This study aims to evaluate the ecotoxicity effects of single
tetracycline (TC) exposure and mixture exposure in presence of
polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs, 80 nm) on juvenile Ctenopharyngodon idella. We carried out single and combined exposure of TC (5000 μg/L) and PS-NPs (20, 200, 2000 μg/L) for 7 days. Compared to TC single exposure, co-exposure to PS-NPs and TC significantly changed the levels of
antioxidant entities, including T-AOC, SOD, and CAT in the liver and intestine of C. idella, indicating that PS-NPs might enhance the oxidative damage caused by TC. Further, the co-exposure significantly upregulated the
mRNA expression levels of MMP2, MMP9, and
IL-8 in a concentration-dependent manner in the liver and intestine tissues of C. idella, compared to the control and TC single exposure groups. Moreover, the phylogenetic tree showed that MMP2 and MMP9 in C. idella are relatively conservative, and the
mRNA expressions of MMP2 are significantly positively correlated with TGFβ1,
IL8, and MMP9 in Liver
hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) and
Colon adenocarcinoma (
COAD). The above genes in LIHC and
COAD were significantly correlated with various immune cells. Further, histopathological analysis revealed tissue lesions in the intestine and gill of fish in all the exposed groups, compared to the control group. In short, the present study illustrated that the toxicological effects of organic
pollutants such as TC could be influenced by the presence of NPs in the C. idella.