Enantioselective toxicity of (S)-amlodipine towards zebrafish embryos: Abnormal ocular development, cardiac dysfunction, and malformed intersegmental vessels

Amlodipine (AM), widely used for the treatment of hypertension and angina, consists of two enantiomers: (S)-AM and (R)-AM. The extensive use of this medication has raised concerns regarding environmental contamination, but the enantioselective toxicity of AM in aquatic organisms has not been adequat...

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Main Authors: Chaeeun Kim, Donghyeon Kim, Sung-Eun Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325006517
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author Chaeeun Kim
Donghyeon Kim
Sung-Eun Lee
author_facet Chaeeun Kim
Donghyeon Kim
Sung-Eun Lee
author_sort Chaeeun Kim
collection DOAJ
description Amlodipine (AM), widely used for the treatment of hypertension and angina, consists of two enantiomers: (S)-AM and (R)-AM. The extensive use of this medication has raised concerns regarding environmental contamination, but the enantioselective toxicity of AM in aquatic organisms has not been adequately investigated. This study aimed to examine the enantioselective toxicity of AM using zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos, focusing on acute toxicity and developmental toxicity. Neither enantiomer exhibited acute toxicity at the tested concentrations (0.25–20 mg/L). With respect to ocular development, (R)-AM reduced eye volume at the highest tested concentration. The lens-to-eye volume ratio showed a significant increase in embryos treated with both enantiomers compared to the control. Enantioselective toxicity was evident in cardiac function, as (S)-AM-induced heart dysfunction, despite both enantiomers displaying similar patterns of heart development-related gene expression. Severe defects in ISV formation were observed in both (S)-AM and (R)-AM treatments, indicating that AM exposure may result in abnormal blood vessel formation in other fish. Metabolomic analysis indicated that exposure to either enantiomer led to the upregulation of most metabolic pathways, except for starch and sucrose metabolism. Further research needs to confirm enantioselective toxicity under chronic conditions at environmentally relevant concentrations of AM.
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spelling doaj-art-a15fd524fff14de2b4d77af91495cc2c2025-08-20T01:52:42ZengElsevierEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety0147-65132025-06-0129811831510.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118315Enantioselective toxicity of (S)-amlodipine towards zebrafish embryos: Abnormal ocular development, cardiac dysfunction, and malformed intersegmental vesselsChaeeun Kim0Donghyeon Kim1Sung-Eun Lee2Department of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea; Department of Integrative Biology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea; Corresponding author at: Department of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea.Amlodipine (AM), widely used for the treatment of hypertension and angina, consists of two enantiomers: (S)-AM and (R)-AM. The extensive use of this medication has raised concerns regarding environmental contamination, but the enantioselective toxicity of AM in aquatic organisms has not been adequately investigated. This study aimed to examine the enantioselective toxicity of AM using zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos, focusing on acute toxicity and developmental toxicity. Neither enantiomer exhibited acute toxicity at the tested concentrations (0.25–20 mg/L). With respect to ocular development, (R)-AM reduced eye volume at the highest tested concentration. The lens-to-eye volume ratio showed a significant increase in embryos treated with both enantiomers compared to the control. Enantioselective toxicity was evident in cardiac function, as (S)-AM-induced heart dysfunction, despite both enantiomers displaying similar patterns of heart development-related gene expression. Severe defects in ISV formation were observed in both (S)-AM and (R)-AM treatments, indicating that AM exposure may result in abnormal blood vessel formation in other fish. Metabolomic analysis indicated that exposure to either enantiomer led to the upregulation of most metabolic pathways, except for starch and sucrose metabolism. Further research needs to confirm enantioselective toxicity under chronic conditions at environmentally relevant concentrations of AM.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325006517EnantiomersAmlodipineEnantioselective toxicityAbnormal ocular developmentHeart dysfunction
spellingShingle Chaeeun Kim
Donghyeon Kim
Sung-Eun Lee
Enantioselective toxicity of (S)-amlodipine towards zebrafish embryos: Abnormal ocular development, cardiac dysfunction, and malformed intersegmental vessels
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Enantiomers
Amlodipine
Enantioselective toxicity
Abnormal ocular development
Heart dysfunction
title Enantioselective toxicity of (S)-amlodipine towards zebrafish embryos: Abnormal ocular development, cardiac dysfunction, and malformed intersegmental vessels
title_full Enantioselective toxicity of (S)-amlodipine towards zebrafish embryos: Abnormal ocular development, cardiac dysfunction, and malformed intersegmental vessels
title_fullStr Enantioselective toxicity of (S)-amlodipine towards zebrafish embryos: Abnormal ocular development, cardiac dysfunction, and malformed intersegmental vessels
title_full_unstemmed Enantioselective toxicity of (S)-amlodipine towards zebrafish embryos: Abnormal ocular development, cardiac dysfunction, and malformed intersegmental vessels
title_short Enantioselective toxicity of (S)-amlodipine towards zebrafish embryos: Abnormal ocular development, cardiac dysfunction, and malformed intersegmental vessels
title_sort enantioselective toxicity of s amlodipine towards zebrafish embryos abnormal ocular development cardiac dysfunction and malformed intersegmental vessels
topic Enantiomers
Amlodipine
Enantioselective toxicity
Abnormal ocular development
Heart dysfunction
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325006517
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AT sungeunlee enantioselectivetoxicityofsamlodipinetowardszebrafishembryosabnormaloculardevelopmentcardiacdysfunctionandmalformedintersegmentalvessels