2. Academic Validation
  3. Establishment of the first dermal fibroblast cell line derived from the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) and its response to pollutant exposure

Establishment of the first dermal fibroblast cell line derived from the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) and its response to pollutant exposure

  • J Hazard Mater. 2024 Oct 11:480:136092. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136092.
Yanqing Xie 1,  Qinzhe Sun 1,  Zhicheng Li 1,  Fei Liu 1,  Zhenhui Xie 1,  Yuping Wu 2,  Xiyang Zhang 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 School of Marine Sciences, Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Pearl River Estuary Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China.
  • 2 School of Marine Sciences, Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Pearl River Estuary Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China. Electronic address: exwyp@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
  • 3 School of Marine Sciences, Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Pearl River Estuary Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China. Electronic address: zhangxiy3@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
PMID: 39405721 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136092
Abstract

The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus), classified as a new species since 1998, is underexplored in ecotoxicology owing to ethical constraints and the lack of specific in vitro models. Herein, we established the first skin fibroblast cell line (TaSF) from an Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin stranded along the Pearl River Estuary, China. TaSF cells exhibited strong proliferation in early passages but ceased mitosis at passage 19, likely owing to reaching the Hayflick limit. Morphology and immunofluorescence tests confirmed the fibroblastic nature of these cells. Karyotyping revealed 21 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes (XY), consistent with many cetaceans. To facilitate long-term future studies, TaSF cells were immortalized with exogenous simian virus 40 T antigen, creating the TaSFT cell line. The cytotoxic effects of 27 contaminants, including 6 organotins (OTs), 10 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and 11 phthalates (PAEs), on TaSFT cells were evaluated after 24-h exposure. Among these chemicals, OTs exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity, and both OTs and PFASs showed structure-related toxicity. These findings confirm the feasibility of TaSFT cells as a novel tool for ecotoxicity research on the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin and highlight the need for further investigation into the environmental contaminant pressures on this species.

Keywords

Contaminant exposure; Cytotoxicity; Dermal fibroblasts; Immortalized cell line; Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin.

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