The physiological performance and immune response of juvenile turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) to nitrite exposure

Abstract

Nitrite (NO2−) is the most common toxic nitrogenous compound in aquatic environment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of nitrite physiological performance and immune response of turbot. Fish were exposed to 0, 0.02, 0.08, 0.4 and 0.8mM nitrite for 96h. After 0, 24, 48 and 96h of exposure, blood were collected to measure the levels of glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), glutamate oxalate transaminase (GOT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein (TP), albumin (Alb), complement C3 (C3), complement C4 (C4), immunoglobulin M (IgM) and lysozyme (LYS); gill samples were taken to analyze mRNA levels of LYS, heat shock protein 70 (HSP 70), heat shock protein 90 (HSP 90), metallothionein (MT), toll-like receptor 3 (TLR-3), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). The results showed that nitrite (0.4 and/or 0.8mM) significantly increased the levels of GPT, GOT, ALP, C3 and C4, reduced the levels of IgM and LYS, up-regulated the gene expressions of HSP 70, HSP 90, MT, TLR-3, TNF-α and IL-1β, and down-regulated the gene expressions of LYS and IGF-1 after 48 and 96h of exposure. Based on the results, it can be concluded that high level nitrite exposure results in dysfunction of the blood physiology and immunity in turbot. Further, this study will be helpful to understand the mechanism of aquatic toxicology induced by nitrite in marine fish.