Toxicity and Molecular Mechanisms of Environmental Contaminants on Animals

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Novel Methods in Toxicology Research".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 543

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: environmental pollution; livestock environment and health; toxics; feed toxicolgoy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor Assistant
College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: air pollutants; respirotary injury; animal house environment; animal health; toxics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growing prevalence of environmental contaminants significantly threatens animal health and ecological balance, highlighting the need to understand their toxicity and molecular mechanisms. Pollutants such as particulate matter, heavy metals, pesticides, microplastics, and emerging chemicals infiltrate animal systems via air, water, and food, disrupting physiological and cellular processes. Investigating these effects not only enhances our comprehension of contaminant impact, but also informs the development of effective strategies for ecological conservation and public health protection.

This Special Issue, “Toxicity and Molecular Mechanisms of Environmental Contaminants on Animals”, invites research on the biochemical pathways altered by these contaminants, their bioaccumulation, and cascading effects on animal behavior and health. Submissions focusing on advanced technologies like transcriptomics and metabolomics, or topics such as toxicant bioaccumulation, epigenetic roles, synergistic effects, and conservation implications, are encouraged. Contributions will enrich scientific understanding and foster innovative solutions to mitigate the impact of environmental contaminants.

Prof. Dr. Chunmei Li
Guest Editor

Dr. Dan Shen
Guest Editor Assistant

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Keywords

  • environmental toxicants
  • animal health
  • molecular pathways
  • bioaccumulation
  • toxic injury

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 2682 KiB  
Article
Effects of Diethylstilbestrol on the Structure and Function of the Spleen in Male Golden Hamsters
by Jian Li, Ruiping Xu, Qingwei Wang, Xue Bai, Yanhua Su, Yaoxing Chen and Jing Cao
Toxics 2025, 13(5), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13050397 - 15 May 2025
Viewed by 325
Abstract
With industrial development, endocrine-disrupting chemicals have continued to accumulate in the environment, attracting growing attention due to their potential effects on biological health. The reproductive toxicity of diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen widely present in the environment, is widely documented; however, studies on [...] Read more.
With industrial development, endocrine-disrupting chemicals have continued to accumulate in the environment, attracting growing attention due to their potential effects on biological health. The reproductive toxicity of diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen widely present in the environment, is widely documented; however, studies on its effects on the immune system remain limited. In this study, adult male golden hamsters were subcutaneously administered varying doses of DES (0, 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mg/kg) for seven consecutive days to assess its immunomodulatory impact on peripheral blood and the spleen. We found that the DES treatment significantly reduced spleen index, white pulp area, and splenic lymphocyte proliferation while increasing caspase-3-positive apoptotic cells and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. In peripheral blood, DES induced a dose-dependent suppression of lymphocyte proliferation, with lipopolysaccharide- and concanavalin A-stimulated proliferation reduced by 47.68–71.76% and 44.23–72.7%, respectively. Concurrently, DES significantly downregulated the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ (p < 0.01) while upregulating the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 (p < 0.01). Furthermore, DES treatment impaired antioxidant defenses, decreasing the activity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase while elevating malondialdehyde levels. Notably, DES led to the upregulation of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor and estrogen receptor α at both transcriptional and protein levels, whereas estrogen receptor β mRNA expression increased despite a decline in protein levels. This study provides critical experimental evidence elucidating the immunoregulatory effects of endocrine-disrupting environmental estrogens. Full article
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