A novel mechanism underlies atrazine toxicity in quails (Coturnix Coturnix coturnix): triggering ionic disorder via disruption of ATPases

// Jia Lin 1,* , Hui-Xin Li 2,* , Lei Qin 1,3,* , Zheng-Hai Du 1 , Jun Xia 1 and Jin-Long Li 1 1 College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, People’s Republic of China 2 Division of Avian Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, People’s Republic of China 3 Laboratory Animal Centre, Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, People’s Republic of China * These authors have contributed equally to this study Correspondence to: Jin-Long Li, email: // Keywords : atrazine, ionic disorder, ATPases, heart and liver, Pathology Section Received : September 01, 2016 Accepted : November 22, 2016 Published : December 04, 2016 Abstract The widely used atrazine has been reported to exhibit extensive ecological hazards. Due to the biological accumulation, atrazine elicits widespread toxic effects on different organisms. However, true proof for the mechanism of atrazine-induced toxicity is lacking. To determine the potential mechanism by which atrazine exerted toxic effects, quails were treated with atrazine (0, 50, 250 and 500 mg/kg) by gavage administration for 45 days. Atrazine significantly increased the histological alterations and serum creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase and choline esterase levels. A marked disorder in ionic (Na + , K + , Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ )contents and the decrease of ATPases (Na + -K + -ATPase, Ca 2+ -ATPase, Mg 2+ -ATPase and Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ -ATPase) activities were observed in the heart and liver of atrazine-exposed quails. Of note, it was also observed that atrazine suppressed the transcription of Na + , K + transfer associated genes (Na + -K + -ATPase subunits) and Ca 2+ transfer associated genes (Ca 2+ -ATPase subunits, solute carriers) in heart and liver. In conclusion, atrazine induced cardiac and hepatic damage via causing the ionic disorder, triggering the transcription of the ion transporters and leading the histopathological and functional alternations in the heart and liver of quails. This study demonstrated atrazine significantly induced the ionic disorder via decreasing the ATPases activities and disturbing the transcription of the ion transporters.