The environmental pollutant Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is commonly found in the environment, with microplastics (MPs) acting as the primary carriers of BaP into living organisms, increasing its availability in the body. However, the specific pathways and mechanisms through which MPs carrying pollutants cause kidney damage are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the routes and mechanisms of kidney injury in mice to low concentrations of both MPs and BaP. The combination of polystyrene (PS) and BaP disrupted lipid metabolism in the kidneys, leading to a form of cell death known as ferroptosis. However, this effect was not observed in HK-2 cells in vitro, indicating a cell-specific response. Interestingly, in HIEC-6 cells, both PS and BaP directly induced ferroptosis. These findings confirm that exposure to both PS and BaP can disrupt metabolic homeostasis in the kidneys, contributing to kidney dysfunction and cell death.
White L. vannamei have become the most widely cultivated shrimp species worldwide. Cultivation of L. vannamei is one of the predominant sectors in China’s aquaculture industry. This study focused on the physiological and biochemical responses, differential protein expression, and expression characteristics of the related crucial functional protein genes under low oxygen conditions among different strains of L. vannamei. It was found that 6 h of hypoxic stress caused a significant reduction in the total hemocyte number in both strains, while the hypoxia-sensitive strain showed a stronger reduction. In contrast, the hemocyanin concentration showed only an overall upward trend. Proteomic analysis of L. vannamei muscle tissue revealed 3,417 differential proteins after 12 h of hypoxic stress. Among them, 29 differentially expressed proteins were downregulated and 244 were upregulated in the hypoxia-sensitive strain. In contrast, there were only 10 differentially expressed proteins with a downregulation pattern and 25 with an upregulation pattern in the hypoxia-tolerant strain. Five protein genes that responded significantly to hypoxic stress were selected for quantitative real-time PCR analysis, namely, hemocyanin, chitinase, heat shock protein 90 (HSP 90), programmed death protein, and glycogen phosphorylase. The results showed that the gene expression patterns were consistent with proteomic experimental data except for death protein and glycogen phosphorylase. These results can enrich the general knowledge of hypoxic stress in L. vannamei and the information provided differentially expressed proteins which may be used to assist breeding programs of L. vannamei of new strains with tolerance to hypoxia.