenges identified by the Ecotoxicomic network within the emerging One Health framework and in the light of ongoing interest in biological approaches to environmental remediation and of the current state of the art in microbial ecology. We highlight prevailing knowledge gaps and pitfalls in exploring complex interactions among microorganisms and their environment in the context of chemical pollution and pinpoint areas of research where future efforts are needed.
Topics: Ecotoxicology; Environmental Pollutants; Environmental Pollution; Environmental Restoration and Remediation; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 37669892
DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiad102 -
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental... Feb 2021has emerged as a major model in biomedical and environmental toxicology. Numerous papers on toxicology and pharmacology in have been published, and this species has... (Review)
Review
has emerged as a major model in biomedical and environmental toxicology. Numerous papers on toxicology and pharmacology in have been published, and this species has now been adopted by investigators in academic toxicology, pharmacology, and drug discovery labs. has also attracted the interest of governmental regulatory agencies charged with evaluating the safety of chemicals. However, a major, fundamental aspect of toxicological science remains underdeveloped in : xenobiotic metabolism and transport processes that are critical to understanding toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics, and extrapolation to other species. The aim of this review was to initially briefly describe the history and trajectory of the use of in toxicological and pharmacological studies. Subsequently, physical barriers to chemical uptake and the role of the worm microbiome in xenobiotic transformation were described. Then a review of what is and is not known regarding the classic Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III processes was performed. In addition, the following were discussed (1) regulation of xenobiotic metabolism; (2) review of published toxicokinetics for specific chemicals; and (3) genetic diversity of these processes in . Finally, worm xenobiotic transport and metabolism was placed in an evolutionary context; key areas for future research highlighted; and implications for extrapolating toxicity results to other species discussed.
Topics: Animals; Biological Transport; Caenorhabditis elegans; Ecotoxicology; Humans; Models, Animal; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Species Specificity; Toxicology; Xenobiotics
PubMed: 33616007
DOI: 10.1080/10937404.2021.1884921 -
Environmental Research Nov 2022Plastic debris are dispersed in the marine environment and are consequently available to many organisms of different trophic levels, including sediment-dwelling... (Review)
Review
Plastic debris are dispersed in the marine environment and are consequently available to many organisms of different trophic levels, including sediment-dwelling organisms such as polychaetae. Plastic degradation generates micro (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) and as well as releases bounded plastic additives, increasing the ecotoxicological risk for marine organisms. Therefore, this review summarizes current knowledge on the accumulation and effects of MPs and NPs and plastic additives in polychaetes, derived from laboratory and field evidences. Thirty-six papers (from January 2011 to September 2021) were selected and analysed: about 80% of the selected works were published since 2016, confirming the emerging role of this topic in environmental sciences. The majority of the analysed manuscripts (68%) were carried out in the laboratory under controlled conditions. These studies showed that polychaetes accumulate and are responsive to this contaminant class, displaying behavioural, physiological, biochemical and immunological alterations. The polychaetes Hediste diversicolor and Arenicola marina were the most frequent used species to study MPs, NPs and plastic additive effects. The consideration of field studies revealed that MP accumulation was dependent on the plastic type present in the sediments and on the feeding strategy of the species. Polychaetes are known to play an important role in coastal and estuarine food webs and exposure to MPs, NPs and plastic additives may impair their behavioural, physiological, biochemical and immunological responses. Thus, the estimated global increase of these contaminants in the marine environment could affect the health of these benthic organisms, with consequences at population and ecosystem levels.
Topics: Animals; Ecosystem; Ecotoxicology; Plastics; Polychaeta; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 35724725
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113642 -
Archives of Toxicology Jul 2022Prior to registering and marketing any new pharmaceutical, (agro)chemical or food ingredient product manufacturers must, by law, generate data to ensure human safety.... (Review)
Review
Prior to registering and marketing any new pharmaceutical, (agro)chemical or food ingredient product manufacturers must, by law, generate data to ensure human safety. Safety testing requirements vary depending on sector, but generally repeat-dose testing in animals form the basis for human health risk assessments. Dose level selection is an important consideration when designing such studies, to ensure that exposure levels that lead to relevant hazards are identified. Advice on dose level selection is provided in test guidelines and allied guidance documents, but it is not well harmonised, particularly for selection of the highest dose tested. This paper further builds on concepts developed in a technical report by the European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC) which recommends pragmatic approaches to dose selection considering regulatory requirements, animal welfare and state of the art scientific approaches. Industry sectors have differing degrees of freedom to operate regarding dose level selection, depending on the purpose of the studies and the regulatory requirements/legislation, and this is reflected in the overall recommended approaches. An understanding of systemic exposure should be utilised where possible (e.g., through toxicokinetic approaches) and used together with apical endpoints from existing toxicity studies to guide more appropriate dose level selection. The highest dose should be limited to a reasonable level, causing minimal but evident toxicity to the test animals without significantly compromising their well-being. As the science of predictive human exposure further develops and matures, this will provide exciting and novel opportunities for more human-relevant approaches to dose level selection.
Topics: Animals; Ecotoxicology; Risk Assessment; Toxicity Tests
PubMed: 35486138
DOI: 10.1007/s00204-022-03293-3 -
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Mar 2022Development of risk-assessment methodologies for polymers is an emerging regulatory priority to prevent negative environmental impacts; however, the diversity and... (Review)
Review
Development of risk-assessment methodologies for polymers is an emerging regulatory priority to prevent negative environmental impacts; however, the diversity and complexity of polymers require adaptation of existing environmental risk-assessment approaches. The present review discusses the challenges and opportunities for the fate and exposure assessment of polymers in the context of regulatory environmental risk assessment of chemicals. The review discusses the applicability and adequacy for polymers of existing fate parameters used for nonpolymeric compounds and proposes additional parameters that could inform the fate of polymers. The significance of these parameters in various stages of an exposure-assessment framework is highlighted, with classification of polymers as solid or dissolved being key for identification of those parameters most relevant to environmental fate. Considerations to address the key limitations and knowledge gaps are then identified and discussed, specifically the complexity of polymer identification, with the need for characterization of the most significant parameters for polymer grouping and prioritization; the complexity of polymer degradation in the environment, with the need to incorporate the fate and hazards of degradation products into risk assessment; the requirement for development and standardization of analytical methods for characterization of polymer fate properties and degradation products; and the need to develop exposure modeling approaches for polymers. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:515-540. © 2021 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
Topics: Ecotoxicology; Environmental Exposure; Polymers; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 34913523
DOI: 10.1002/etc.5272 -
Archives of Toxicology Nov 2017Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) are designed to provide a clear-cut mechanistic representation of critical toxicological effects that propagate over different layers of... (Review)
Review
Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) are designed to provide a clear-cut mechanistic representation of critical toxicological effects that propagate over different layers of biological organization from the initial interaction of a chemical with a molecular target to an adverse outcome at the individual or population level. Adverse outcome pathways are currently gaining momentum, especially in view of their many potential applications as pragmatic tools in the fields of human toxicology, ecotoxicology, and risk assessment. A number of guidance documents, issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as landmark papers, outlining best practices to develop, assess and use AOPs, have been published in the last few years. The present paper provides a synopsis of the main principles related to the AOP framework for the toxicologist less familiar with this area, followed by two case studies relevant for human toxicology and ecotoxicology.
Topics: Adverse Outcome Pathways; Animals; Aromatase Inhibitors; Ecotoxicology; Humans; Proteins; Risk Assessment; Skin
PubMed: 28660287
DOI: 10.1007/s00204-017-2020-z