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Advances in Animal Poisoning and Investigative Diagnostic Toxicology: Mechanisms, Detection, and Intervention

A Special Issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615) belonging to the section "Veterinary Clinical Studies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2026) | Viewed by 5725

Editor

Dr. Xishuai Tong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institutes of Agricultural Science and Technology Development (Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China), College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
Interests: animal metabolism; animal nutrition; bone; heavy metal; blood; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Animal poisoning poses significant risks to wildlife, livestock, companion animals, and ecosystems, necessitating precise diagnostic strategies and evidence-based interventions. This Special Issue synthesizes current advancements in investigative diagnostic toxicology, focusing on the identification of toxicants (e.g., pesticides, heavy metals, plant alkaloids, and mycotoxins), mechanistic insights into toxin–pathway interactions, and cutting-edge analytical methodologies. Importantly, the current Special Issue will also accept basic research papers related to veterinary toxicology. Key topics include the application of advanced laboratory techniques—such as mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), immunoassays, and molecular biomarkers—for rapid toxicant identification in biological matrices (blood, urine, and tissues). Case studies should highlight the integration of clinical symptomatology, postmortem findings, and environmental forensics to resolve complex poisoning scenarios, including accidental exposures, malicious intoxications, and ecological contamination events. Emerging technologies, such as metabolomics and biosensor-based platforms, will be discussed for their potential to enhance sensitivity and specificity in toxin detection. Additionally, this review will address species-specific vulnerabilities, antidote development, and preventive measures tailored to veterinary and wildlife conservation contexts. By bridging gaps between clinical toxicology, forensic science, and environmental health, this work will emphasize the critical role of multidisciplinary collaboration in mitigating poisoning risks and improving therapeutic outcomes.

Dr. Xishuai Tong
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • toxicology
  • in vitro toxicity models
  • environmental pollutants
  • agricultural toxicants
  • toxicity of nanomaterials
  • toxicogenomics and epigenetics
  • applications of artificial intelligence in poisoning diagnosis
  • toxicological risk assessment models
  • cross-species toxic transmission
  • biotoxins produced by drug-resistant bacteria

