Sublethal enantiotoxicity of MDMA on the development, teratogenicity, genotoxicity and swimming behaviour of zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48797/sl.2024.143Keywords:
Selected Oral CommunicationAbstract
Background: Chiral psychoactive substances (PAS) as amphetamine-like substances are among the main group of drugs seized in Europe. The increased attractiveness of these drugs resulted in their widespread occurrence in the environment raising concern about their possible hazardous effects to non-target organisms [1, 2]. PAS metabolism in humans and biodegradation in wastewater treatment plants is stereoselective. Enantiomers of PAS may differ in environmental fate and toxicological effects [2, 3]. Understanding their enantiomer-specific toxicity and sublethal effects using several biomarkers is crucial for an accurate risk assessment of chiral contaminants. Objective: Investigate the potential enantioselective effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. Methods: For zebrafish 96-h assay, 50 fertilized eggs (≈ 3 hpf) were exposed to different concentrations of MDMA racemate and enantiomers ranging from 0.02 to 200 μg/L. Six replicates per test concentration and control were performed and organisms were exposed for 6 days. Embryonic development, malformations, genotoxicity and larvae swimming behaviour parameters were evaluated for MDMA. The range of concentrations for both organisms was selected to include environmental reported levels and higher concentrations to get insights into potential toxicity. Results: Regarding zebrafish, preliminary data showed an enantioselective effect with significant increase in the percentage of developmental malformations at 96 hpf in zebrafish larvae exposed to (S)-MDMA in comparison with (R,S)-MDMA and (R)-MDMA at the lower concentrations. An increase in larvae size was observed in the organisms exposed to the racemate in comparison to the enantiomers. Also, a significant increase in genotoxicity was observed in organisms exposed to racemate. Changes and enantioselective effects were also observed in swimming behaviour, (R)-MDMA inducing a reduction in the distance to the centre of the well compared to (S)-MDMA, and a decrease in inactive time in (S)-MDMA exposed organisms. Conclusions: This study showed the toxicity of MDMA towards zebrafish embryo, and importance of enantiotoxicity studies for a better risk assessment.References
1. Ribeiro, A.R.L.; Maia, A.S.; Ribeiro, C.; Tiritan, M.E. Analysis of chiral drugs in environmental matrices: Current knowledge and trends in environmental, biodegradation and forensic fields. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 2020, 124,115783.
2. Ribeiro, O.; Félix, L.; Ribeiro, C.; Castro, B.; Tiritan, M.E.; Monteiro, S.M.; Carrola, J.S. Enantioselective ecotoxicity of venlafaxine in aquatic organisms: Daphnia and zebrafish. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 2022, 41(8), 1851-1864.
3. Barenys, M.; Álvarez, S.; Santamaria, A.; Teixidó, E.; Gómez-Catalán, J. Developmental exposure to MDMA (ecstasy) in zebrafish embryos reproduces the neurotoxicity adverse outcome ‘lower motor activity’ described in humans. NeuroToxicology 2022, 88, 116-123.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Ondina Ribeiro, Luís Félix, Cláudia Ribeiro, Virgínia Gonçalves, Maria Elizabeth Tiritan, João Soares Carrola
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
In Scientific Letters, articles are published under a CC-BY license (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License), the most open license available. The users can share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially), as long as they give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made (read the full text of the license terms and conditions of use).
The author is the owner of the copyright.
