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Article Tier 2 Human Health Effects Marine & Wildlife Policy & Risk Sign in to save

Emerging environmental stressors and oxidative pathways in marine organisms: Current knowledge on regulation mechanisms and functional effects

Biocell 2021 42 citations

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This review summarized current knowledge on how emerging environmental pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and other stressors trigger oxidative stress in marine organisms, examining regulatory mechanisms from pre-transcriptional to catalytic levels.

Study Type Environmental

Oxidative stress is a critical condition derived from the imbalance between the generation of reactive oxygen species and the sophisticated network of antioxidant mechanisms. Several pollutants and environmental factors can affect this system through connected mechanisms, indirect relationships, and cascade effects from pre-transcriptional to catalytic level, by either enhancing intracellular ROS formation or impairing antioxidant defenses. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the pro-oxidant challenges from emerging environmental stressors threatening marine organisms, such as pharmaceuticals, microplastics and climate-related ocean changes. Emphasis will be placed on oxidative pathways, including signaling proteins and transcription factors involved in regulation of antioxidant responsiveness. Mechanistic insights and lack of knowledge will be pointed out by presenting single and combined effects of multiple stressors, unravelling questions to be addressed by future research in marine ecotoxicology.

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