Plasticizers are used as additives in making plastics. Diethyl phthalate (DEP) is one of the majorly used plasticizers in various products. When plastic materials are dumped in an aquatic system, there is an increase in chances of DEP leaching out and getting deposited in water. Thus the current work focuses on studying the effect of DEP on the larval stages of Chironomus circumdatus. In this study it was found that there was an increase in lipid peroxidation levels indicating imposition of oxidative stress on these larvae due to the exposure of DEP. Changes in the levels of carbohydrates and lipids were also seen. To reduce these effects antioxidant defense system may get activated. Thus investigations showed an increase in enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and acetylcholinesterases (AchE) and decrease in the activity of glutathione reductase (GR). Nonenzymatic antioxidant glutathione levels were also increased during the post-recovery exposure period. Thus this indicates that both enzymatic, as well as non-enzymatic antioxidants, play a certain role in reducing the stress mediated by DEP. Up-regulation of gene expression of heat shock protein70 (hsp70) was observed, which is one of the conserved protein produced during stress response in many dipterans. Changes in the level of expression of the ecdysone receptor (EcR) gene were also seen in DEP exposed larvae. Thus the insights give us a preliminary indication that physiological and developmental adaptations may take place in these organisms to persist in the DEP contaminated environment. CAPSULE: DEP mediated stress imposes changes in the metabolites and thus activation of antioxidant defense system in aquatic midges of Chironomus circumdatus. Changes in the expression of heat shock protein70 and ecdysone receptor was also seen indicating that DEP mediated stress affects at the molecular level also of the organism. These changes may help them to tolerate and live in DEP polluted water.

中文翻译：

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增塑剂邻苯二甲酸二乙酯在环线虫（血蠕虫）中介导的生化和分子变化。

增塑剂用作制造塑料的添加剂。邻苯二甲酸二乙酯（DEP）是各种产品中主要使用的增塑剂之一。当将塑料材料倾倒在水生系统中时，DEP浸出并沉积在水中的机会增加。因此，当前的工作集中在研究DEP对Chironomus circumdatus幼虫期的影响。在这项研究中发现，由于暴露于DEP，脂质过氧化水平增加，表明在这些幼虫上施加了氧化应激。还发现了碳水化合物和脂质水平的变化。为了减少这些影响，抗氧化剂防御系统可能会被激活。因此研究表明，超氧化物歧化酶（SOD），过氧化氢酶（CAT）的酶促活性增加，谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GPx）和乙酰胆碱酯酶（AchE）会降低谷胱甘肽还原酶（GR）的活性。在恢复后的接触期间，非酶性抗氧化剂谷胱甘肽水平也增加了。因此，这表明酶抗氧化剂和非酶抗氧化剂都在减轻DEP介导的压力中起一定作用。观察到热休克蛋白70（hsp70）基因表达的上调，这是许多二倍体动物在应激反应过程中产生的保守蛋白之一。在暴露于DEP的幼虫中，蜕皮激素受体（EcR）基因的表达水平也发生了变化。因此，这些见解为我们提供了初步指示，表明这些生物体可能发生生理和发育适应，以在受DEP污染的环境中持续存在。胶囊：DEP介导的胁迫会在马齿Chi鱼的水生mid中代谢物发生变化，从而激活抗氧化防御系统。还观察到热休克蛋白70和蜕皮激素受体表达的变化，表明DEP介导的应激也在生物的分子水平上产生影响。这些变化可能帮助他们耐受DEP污染的水并生活在其中。