Ullrika Sahlin
Universitetslektor
Transcriptional Responses as Biomarkers of General Toxicity : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Metal-Exposed Bivalves
Författare
Summary, in English
Through a systematic review and a series of meta-analyses, we evaluated the general responsiveness of putative transcriptional biomarkers of general toxicity and chemical stress. We targeted metal exposures performed on bivalves under controlled laboratory conditions, and selected six transcripts associated with general toxicity for evaluation: catalase (cat), glutathione-S-transferase (gst), heat shock proteins 70 and 90 (hsp70, hsp90), metallothionein (mt) and superoxide dismutase (sod). Transcriptional responses (n = 396) were extracted from published scientific articles (k = 22) and converted to log response ratios (lnRRs). By estimating toxic units (TUs), we normalized different metal exposures to a common scale, as a proxy of concentration. Using Bayesian hierarchical random effect models, we then tested the effects of metal exposure on lnRR, both for metal exposure in general and in meta-regressions using TU and exposure time as independent variables. Corresponding analyses were also repeated with transcript and tissue as additional moderators. Observed patterns were similar for general as for transcript- and tissue-specific responses. The expected overall response to arbitrary metal exposure was a lnRR of 0.50, corresponding to a 65 % increase relative a non-exposed control. However, when accounting for publication bias, the estimated 'true' response showed no such effect. Furthermore, expected response magnitude increased slightly with exposure time, but there was little support for general monotonic concentration-dependence with regards to TU. Altogether, this work reveals potential limitations that need consideration prior to applying the selected transcripts as biomarkers in environmental risk assessment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;00:0-0. © 2022 SETAC.
Avdelning/ar
- Akvatisk ekologi
- Division aquatic ecology
- Beräkningsvetenskap för hälsa och miljö
- Centrum för miljö- och klimatvetenskap (CEC)
Publiceringsår
2023
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
628-641
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Volym
42
Issue
3
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Ämne
- Environmental Sciences
Aktiv
Published
Projekt
- Transcriptional biomarkers of toxicity - powerful tools or random noise? An applied perspective from studies on bivalves
Forskningsgrupp
- Aquatic Ecology
- Computational Science for Health and Environment
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 0730-7268