H₂O₂-Induced Oxidative Stress Responses in Eriocheir sinensis: Antioxidant Defense and Immune Gene Expression...

Eriocheir sinensis, a key species in China's freshwater aquaculture, is threatened by various diseases, which were verified to be closely associated with oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the response of E. sinensis to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced oxidative stress to understand the biological processes behind these diseases. Crabs were exposed to different concentrations of H₂O₂ and their antioxidant enzyme activities and gene expressions for defense and immunity were measured. Results showed that activities of antioxidant enzymes-specificallysuperoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px)-varied with exposure concentration and duration, initially increasing then decreasing. Notably, SOD, GSH-Px, and T-AOC activities dropped below control levels at 96 h. Concurrently, oxidative damage markers, including malondialdehyde (MDA), H₂O₂, and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels, increased with exposure duration. The mRNA expression of SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px also showed an initial increase followed by a decrease, peaking at 72 h. The upregulation of phenoloxidaseloxidase (proPO) and peroxinectin (PX) was also detected, but proPO was suppressed under high levels of H₂O₂. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression gradually increased with higher H₂O₂ concentrations, whereas induced nitrogen monoxide synthase (iNOS) was upregulated but decreased at 96 h. These findings emphasize H₂O₂'s significant impact on the crab's oxidative and immune responses, highlighting the importance of understanding cellular stress responses for disease prevention and therapy development.