Functional characterization of P-glycoprotein in the intertidal copepod Tigriopus japonicus and its potential role in remediating metal pollution

• Mechanistic analysis of metal-induced toxicity in copepod.
• Novel identification and characterization of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in copepod.
• Comparative analysis of P-gp-mediated metal tolerance in copepod.
• Understanding of resistance and adaptation of copepod upon metal pollution.

The intertidal copepod Tigriopus japonicus has been widely used in aquatic toxicity testing for diverse environmental pollutants including metals. Despite relatively well-characterized in vivo physiological modulations in response to aquatic pollutants, the molecular mechanisms due to toxicity and detoxification are still unclear. To better understand the mechanisms of metal transport and further detoxification, T. japonicus P-glycoprotein (TJ-P-gp) with conserved motifs/domains was cloned and measured for protein activity against the transcript and protein expression profiles in response to metal exposure. Specifically, we characterized the preliminary efflux activity and membrane topology of TJ-P-gp protein that supports a transport function for chemicals. To uncover whether the efflux activity of TJ-P-gp protein would be modulated by metal treatment, copepods were exposed to three metals (Cd, Cu, and Zn), and were observed for both dose- and time-dependency on the efflux activity of TJ-P-gp protein with or without 10 μM of P-gp-specific inhibitors verapamil and zosuquidar (LY335979) for 24 h over a wide range of metal concentrations. In particular, treatment with zosuquidar induced metal accumulation in the inner body of T. japonicus. In addition, three metals significantly induced the transporting activity of TJ-P-gp in a concentration-dependent manner in both transcript and protein levels within 24 h. Together these data indicate that T. japonicus has a conserved P-gp-mediated metal defense system through the induction of transcriptional up-regulation of TJ-P-gp gene and TJ-P-gp protein activity. This finding provides further understanding of the molecular defense mechanisms involved in P-glycoprotein-mediated metal detoxification in copepods.