Toxicity effect of the combined salinity and nitrite on biochemical indices, digestive enzymes, histopathology, and cytochrome P450 gene expression responses in fingerlings of stellate sturgeon, Acipenser stellatus Pallas, 1771
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Reactive nitrogen compounds, such as nitrite (NaNO2), are highly toxic to aquatic animals. In some fish species, low levels of sodium chloride significantly reduce the toxicity of nitrite. Acipenser stellatus, one of the sturgeon species in the Caspian Sea, can tolerate the salinity of Caspian Sea water (12 g.L-1), and chloride ions are predicted to compete with nitrite. Therefore, we conducted this research to determine whether salinity can decrease the effects of nitrite in stellate sturgeon fingerlings. This research was conducted in two stages: the first step involved determining the median lethal concentration (LC50) of sodium nitrite at salinities of 0, 4, 8, and 12 g.L-1 over a period of 4 days. The LC50-96h values for sodium nitrite (NaNO2) at salinities of 0 to 12 g.L-1were found to be 75.11, 93.54, 241.60, and 353.31 mg.L-1, respectively. In the second stage, 240 fish (19.1±1.7 cm and 15.23±2.17 g) were exposed to 50% of the LC50-96h of sodium nitrite (at salinities of 0 to 12 g.L-1: 37.56, 46.77, 120.80, and 176.579 mg.L-1, respectively) for 4 days, with 4 controls and 4 experimental groups in triplicate. In this stage, as salinity and nitrite concentration increased, the activity of superoxide dismutase, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase in blood serum increased significantly (P?0.05). Conversely, the levels of catalase, alkaline phosphatase, and lactate dehydrogenase in blood serum, as well as amylase, alkaline protease, and lipase in the intestine, decreased significantly (P?0.05). High nitrite concentrations associated with salinity had damaged the fish's gills, kidneys, liver, and intestine. The highest expression of the cytochrome P450 gene was observed in the liver of A. stellatus exposed to a salinity of 12 g.L-1 and a nitrite concentration of 176.579 mg.L-1 (P?0.05). The results indicated that the toxic effects of nitrite on blood indices, intestinal digestive enzymes, tissues, and gene expression did not decrease as salinity increased.
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