Exposure to nanopollutants (nZnO) enhances the negative effects of hypoxia and delays recovery of the mussels’ immune system

Aquatic environments face escalating challenges from multiple stressors like hypoxia and nanoparticle exposure, with impact on mussel immunity, especially under prolonged hypoxia and its potential modulation by nanopollutants, poorly understood. We investigated the individual and combined effects of short-term and long-term hypoxia and exposure to zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) on hemocytes immune response of the mussels (Mytilus edulis). Hemocyte functional traits (mortality, adhesion capacity, phagocytosis, lysosomal abundance, and oxidative burst), and transcript levels of immune-related genes involved in pathogen recognition (the Toll-like receptors, the complement system components, and the adaptor proteins MyD88) were assessed. Short-term hypoxia minimally affected hemocyte parameters, while prolonged exposure led to immunosuppression, impacting hemocyte abundance, viability, phagocytosis, and defensin gene expression. Under normoxia, nZnO stimulated immune responses of mussel hemocytes. However, combined nZnO and hypoxia induced more pronounced and rapid immunosuppression than hypoxia alone, indicating a synergistic interaction. nZnO exposure hindered immune parameter recovery during post-hypoxic reoxygenation, suggesting persistent impact. Opposing trends were observed in pathogen-sensing and pathogen-elimination mechanisms, with a positive correlation between pathogen-recognition system activation and hemocyte mortality. These findings underscore a complex relationship and potential conflict between pathogen-recognition ability, immune function, and cell survival in mussel hemocytes under hypoxia and nanopollutant stress, and emphasize the importance of considering multiple stressors in assessing the vulnerability and adaptability of mussel immune system under complex environmental conditions of anthropogenically modified coastal ecosystems.