Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology最新文献

{"title":"Development of multifunctional Fe3O4@SiO₂@Ag@Ag2O nanocomposite for paraben detection and Pseudo-Fenton catalytic degradation","authors":"Fatemeh Behipour ,&nbsp;Maryam Abbasi Tarighat ,&nbsp;Gholamreza Abdi ,&nbsp;Charalampos Proestos","doi":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.024","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Multifunctional Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Ag@Ag₂ONCs was synthesized for its dual ability as a colorimetric sensor for detection and Fenton-like catalytic degradation of parabens. The biosynthesis of Ag@Ag₂ONCs performed using algae extracts. The nanocomposite uses the synergistic advantage of the magnetic properties of Fe₃O₄ and the catalytic activity of Ag@Ag₂O, thereby increasing the efficiency of hydroxyl radicals. The Fenton-like mechanism employed in this work operates efficiently at an alkaline pH (pH 8), enhancing the oxidation of parabens using H₂O₂. Kinetic measurements were completed within 10 min, which showed the excellent catalytic properties of composite. The method provided 3.0–40.0, 4.0–100.0, 4.0–100.0 and 8.0–100.0 μM linear dynamic ranges with detection limits of 0.85, 1.02, 2.5, and 2.47 μM for methylparaben (MP), butylparaben (BP), propylparaben (PP) and benzyl paraben (BenzylP), respectively. The kinetic profiles well fit the pseudo-first-order model. The apparent rate constant value of 3.0 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ for BenzylP, PP, and BP and 4.0 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ for MP was obtained. Therefore, the method was also used for the quantification of parabens in (spiked) seawater and algae samples, and well recovery values were obtained. The results showed that the Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Ag@Ag₂ONCs can efficiently degrade parabens in real samples, such as seawater and algae. Also, indirect confirmation experiments are used to investigate the production of OH<strong><img></strong>. Spectrophotometric degradation of MP using NaBH₄ and methylene blue (MB) using H₂O₂ were performed in the presence and absence of the composite. Both degradations occurred very rapidly in the presence of the composite also the MB spectral shape changed. These results, together with the kinetic data, confirm the generation of OH<strong><img></strong> in the proposed Fenton-like mechanism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100480,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Pages 810-821"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145924318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Polystyrene microplastics modulation of hexavalent chromium toxicity in quails: transcriptomic and toxicological insights","authors":"Dongfang Liu ,&nbsp;Kaiwei Song ,&nbsp;Miaomiao Li ,&nbsp;Biqi Han ,&nbsp;Zhanjun Lv ,&nbsp;Jiayi Li ,&nbsp;Siyu Li ,&nbsp;Jingjing Lu ,&nbsp;Shuke Ji ,&nbsp;Jiatong Ma ,&nbsp;Zhigang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a globally recognized carcinogen that can lead to kidney toxicity. Microplastics (MPs) pollution is a serious environmental problem. The presence of Cr(VI) and MPs in the environment not only affects the ecological environment, but also impacts the health of humans and animals. Renal fibrosis represents a frequent final manifestation across a spectrum of chronic kidney conditions. This study aims to investigate whether chronic exposure to Cr(VI) and/or polystyrene (PS) promotes renal injury by altering fatty acid metabolism and energy metabolism, and inducing fibrotic responses. This study established a chronic co-exposure model in quails by simultaneously exposing them to Cr(VI) via drinking water and PS via oral gavage for 12 consecutive weeks. Experiments <em>in vivo</em> and transcriptome sequencing were performed to screen genes for analysis. The research results show that quails exposed to Cr(VI) and PS exhibited abnormal renal lipid and energy metabolism, leading to severe renal fibrosis. Overall, chronic exposure to PS exacerbates renal fibrosis process via promoting lipid dysregulation induced by Cr(VI) in quails. This study enriches the mechanism of nephrotoxicity induced by environmental PS-MPs and Cr(VI) contamination and contributes to the exploration of new preventive and therapeutic strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100480,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Pages 794-809"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145924263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Critical evaluation of heavy metal exposure biological models: An insight from the current cadmium exposure toxicological research","authors":"Yigong Chen ,&nbsp;Jie Liang ,&nbsp;Jie Su ,&nbsp;Fanxiang Jin ,&nbsp;Lan Xu ,&nbsp;Lei Peng ,&nbsp;Alicja Wawszczak ,&nbsp;Dorota Kołodyńska ,&nbsp;Guiyuan Lv ,&nbsp;Suhong Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.enceco.2026.01.