Anastasiou, T.I.; Kagiampaki, E.; Kondylatos, G.; Tselepides, A.; Peristeraki, P.; Mandalakis, M. Assessing the Toxicity of Lagocephalus sceleratus Pufferfish from the Southeastern Aegean Sea and the Relationship of Tetrodotoxin with Gonadal Hormones. Mar. Drugs2023, 21, 520.
Anastasiou, T.I.; Kagiampaki, E.; Kondylatos, G.; Tselepides, A.; Peristeraki, P.; Mandalakis, M. Assessing the Toxicity of Lagocephalus sceleratus Pufferfish from the Southeastern Aegean Sea and the Relationship of Tetrodotoxin with Gonadal Hormones. Mar. Drugs 2023, 21, 520.
Anastasiou, T.I.; Kagiampaki, E.; Kondylatos, G.; Tselepides, A.; Peristeraki, P.; Mandalakis, M. Assessing the Toxicity of Lagocephalus sceleratus Pufferfish from the Southeastern Aegean Sea and the Relationship of Tetrodotoxin with Gonadal Hormones. Mar. Drugs2023, 21, 520.
Anastasiou, T.I.; Kagiampaki, E.; Kondylatos, G.; Tselepides, A.; Peristeraki, P.; Mandalakis, M. Assessing the Toxicity of Lagocephalus sceleratus Pufferfish from the Southeastern Aegean Sea and the Relationship of Tetrodotoxin with Gonadal Hormones. Mar. Drugs 2023, 21, 520.
Abstract
Given the dramatic increase of L. sceleratus population in southeastern Aegean Sea, there is growing interest in assessing the toxicity of this pufferfish and the factors controlling its tetrodotoxin (TTX) content. In the present study, liver, gonads, muscle and skin of L. sceleratus specimens from Rhodes island, Greece were subjected to multi-analyte profiling using liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in order to quantitate TTX and evaluate whether this biotoxin interrelates with hormones. TTX and its analogues 4-epiTTX, 11-deoxyTTX, 11-norTTX-6-ol, 4,9-anhydroTTX and5,11-6,11-dideoxyTTX were detected in all tissue types. Liver and gonads were the most toxic tissues, with the highest TTX concentrations being observed in the ovaries of female specimens. Only 22% of the analyzed muscle samples were non-toxic according to the Japanese toxicity threshold (2.2 μg TTX eq g-1), confirming the high poisoning risk from from the inadvertent consumption of this species. Four steroid hormones (i.e., cortisol, testosterone, androstenedione and β-estradiol) and the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) were detected in the gonads. Androstenedione dominated in female specimens, while GnRH was more abundant in males. A positive correlation of TTX and its analogues with β-estradiol was observed. Though, a model incorporating sex rather than β-estradiol as independent variable was proved more efficient in predicting TTX concentration, implying that other sex-related characteristics are more important than specific hormone-regulated processes.
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