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3254 KB  
Article
Evaluation of Arsenic Concentrations in Water and Milk and Their Association with DNA Fragmentation in Lymphocytes in Goats in the Comarca Lagunera
by Ana Graciela Martínez-Delgado, Oscar Ángel-García, Viridiana Contreras-Villarreal, Guadalupe Calderón-Leyva, Javier Morán-Martínez, Nadia Denys Betancourt-Martínez, Jessica María Flores-Salas, Alan Sebastián Alvarado-Espino and Fernando Arellano-Rodríguez
Animals 2026, 16(8), 1218; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16081218 - 16 Apr 2026
Viewed by 994
Abstract
The Comarca Lagunera region faces groundwater quality issues due to elevated concentrations of heavy metals that exceed permissible limits set by Mexican regulations. This study aimed to evaluate arsenic concentrations in drinking water and goat milk, as well as their possible association with [...] Read more.
The Comarca Lagunera region faces groundwater quality issues due to elevated concentrations of heavy metals that exceed permissible limits set by Mexican regulations. This study aimed to evaluate arsenic concentrations in drinking water and goat milk, as well as their possible association with DNA fragmentation in goat lymphocytes in the Comarca Lagunera (Durango and Coahuila, Northern Mexico). Water, milk, and blood samples were collected from 120 goats (Capra hircus) and analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (water and milk samples) and the comet assay (blood). Arsenic concentration in drinking water varied among locations, with the highest value detected in El Venado (San Pedro, Coahuila), while other sites showed concentrations close to permissible limits. Arsenic concentrations in goat milk were generally low and mostly below the LOQ, which limited the ability to assess arsenic transfer into milk. DNA fragmentation was observed in lymphocytes; however, no statistically significant association was found between arsenic concentrations and DNA damage. These results indicate that, under the conditions of this study, DNA damage cannot be directly attributed to arsenic exposure and may be influenced by other environmental or biological factors. Further studies with larger sample sizes and additional variables are recommended. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Animal Poisoning and Investigative Diagnostic Toxicology: Mechanisms, Detection, and Intervention)
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18 pages, 8151 KB  
Article
SELENOF Mitigates Bovine Mastitis by Preserving Mitochondrial Homeostasis and Suppressing NLRP3-Mediated Pyroptosis
by Xue Qi, Ling Shi, Xinhuai Shi and Changmin Hu
Animals 2026, 16(5), 793; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16050793 - 4 Mar 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 707
Abstract
Bovine mastitis threatens the dairy industry with limited effective therapies. The selenoprotein family offers potential anti-inflammatory interventions, yet the role of Selenoprotein F (SELENOF) remains unclear. This study investigated SELENOF in mitochondrial damage and pyroptosis using clinical mammary biopsies and a Staphylococcus aureus [...] Read more.
Bovine mastitis threatens the dairy industry with limited effective therapies. The selenoprotein family offers potential anti-inflammatory interventions, yet the role of Selenoprotein F (SELENOF) remains unclear. This study investigated SELENOF in mitochondrial damage and pyroptosis using clinical mammary biopsies and a Staphylococcus aureus-induced Mammary alveolar cell-type T (MAC-T) cell model. Histology, TEM, immunofluorescence, Western blot, qPCR, RNA-seq, and mitochondrial staining (MitoTracker Red and JC-1) were employed. Mastitic mammary tissue exhibited severe architectural disruption, including focal necrosis with coalescing vacuoles of variable size, extensive epithelial denudation, and interstitial thickening with dense inflammatory infiltrates. At the ultrastructural level, mitochondrial swelling, cristae loss, and plasma membrane rupture were evident. Additionally, these tissue specimens exhibited marked upregulation of inflammatory mediator transcripts, notably IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, alongside heightened abundance of pyroptosis-associated proteins including NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), cleaved caspase-1, and GSDMD-N (Gasdermin D N-terminal domain). RNA-seq identified SELENOF as significantly downregulated. The MAC-T model recapitulated the mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammatory response, and pyroptosis observed in mastitic tissue. SELENOF overexpression restored mitochondrial membrane potential, dampened the output of inflammatory signaling molecules, and suppressed NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis via attenuation of caspase-1/GSDMD-N pathway activation. These findings establish SELENOF as a novel target that mitigates bovine mastitis by preserving mitochondrial homeostasis and suppressing NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Animal Poisoning and Investigative Diagnostic Toxicology: Mechanisms, Detection, and Intervention)
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16 pages, 2846 KB  
Article
Integrated Network Toxicology and Transcriptomics Reveal Molecular Mechanisms of Cadmium-Exposed Liver Injury in Swine
by Nan Wang, Xuehan Jiang, Xiaoxiao Chen, Biner Zhao, Jingzeng Cai and Ziwei Zhang
Animals 2026, 16(3), 414; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16030414 - 28 Jan 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1593
Abstract
Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental toxicant that poses significant risks to food safety and public health through its bioaccumulation in the food chain. The liver is a primary target for chronic Cd toxicity, yet the system-level mechanisms, particularly in physiologically relevant swine models, [...] Read more.
Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental toxicant that poses significant risks to food safety and public health through its bioaccumulation in the food chain. The liver is a primary target for chronic Cd toxicity, yet the system-level mechanisms, particularly in physiologically relevant swine models, remain incompletely understood. This study employed an integrated multi-omics approach to elucidate the mechanisms of Cd-exposed hepatotoxicity in weaned piglets. We combined histopathological examination, transmission electron microscopy, and transcriptome sequencing. Our results revealed severe hepatic damage, characterized by disorganized architecture, vacuolar degeneration, mitochondrial dysfunction, and autophagic activation. Network toxicology predicted 3727 potential targets of Cd-exposed liver injury, while transcriptomics identified 1092 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Crucially, the convergent analysis of both datasets demonstrated that the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway was the central hub, pinpointing it as a pivotal mechanism in Cd-driven hepatotoxicity. Functional enrichment analyses further highlighted dysregulation in immune-inflammatory responses, lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress. Our findings provide a comprehensive systems-level perspective on chronic Cd hepatotoxicity in a translational swine model. We propose the PI3K-Akt pathway and other identified core targets (EGFR, histones, ribosomal proteins) as critical biomarkers for monitoring Cd contamination in swine production chains, offering valuable insights for environmental risk assessment and agricultural product safety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Animal Poisoning and Investigative Diagnostic Toxicology: Mechanisms, Detection, and Intervention)
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18 pages, 4759 KB  
Article
Polystyrene Nanoplastics Exposure Alters Gut Microbiota and Correlates with Egg Quality Parameters in Chickens
by Xuan Hu, Yinyin Liu, Wanqiang Chen, Yinping Ma, Yanfeng Fan, Qian Zhou, Mengmeng Lei, Hongsheng Song, Min Zhao, Xiaoxu Jia, Guodong Cai, Jianchun Bian and Yushi Gao
Animals 2025, 15(21), 3154; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15213154 - 30 Oct 2025
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1317
Abstract
NPs have become a concerning global environmental problem. Dietary exposure to NPs can cause microbial dysbiosis. However, the risks of NPs to animals, particularly poultry species such as chickens, remain poorly understood. In this study, chickens were continuously exposed to 100 nm NPs [...] Read more.
NPs have become a concerning global environmental problem. Dietary exposure to NPs can cause microbial dysbiosis. However, the risks of NPs to animals, particularly poultry species such as chickens, remain poorly understood. In this study, chickens were continuously exposed to 100 nm NPs via dietary inclusion from 18 weeks of age for 120 days to evaluate the effects of NPs on intestinal health. We found that NPs accumulated in chicken intestinal tissues, leading to adverse alterations in the intestinal mucosal structure, such as villus atrophy and goblet cell depletion, and significantly altering intestinal length. The 16S rRNA sequencing revealed significant gut microbiota dysbiosis, characterized by a loss of diversity and shifts in key bacterial groups. Functional predictions of the microbiota revealed impairments in metabolic pathways, especially carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. Furthermore, network analysis showed that microbial interactions were disrupted and key functional hubs were lost. Most importantly, NPs exposure led to a significant decline in egg quality parameters, including eggshell thickness and strength, yolk color, weight, shape index, and Haugh units. Correlation analyses connected specific taxa, such as Methanobrevibacter, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, and Prevotellaceae_UCG-001, to intestinal damage and declines in egg quality. These findings provide a scientific basis for assessing the health risks of NPs in animals and offer insights into the development of gut health interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Animal Poisoning and Investigative Diagnostic Toxicology: Mechanisms, Detection, and Intervention)
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