The NQO1 of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is involved in the oxidative stress induced by copper exposure.

Authors

Jinyuan Feng, Yu Cheng, Yanghui Chen, Junliang Luo, Yu Yu, Bei Wang, Amoah Kwaku, Yu Huang, Jichang Jian

Published in

Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Toxicology & pharmacology : CBP. Pages 110705. Sep 28, 2026. Epub Sep 28, 2026.

Abstract

NAD(P)H dehydrogenase [quinone] 1 (NQO1) is a key antioxidant enzyme involved in cellular defense against oxidative stress; however, its role in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) remains poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the Nile tilapia NQO1 gene (OnNQO1) protects cells against CuSO₄·5H₂O-induced oxidative damage. We hypothesized that OnNQO1 overexpression would alleviate oxidative injury and modulate inflammation-, autophagy-, and apoptosis-related responses. To test this, a eukaryotic expression plasmid, pCDNA3.1-OnNQO1, was constructed and transfected into TSE-04 cells, a Nile tilapia skin epithelial cell line, followed by CuSO₄·5H₂O exposure. Cell morphology, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, catalase (CAT) activity, the expression of related genes under induction and apoptosis were then evaluated. The results showed that OnNQO1 overexpression significantly reduced CuSO₄·5H₂O-induced morphological damage and MDA accumulation, while increasing CAT activity. After overexpression with pCDNA3.1-OnNQO1, the TSE-04 cells were exposed to CuSO₄·5H₂O, the expression of the antioxidant gene sod was significantly upregulated, whereas trx and hsp70 were downregulated. The expression levels of inflammation-related genes (tgfβ and il-1β), the autophagy-related gene p62, and the immune-related gene p65 first decreased and then increased. In addition, OnNQO1 overexpression resulted in substantial inhibition of CuSO₄ 5H₂O-induced apoptotic processes in TSE-04 cells, and the normal cells increased slightly. This discovery indicates that OnNQO1 may have the function of regulating antioxidation, inflammation and apoptosis in Nile tilapia under CuSO₄ 5H₂O exposure.

PMID:
42805362
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Sep 2026.

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