Common antimicrobials disrupt early zebrafish development through immune-cardiac signaling
The global production and use of antimicrobial chemicals surged during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, yet their developmental toxicity in aquatic organisms at environmentally relevant concentrations remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate and compare the developmental effects of two restri...
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Environmental Science and Ecotechnology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498425000213 |
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| author | Yueyue Liu Chen Wang Zhiyou Fu Yingchen Bai Guomao Zheng Fengchang Wu |
| author_facet | Yueyue Liu Chen Wang Zhiyou Fu Yingchen Bai Guomao Zheng Fengchang Wu |
| author_sort | Yueyue Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The global production and use of antimicrobial chemicals surged during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, yet their developmental toxicity in aquatic organisms at environmentally relevant concentrations remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate and compare the developmental effects of two restricted antimicrobial chemicals—triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC)—and three alternative antimicrobials—benzalkonium chloride (BAC), benzethonium chloride (BEC), and chloroxylenol (CX)—on zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio) at concentrations of 0.4, 4, and 40 μg L−1. We find that BAC induces the most severe reduction in hatching rates, followed by TCS, TCC, BEC, and CX. BAC also exhibits the strongest inhibition of heart rate, with toxicity levels comparable to those of TCS and TCC. All tested chemicals, except CX, cause significant teratogenic effects. Transcriptomic analysis reveals substantial disruptions in immune-related coagulation cascades and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. Further validation via protein-protein interaction network analysis and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction confirms that altered expression of key hub genes in these pathways impacts bone and heart development, as well as immune system function, potentially driving developmental toxicity. This study provides the first systematic comparison of developmental toxicity among currently used antimicrobials at environmentally relevant concentrations, revealing that the alternative antimicrobial BAC poses greater developmental risks than the banned TCS and TCC. These findings raise concerns about the safety of BAC as a widespread substitute and highlight the necessity for more rigorous environmental risk assessments of alternative antimicrobials before their large-scale application. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d6cec4e1d6ff4f8481982f57d78bb4e2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2666-4984 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Science and Ecotechnology |
| spelling | doaj-art-d6cec4e1d6ff4f8481982f57d78bb4e22025-08-20T02:54:39ZengElsevierEnvironmental Science and Ecotechnology2666-49842025-03-012410054310.1016/j.ese.2025.100543Common antimicrobials disrupt early zebrafish development through immune-cardiac signalingYueyue Liu0Chen Wang1Zhiyou Fu2Yingchen Bai3Guomao Zheng4Fengchang Wu5State key laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; College of Water Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, ChinaState key laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; Corresponding author.State key laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, ChinaState key laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, ChinaSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, ChinaState key laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; Corresponding author.The global production and use of antimicrobial chemicals surged during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, yet their developmental toxicity in aquatic organisms at environmentally relevant concentrations remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate and compare the developmental effects of two restricted antimicrobial chemicals—triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC)—and three alternative antimicrobials—benzalkonium chloride (BAC), benzethonium chloride (BEC), and chloroxylenol (CX)—on zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio) at concentrations of 0.4, 4, and 40 μg L−1. We find that BAC induces the most severe reduction in hatching rates, followed by TCS, TCC, BEC, and CX. BAC also exhibits the strongest inhibition of heart rate, with toxicity levels comparable to those of TCS and TCC. All tested chemicals, except CX, cause significant teratogenic effects. Transcriptomic analysis reveals substantial disruptions in immune-related coagulation cascades and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. Further validation via protein-protein interaction network analysis and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction confirms that altered expression of key hub genes in these pathways impacts bone and heart development, as well as immune system function, potentially driving developmental toxicity. This study provides the first systematic comparison of developmental toxicity among currently used antimicrobials at environmentally relevant concentrations, revealing that the alternative antimicrobial BAC poses greater developmental risks than the banned TCS and TCC. These findings raise concerns about the safety of BAC as a widespread substitute and highlight the necessity for more rigorous environmental risk assessments of alternative antimicrobials before their large-scale application.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498425000213DisinfectantsHatchabilityDevelopmental toxicityTranscriptomic analysisZebrafish |
| spellingShingle | Yueyue Liu Chen Wang Zhiyou Fu Yingchen Bai Guomao Zheng Fengchang Wu Common antimicrobials disrupt early zebrafish development through immune-cardiac signaling Environmental Science and Ecotechnology Disinfectants Hatchability Developmental toxicity Transcriptomic analysis Zebrafish |
| title | Common antimicrobials disrupt early zebrafish development through immune-cardiac signaling |
| title_full | Common antimicrobials disrupt early zebrafish development through immune-cardiac signaling |
| title_fullStr | Common antimicrobials disrupt early zebrafish development through immune-cardiac signaling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Common antimicrobials disrupt early zebrafish development through immune-cardiac signaling |
| title_short | Common antimicrobials disrupt early zebrafish development through immune-cardiac signaling |
| title_sort | common antimicrobials disrupt early zebrafish development through immune cardiac signaling |
| topic | Disinfectants Hatchability Developmental toxicity Transcriptomic analysis Zebrafish |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498425000213 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yueyueliu commonantimicrobialsdisruptearlyzebrafishdevelopmentthroughimmunecardiacsignaling AT chenwang commonantimicrobialsdisruptearlyzebrafishdevelopmentthroughimmunecardiacsignaling AT zhiyoufu commonantimicrobialsdisruptearlyzebrafishdevelopmentthroughimmunecardiacsignaling AT yingchenbai commonantimicrobialsdisruptearlyzebrafishdevelopmentthroughimmunecardiacsignaling AT guomaozheng commonantimicrobialsdisruptearlyzebrafishdevelopmentthroughimmunecardiacsignaling AT fengchangwu commonantimicrobialsdisruptearlyzebrafishdevelopmentthroughimmunecardiacsignaling |