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enceco.2026.01.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The industrial development of modern society has unleashed Pandora's box of heavy-metal pollution. Shocking public pollution incidents, such as Minamata and cadmium-induced Itai-itai diseases, have drawn public attention to the importance of preventing and controlling heavy metal pollution. To clarify the circumstances, pathways and mechanisms of heavy metal effects on organisms, scientists have undertaken a series of multidimensional explorations. These investigations have significantly advanced our knowledge of the hazards associated with heavy metal exposure and the development of potential mitigation strategies. However, many scientific experiments have employed biologically unrealistic modeling methods, which can amplify certain safety risks to some extent, even affecting safety-related decision making and leading to the spread of anxiety and panic. Taking cadmium as a representative example, heavy metal exposure involves variations in their types, individual biological variability, and variations in ‘dose-response relationship’ which makes it inherently complex; thus, it is destined to be an incredibly intricate scientific issue.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100480,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Pages 894-910"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145977019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acetochlor alters hunger adaptation in lizards (Eremias argus): Metabolic strategy shifts under energy crisis","authors":"Yue Zhang ,&nbsp;Simin Yu ,&nbsp;Yufan Nie ,&nbsp;Yuping Liu ,&nbsp;Zikang Wang ,&nbsp;Ning Zhang ,&nbsp;Dier Song ,&nbsp;Wentao Zhu ,&nbsp;Zhiqiang Zhou ,&nbsp;Jinling Diao","doi":"10.1016/j.enceco.2026.01.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enceco.2026.01.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The application of the herbicide exerts detrimental effects on wild reptiles through direct toxicological impacts and indirect food scarcity mediated via the food chain. This study investigated the effects of acetochlor on the physiological ability of lizards (<em>Eremias argus</em>) to cope with food restrictions. To explore, a 70-day crossover experiment was designed involving exposure to different concentrations of acetochlor (0, 2.0, 10.0 mg·kg⁻¹) combined with different feeding regimes (food restriction/food unrestriction treatments). The growth performance, behavior, physiological and biochemical indicators, and energy metabolism related endpoints of lizards were evaluated. Lizards usually adopt conservative strategies when dealing with food restrictions, manifested by converting energy metabolism into lipid metabolism, generating a large amount of ketone bodies to supply energy to the body, thereby reducing physiological investment and unnecessary behavior. Acetochlor disrupts lipid metabolism in lizards. Acetochlor and food restrictions lead to increased immune, detoxification, and oxidative stress responses inputs in lizards. However, the lack of energy-rich substances resulted in poor adaptation among the lizards, leading to a significant increase in mortality rates. Our work emphasises that herbicides not only threaten wildlife through direct toxicity but also undermine their ability to withstand natural environmental challenges.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100480,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Pages 911-923"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145977020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Towards sustainable management of riverine ecosystems: Variability of microplastic diversity and distribution patterns in ecosystem compartments","authors":"Lina Cao ,&nbsp;Zhenxing Zhang ,&nbsp;Jörg Rinklebe ,&nbsp;Michael S. Bank ,&nbsp;Hongyong Xiang","doi":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.027","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.027","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As emerging contaminants, microplastic (MP) pollution in freshwater environments has received increasing attention due to their potential hazardous effects on human and environmental health. However, there is still limited understanding on variability of MP diversity and distribution patterns in riverine ecosystem compartments and field data are also lacking. This has hindered understanding and science-based information regarding mechanisms of fate and transport in freshwater environments. Hence, our study focused on reporting variability of MP diversity and distribution patterns in riverine ecosystem compartments. By undertaking MP community analyses, we found that distribution and variation