Abstract
The mortality rate of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in China is on the rise. The increasing burden of CVD in China has become a major public health problem. Cyanobacterial blooms have been recently considered a global environmental concern. Microcystins (MCs) are the secondary products of cyanobacteria metabolism and the most harmful cyanotoxin found in water bodies. Recent studies provide strong evidence of positive associations between MC exposure and cardiotoxicity, representing a threat to human cardiovascular health. This review focuses on the effects of MCs on the cardiovascular system and provides some evidence that CVD could be induced by MCs. We summarized the current knowledge of the cardiovascular toxicity of MCs, with regard to direct cardiovascular toxicity and indirect cardiovascular toxicity. Toxicity of MCs is mainly governed by the increasing level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidative stress in mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, the inhibition activities of serine/threonine protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and 2A (PP2A) and the destruction of cytoskeletons, which finally induce the occurrence of CVD. To protect human health from the threat of MCs, this paper also puts forward some directions for further research.
Highlights
The cardiovascular system is considered a dynamic system
The normal functions of the cardiovascular system are mainly affected by genetic factors, environmental factors and the interaction between the two factors, which is considered a principal cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD) [1]
Short-term toxic effects of MC-LR on SD (Sprague-Dawley) rats by intraperitoneal (I.P.) injection with different doses of MC-LR was investigated, and the results indicated that MC-LR could damage the physical structure of cardiomyocytes and alter biochemical parameters, including lactic dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase and creatine kinase (CK) [37]
Summary
The cardiovascular system is considered a dynamic system. As the first organ in embryonic development, the heart provides nutrients and oxygen to all of the various organs and tissues. Among the cyanotoxins produced during cyanobacterial blooms, monocyclic peptide microcystins (MCs) are the most abundant, widely distributed, extremely toxic and difficult to remove when dissolved in water bodies [10,11]. Specifies that that the maximum allowable content of MCs in drinking waterexposed should not exceed organs tissues including [21,22,23,24,25,26], kidneyaffect [25,26,27], nervous system [28,29,30], μg/L [20].orResearch indicated liver that MCs negatively various human organs whengastrointestinal exposed to it. To protect human health from the threat of MCs, reported target organs for MC toxicity. MCs provide some evidence of cardiovascular toxicity caused by MCs. To protect human health from the threat of MCs, this paper puts forward some directions for further research
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