Nano-TiO2 impairs the health of crabs Charybdis japonica under warming conditions through waterborne and dietary exposures

Rim El Amouri; Zhihan Tu; Mohamed H Abo-Raya; Xiaopeng Pang; Menghong Hu; Youji Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137092

Nano-TiO₂ impairs the health of crabs Charybdis japonica under warming conditions through waterborne and dietary exposures

J Hazard Mater. 2025 Jan 4:487:137092. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137092. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Rim El Amouri¹, Zhihan Tu², Mohamed H Abo-Raya³, Xiaopeng Pang¹, Menghong Hu¹, Youji Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ International Research Center for Marine Biosciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Ministry of Science and Technology, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai 201306, China; Key Laboratory of Exploration and Utilization of Aquatic Genetic Resources, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
² International Research Center for Marine Biosciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Ministry of Science and Technology, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai 201306, China; State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China.
³ International Research Center for Marine Biosciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Ministry of Science and Technology, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai 201306, China; Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 33516, Egypt.
⁴ International Research Center for Marine Biosciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Ministry of Science and Technology, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai 201306, China; Key Laboratory of Exploration and Utilization of Aquatic Genetic Resources, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China. Electronic address: youjiwang2@gmail.com.

PMID: 39798311
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137092

Abstract

The widespread use of nano titanium dioxide (nano-TiO₂) poses ecological risks to marine ecosystems, especially when combined with ocean warming. However, most previous studies have only examined water-related exposures, leaving a gap in research on the impact of food transfer on organisms. In this work, the harmful impacts of nano-TiO₂ on the Japanese swimming crab Charybdis japonica were studied through three scenarios: direct exposure (DE) of the crabs to warming and nano-TiO₂, indirect exposure (IE) via consumption of thick-shelled mussels Mytilus coruscus exposed to the same conditions, and combined exposure (CE), where crabs were directly subjected to warming and nano-TiO₂ while feeding affected mussels. Moreover, a control group was established, consisting of Japanese swimming crab C. japonica and mussel M. coruscus that were raised under standard temperature (22 °C) and 0 mg L^-1 nano-TiO₂ concentration conditions. Immune, oxidative, and gene expression parameters were measured in gills and hepatopancreas after 7 exposure days. Furthermore, titanium bioaccumulation, along with the morphometrical and histological analyses, were assessed in gills. Bioaccumulation results (1.69-6.83 μg/g) suggested that foodborne stressors induced higher titanium contents. Additionally, there were deformities in gills morphometry and histology. The multivariate analyses showed that warming and nano-TiO₂ combination had a pronounced effect on the overall profile of biological responses in crabs; moreover, the exposure through food alone had the greatest impact on gills immune-oxidative parameters and hepatopancreas gene expressions. The harmful impacts of nano-TiO₂ are significant and can manifest through waterborne and dietary exposure pathways, especially when combined with other stressors, warranting further research.

Keywords: Charybdis japonica; Food chain transfer; Gills histology; Immune-oxidative enzymes; Nano-TiO(2); Warming.