Harmful cyanobacterial blooms pose an environmental health hazard due to the release of water-soluble cyanotoxins. One of the most prevalent cyanotoxins in nature is microcystins (MCs), a class of cyclic heptapeptide hepatotoxins, and they are produced by several common cyanobacteria in aquatic environments. Once released from cyanobacterial cells, MCs are subjected to physical chemical and biological transformations in natural environments. MCs can also be taken up and accumulated in aquatic organisms and their grazers/predators and induce toxic effects in several organisms, including humans. This brief review aimed to summarize our current understanding on the chemical structure, exposure pathway, cytotoxicity, biosynthesis, and environmental transformation of microcystins.

中文翻译：

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微囊藻毒素的结构、细胞毒性、合成和生物降解简述

由于水溶性蓝藻毒素的释放，有害的蓝藻水华对环境健康造成危害。自然界中最普遍的蓝藻毒素之一是微囊藻毒素 (MC)，这是一类环状七肽肝毒素，它们由水生环境中的几种常见蓝藻产生。一旦从蓝藻细胞中释放出来，MCs 就会在自然环境中进行物理化学和生物转化。MCs 也可以在水生生物及其食草动物/捕食者中吸收和积累，并在包括人类在内的几种生物中引起毒性作用。这篇简短的综述旨在总结我们目前对微囊藻毒素的化学结构、暴露途径、细胞毒性、生物合成和环境转化的理解。