in MP characteristics and communities among ecosystem compartments differed significantly. Moreover, structural characteristics of MP communities across compartments were distinct but not fully isolated, reflecting a balance between dispersion and niche differentiation (environmental filtering). Specifically, surface water and sediments mainly accumulated a greater abundance of smaller-sized, low-density, and fibrous MPs. MP distribution patterns were similar and mainly affected by population density, flow velocity, and precipitation. The distance-decay relationship of MP communities in surface water was stronger (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) compared to sediments and soils. The longitudinal connectivity of the river, input of pollution sources and tributaries also facilitated transport of MP particles. Meanwhile, the retention of MPs in sediment was significantly influenced by MP characteristics and sediment grain size; and higher observed diversity (1.82) and abundance of MPs (130.32 items/kg) deposited in sediment also suggested continuous accumulation. The transport of MPs in riparian soils revealed a preference via vertical pathways and to adjacent sites. Considering limited transport capacity and significant correlations between topsoil and water/sediment, riparian soil may act as a potential long-term sink for river MPs. Our case-specific results are analyzed within a wider framework to further understand fate and transport dynamics of MPs within global riverine ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100480,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Pages 866-880"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145976513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lipid dysregulation as a mediator of genotoxicity from benzene, toluene, and xylene co-exposure: Insights from a longitudinal study of petrochemical workers and network toxicology analysis","authors":"Shuangqi Li ,&nbsp;Yanrong Lv ,&nbsp;Zhaoqing Tan ,&nbsp;Qing Liu ,&nbsp;Chunlan Zhu ,&nbsp;Zihao Long ,&nbsp;Qing Wang ,&nbsp;Liping Chen ,&nbsp;Haohan Chen ,&nbsp;Hongyun Chen ,&nbsp;Xiumei Xing ,&nbsp;Qiansheng Hu ,&nbsp;Yongmei Xiao","doi":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.019","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.019","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) are pervasive in industrial settings. However, how their shared lipophilicity and lipid dysregulation synergistically contribute to genotoxicity at low dose exposures remain unclear, limiting the development of targeted preventive measures. In a longitudinal cohort of 736 petrochemical workers (523 followed for 5 years), with cumulative exposure doses derived from workplace monitoring. Blood lipids [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low−/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C/HDL-C)] and genotoxicity markers [olive tail moment (OTM), Tail DNA%, Tail moment, 8-hydroxy-2′- deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)] were measured. Generalized linear and log-binomial regression models evaluated baseline and longitudinal associations, while generalized weighted quantile sum (gWQS) regression captured mixture effects. Mediation models assessed lipid-driven genotoxicity. BTX co-exposure was associated with increased TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C at baseline, and elevated risks of hypercholesterolemia (<em>RR</em> = 1.64, 95 % <em>CI</em>: 1.05, 2.58) and high LDL-C (<em>RR</em> = 1.32, 95 % <em>CI</em>: 1.01, 1.71) during follow-up. Workers with baseline hyperlipidemia showed stronger lipid responses and greater DNA damage under exposure (<em>P</em>-_interaction &lt; 0.05). Longitudinal analyses showed that benzene and toluene exposure elevated higher follow-up 8-OHdG levels among hypercholesterolemic workers (<em>P</em>_interaction &lt; 0.05) supporting oxidative damage as a downstream mechanism.Total cholesterol mediated 8.22 % of BTX-related genotoxicity (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Consistently, network toxicology highlighted lipid metabolism as key pathway linking BTX exposure to DNA damage. These findings demonstrate that BTX co-exposure disrupts lipid homeostasis and that toluene and xylene contribute significantly to this dysregulation, which in turn exacerbates benzene-initiated genotoxicity. The study highlights lipid metabolism as a critical mediator and amplifier of BTX mixture toxicity, underscoring the necessity of incorporating metabolic pathways and mixture effects into occupational risk assessments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100480,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Pages 708-719"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145883807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of urban runoff pollutants on biofilm communities","authors":"Neus Besolí-Mestres ,&nbsp;Anna Freixa ,&nbsp;Lorena Cojoc ,&nbsp;M. Isabel Cadena-Aizaga ,&nbsp;Mira Petrovic ,&nbsp;Sergi Sabater","doi":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.018","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.018","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Urban runoff transports a wide array of inorganic and organic materials, such as organic matter, salt, dust, plastics and a high diversity of pollutants, which may harm freshwater ecosystems, especially during the initial runoff inputs. The aim of this study is to assess the structural and functional impacts on freshwater biofilms subjected to urban runoff pollutants.