Assessment of pesticide residues and gene expression in common carp exposed to atrazine and chlorpyrifos: Health risk assessments

• The pesticide residues in the kidney tissue were investigated by ATR, CPF and their mixture.
• The expression levels of HSPs genes were induced by ATR, CPF and their mixture.
• Our aim was to evaluate the sub-chronic effects of ATR, CPF and their mixture on carp kidney.
• The kidney in fish plays a crucial part in immune responses.

This study assessed the impacts of atrazine (ATR), chlorpyrifos (CPF) and combined ATR/CPF exposure on the kidney of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.). The carp were sampled after a 40-d exposure to CPF and ATR, individually or in combination, followed by a 40-d recovery to measure the expression levels of heat shock proteins genes (HSP60, HSP70 and HSP90) and pesticide residues in the kidney tissue. The results revealed that the mRNA and protein levels of HSP60, HSP70 and HSP90 were induced in the kidney of common carp by ATR, CPF, and ATR/CPF mixture. The accumulated amounts of ATR, CPF, and their metabolites in the kidney tissues exhibited dose-dependency. These results exhibited that increasing concentration of ATR and CPF in the environment causes considerable stress for common carp, suggesting that the expression levels of HSP60, HSP70 and HSP90 may act as potential biomarkers for assessing the environmental ATR and CPF risk for carp.