Acute toxicity of binary mixtures for quorum sensing inhibitors and sulfonamides against Aliivibrio fischeri: QSAR investigations and joint toxic actions

Zhenheng Long; Jingyi Yao; Minghong Wu; Shu-shen Liu; Liang Tang; Bo Lei; Jiajun Wang; Haoyu Sun

Current Research in Toxicology (Jan 2024)

Acute toxicity of binary mixtures for quorum sensing inhibitors and sulfonamides against Aliivibrio fischeri: QSAR investigations and joint toxic actions

Zhenheng Long,
Jingyi Yao,
Minghong Wu,
Shu-shen Liu,
Liang Tang,
Bo Lei,
Jiajun Wang,
Haoyu Sun

Affiliations

Zhenheng Long: Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Jingyi Yao: Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Minghong Wu: Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Shu-shen Liu: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Liang Tang: Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China; Corresponding authors at: School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai 200444, China.
Bo Lei: Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Jiajun Wang: Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Haoyu Sun: Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Environmental Processes and Health, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; Corresponding authors at: School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai 200444, China.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 6
p. 100172

Abstract

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Quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs), as a kind of ideal antibiotic substitutes, have been recommended to be used in combination with traditional antibiotics in medical and aquaculture fields. Due to the co-existence of QSIs and antibiotics in environmental media, it is necessary to evaluate their joint risk. However, there is little information about the acute toxicity of mixtures for QSIs and antibiotics. In this study, 10 QSIs and 3 sulfonamides (SAs, as the representatives for traditional antibiotics) were selected as the test chemicals, and their acute toxic effects were determined using the bioluminescence of Aliivibrio fischeri (A. fischeri) as the endpoint. The results indicated that SAs and QSIs all induced S-shaped dose-responses in A. fischeri bioluminescence. Furthermore, SAs possessed greater acute toxicity than QSIs, and luciferase (Luc) might be the target protein of test chemicals. Based on the median effective concentration (EC50) for each test chemical, QSI-SA mixtures were designed according to equitoxic (EC50(QSI):EC50(SA) = 1:1) and non-equitoxic ratios (EC50(QSI):EC50(SA) = 1:10, 1:5, 1:0.2, and 1:0.1). It could be observed that with the increase of QSI proportion, the acute toxicity of QSI-SA mixtures enhanced while the corresponding TU values decreased. Furthermore, QSIs contributed more to the acute toxicity of test binary mixtures. The joint toxic actions of QSIs and SAs were synergism for 23 mixtures, antagonism for 12 mixtures, and addition for 1 mixture. Quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models for the acute toxicity QSIs, SAs, and their binary mixtures were then constructed based on the lowest CDOCKER interaction energy (Ebind-Luc) between Luc and each chemical and the component proportion in the mixture. These models exhibited good robustness and predictive ability in evaluating the toxicity data and joint toxic actions of QSIs and SAs. This study provides reference data and applicable QSAR models for the environmental risk assessment of QSIs, and gives a new perspective for exploring the joint effects of QSI-antibiotic mixtures.

Published in Current Research in Toxicology

ISSN: 2666-027X (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Medicine: Public aspects of medicine: Toxicology. Poisons
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/current-research-in-toxicology

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