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We provide a first assessment exposing natural freshwater biofilms to progressive dilution of pure first-flush urban runoff under controlled laboratory conditions. In parallel, we examined the effects of selected pollutants found in urban runoff on biofilms, testing them individually and in combination.</div></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><div>Urban runoff contained 47 compounds from 9 different families. The most abundant were 1,3-diphenylguanidine (a tire-related additive), caffeine (a stimulant), and zinc (a metal), each reaching concentrations close to 30 μg L^{- 1}. Dissolved organic carbon was also high (25 mg L⁻¹). Impacts of urban runoff on biofilms were strongest at 25 % dilution, and overall impacts were moderate, reflecting a balance inhibitory influence of pollutants and stimulatory effects of dissolved organic carbon and nutrients. The selected pollutants experiment revealed that biofilms were most sensitive to the mixture of pollutants and to diuron, followed by the 16PAHs and BBP.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Overall, our results highlight the complex and non-linear responses of stream biofilms to urban runoff inputs, emphasizing the need to control the types and quantities of pollutants released, with particular attention to emerging contaminants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100480,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Pages 720-728"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145883808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Complex co-contaminant responses of Chlorella sp. and its phycosphere microbiota under co-exposure to PET microfibers and oxytetracycline","authors":"Jiaye Deng ,&nbsp;Wenyan Lu ,&nbsp;Jiamei Wang ,&nbsp;Shuyuan Zhong ,&nbsp;Xinrui Xu ,&nbsp;Liufu Wang ,&nbsp;Hui Yang ,&nbsp;Yingying Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.025","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.025","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microplastics (MPs) and antibiotics co-occur in aquatic environments, yet their joint ecological effects remain poorly understood. We examined polyethylene terephthalate microplastic fibers (PET-MFs) and oxytetracycline (OTC, 2 mg/L), alone and in combination, on <em>Chlorella</em> sp. and its phycosphere microbiome over 28 days. Microscopy revealed extensive algal adhesion to fibers and aggregated clusters. PET-MFs dose-dependently inhibited algal growth by lowering photosynthetic efficiency, disrupting pigment synthesis, and inducing oxidative stress, and shifted the phycosphere microbiome by reducing <em>Rhodobacter</em> and <em>Brevundimonas</em> and enriching <em>Paucibacter</em>. Transcriptomics showed a strong dose response: LMF (5000 particles/L MFs) induced 216 DEGs, versus 2920 DEGs in HMF (50,000 particles/L MFs); OTC alone caused 2443 DEGs and suppressed glycolysis/pyruvate metabolism and photosynthesis related gene expression despite limited biomass effects. Co-exposure amplified disturbance to 7126 DEGs in LMO (LMF and OTC) and 12,880 DEGs in HMO (HMF and OTC), exceeding either single treatment. Although total bacterial abundance changed little, ARGs/MGEs increased, with <em>intI2</em> elevated in all MF-containing groups and tet genes promoted by OTC. Correlation analyses support an algae–microbiome–resistome linkage: algal traits (OD680, Chl-a, Fv/fm) tracked shifts in dominant genera, which co-varied with int and tet modules, while soluble protein/EPS aligned with higher <em>int</em>/<em>tet</em> signals. Together, these results indicate complex, non-linear PET-MF–OTC interactions, with algal physiology likely mediating microbiome structure and ARG dynamics. This study advances mechanistic understanding of pollutant–microalgae–microbiome crosstalk and highlights ecological risks from co-occurring MPs and antibiotics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100480,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Pages 822-833"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145924319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Personalized oxidative toxicity exposure assessment: Unveiling feasibility of linking respiratory PM10 oxidative potential to human oxidative damage","authors":"Ying-Jie Zhang ,&nbsp;Ting-Ting Xu ,&nbsp;Jing-Feng Yi ,&nbsp;Yu-Ling Luan ,&nbsp;Eddy Y. Zeng ,&nbsp;Ying Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.032","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.032","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Atmospheric particulate matter-driven oxidative stress is a crucial benchmark in evaluating health risk, yet the direct evidence linking environmental oxidability to human internal oxidative damage remains elusive. Here, we systematically quantified oxidative potential (OP) in respirable size-segregated PM₁₀ collected longitudinally from waste recycling plants in Southern China, and monitored oxidative damage to DNA, lipids and proteins in workers using biomarker techniques. By self-developed high-throughput microplate dithiothreitol (DTT) assay, we found that maximum OP values (both mass and volume normalized) were primarily derived from fine particles (0.43–0.65 μm), with 62 %–82 % of oxidability in pulmonary alveoli attributed to &lt;2.1 μm fractions. Each unit increase (1 × 10¹⁶ spins/g) of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) was associated with 1.316 pmol/μg/min rise in OP^DTT_m. Critically, we introduced “respirable particle-bound oxidability (RPO)” metric, integrating OP with individualized respiratory rates to capture bioavailable exposure. Mixed-effect modeling revealed a robust association between that RPO and lipid peroxidation, with each 1 % increase correlating with a 2.92 % (95 % CI: 1.66 %, 4.17 %) increase in urinary malondialdehyde (MDA), particularly in pulmonary alveoli. While no significant effect is observed for DNA or protein oxidation. These findings successfully established the quantitative linkage between ambient PM oxidizing capacity and internal oxidative injury, highlighting RPO as an advanced metric for environmental risk assessment and offering new insight into the mechanistic evaluation of air pollution toxicity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100480,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Pages 846-856"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145977024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An integrated approach unveils novel mechanisms of nicotine-induced neurotoxicity in zebrafish larvae","authors":"Yu Kou ,&nbsp;Changsheng Guo ,&nbsp;Yan Zhang,&nbsp;Yanghui Deng,&nbsp;Xingxing Yin,&nbsp;Jian Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enceco.2025.12.014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nicotine is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant which may exert neurotoxicity to aquatic organisms. However, the mechanisms at environmentally relevant concentrations remain inadequately understood. This study employed an integrated approach combining in silico predictions, in vivo zebrafish assays, transcriptomics and targeted metabolomics to decipher the mechanistic framework of nicotine-driven developmental neurotoxicity to zebrafish. Network toxicology and molecular docking identified six core targets (CXCR4, CHRNB1, CHRNA1, CHRNA3, STAT3, HIF1A) and predicted key pathways, including neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction and calcium signaling. Experimental validation in zebrafish larvae revealed that nicotine exposure, even at low environmental levels (0.03–3 μg/L), significantly induced developmental delays, heart rate imbalances, and neurobehavioral deficits. Targeted metabolomics demonstrated that nicotine caused a pronounced neurotransmitter imbalance, characterized by a sharp increase in acetylcholine and disrupted levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Transcriptomics further confirmed the dysregulation of key pathways, including calcium signaling, MAPK inflammation cascade, and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. An integrated multi-omics analysis delineated a cohesive adverse outcome pathway: nicotine initially disrupts neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions, leading to intracellular calcium overload, which subsequently triggers MAPK-mediated inflammatory apoptosis and FoxO/p53-related oxidative stress, ultimately resulting in neuronal damage and behavioral dysfunction. Our findings provide novel and comprehensive insights into the mechanistic basis of nicotine-induced neurotoxicity, highlighting significant ecological risks at environmental concentrations and offering a robust framework for assessing the neurotoxic potential of environmental contaminants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100480,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Pages 749-759"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145883810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}