Effects of flame retardant tributyl phosphate on early development of zebrafish

BackgroundTributyl phosphate (TBP) is widely used as an organophosphate flame retardant. However, there are limited studies on the toxicity of TBP to aquatic organisms at low levels of exposure. ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of TBP on early development of zebrafish (Danio rerio). MethodsZebraf...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yao LI, Jingying ZHU, Limei CHEN, Pengfei ZHU, Xinliang DING, Weijie ZHOU
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Editorial Committee of Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2024-12-01
Series:环境与职业医学
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.jeom.org/article/cn/10.11836/JEOM24391
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841554000320659456
author Yao LI
Jingying ZHU
Yao LI
Limei CHEN
Pengfei ZHU
Xinliang DING
Weijie ZHOU
author_facet Yao LI
Jingying ZHU
Yao LI
Limei CHEN
Pengfei ZHU
Xinliang DING
Weijie ZHOU
author_sort Yao LI
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundTributyl phosphate (TBP) is widely used as an organophosphate flame retardant. However, there are limited studies on the toxicity of TBP to aquatic organisms at low levels of exposure. ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of TBP on early development of zebrafish (Danio rerio). MethodsZebrafish embryos were randomly divided into four groups at 2 h post-fertilisation (2 hpf), namely, the 0.01% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) control group and TBP exposure groups (0.02, 0.2 and 2 μg·L−1). The exposure time was from 2 hpf to 120 hpf and the hatching rate, malformation rate, heart rate and body length of zebrafish embryos at 72 hpf, the frequency of tail curling at 24-29 hpf, the locomotor ability at 96 hpf and the survival rate at 120 hpf were evaluated, respectively. The whole-body triiodothyronine (T3) and tetraiodothyronine (T4) levels of juvenile fish were measured by enzyme immunoassay at the end of the infection, and the expression levels of hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis (HPT) and neurodevelopmental-related genes were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR). ResultsThe heart rates of zebrafish embryos were significantly decreased in all TBP-treated groups (P<0.001), the survival rates of the 0.02 and 2 μg·L−1 TBP groups were significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the malformation rate of the 2 μg·L−1 treated group was significantly increased (P<0.05), which was mainly manifested by pericardial oedema. The frequency of tail curling of zebrafish embryos in all groups reached the highest at 25 hpf, which was significantly lower (P<0.001) in all exposure groups than in the control group (P<0.001). In the locomotor behaviour experiments, the swimming speed of zebrafish larvae in the dark cycle was significantly decreased in the 0.02 and 0.2 μg·L−1 TBP groups (P<0.05), and similar results were found for the light cycle in the 0.2 and 2 μg·L−1 TBP groups (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the T3 level of zebrafish juveniles in the 0.2 μg·L−1 TBP group increased significantly (P<0.05). The q-PCR results showed that the expression levels of HTP axis-related genes [thyroid hormone receptors (trα, \begin{document}$tr\beta $\end{document}), thyroglobulin (tg), and sodium/iodide co-transporter (nis)] were significantly down-regulated in the exposure groups, the expression level of transthyretin (ttr) was significantly up-regulated in the 0.02 μg·L−1 TBP group, and the iodothyronine deiodinase 2 (dio2) expression level was significantly down-regulated in the 0.02 μg·L−1 TBP group (P<0.05); the neurodevelopment-related gene acetylcholinesterase (ache) was significantly down-regulated in the exposure groups, and the expression levels of myelin basic protein (mbp) and Elav like neuron-specific RNA binding protein 3 (elavl3) were significantly down-regulated in the 0.02 μg·L−1 TBP group (P<0.05). ConclusionTBP exposure can lead to early developmental abnormalities in zebrafish, manifested as developmental toxicity, thyroid endocrine disruption and neurotoxicity during hatching and early juvenile stages.
format Article
id doaj-art-e2e9bad4198740f0b45a7319fad4b2db
institution Kabale University
issn 2095-9982
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Editorial Committee of Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine
record_format Article
series 环境与职业医学
spelling doaj-art-e2e9bad4198740f0b45a7319fad4b2db2025-01-09T05:41:12ZengEditorial Committee of Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine环境与职业医学2095-99822024-12-0141121376138310.11836/JEOM2439124391Effects of flame retardant tributyl phosphate on early development of zebrafishYao LI0Jingying ZHU1Yao LI2Limei CHEN3Pengfei ZHU4Xinliang DING5Weijie ZHOU6Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University), Wuxi, Jiangsu 214400, ChinaWuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University), Wuxi, Jiangsu 214400, ChinaWuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University), Wuxi, Jiangsu 214400, ChinaWuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University), Wuxi, Jiangsu 214400, ChinaWuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University), Wuxi, Jiangsu 214400, ChinaWuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University), Wuxi, Jiangsu 214400, ChinaWuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University), Wuxi, Jiangsu 214400, ChinaBackgroundTributyl phosphate (TBP) is widely used as an organophosphate flame retardant. However, there are limited studies on the toxicity of TBP to aquatic organisms at low levels of exposure. ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of TBP on early development of zebrafish (Danio rerio). MethodsZebrafish embryos were randomly divided into four groups at 2 h post-fertilisation (2 hpf), namely, the 0.01% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) control group and TBP exposure groups (0.02, 0.2 and 2 μg·L−1). The exposure time was from 2 hpf to 120 hpf and the hatching rate, malformation rate, heart rate and body length of zebrafish embryos at 72 hpf, the frequency of tail curling at 24-29 hpf, the locomotor ability at 96 hpf and the survival rate at 120 hpf were evaluated, respectively. The whole-body triiodothyronine (T3) and tetraiodothyronine (T4) levels of juvenile fish were measured by enzyme immunoassay at the end of the infection, and the expression levels of hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis (HPT) and neurodevelopmental-related genes were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR). ResultsThe heart rates of zebrafish embryos were significantly decreased in all TBP-treated groups (P<0.001), the survival rates of the 0.02 and 2 μg·L−1 TBP groups were significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the malformation rate of the 2 μg·L−1 treated group was significantly increased (P<0.05), which was mainly manifested by pericardial oedema. The frequency of tail curling of zebrafish embryos in all groups reached the highest at 25 hpf, which was significantly lower (P<0.001) in all exposure groups than in the control group (P<0.001). In the locomotor behaviour experiments, the swimming speed of zebrafish larvae in the dark cycle was significantly decreased in the 0.02 and 0.2 μg·L−1 TBP groups (P<0.05), and similar results were found for the light cycle in the 0.2 and 2 μg·L−1 TBP groups (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the T3 level of zebrafish juveniles in the 0.2 μg·L−1 TBP group increased significantly (P<0.05). The q-PCR results showed that the expression levels of HTP axis-related genes [thyroid hormone receptors (trα, \begin{document}$tr\beta $\end{document}), thyroglobulin (tg), and sodium/iodide co-transporter (nis)] were significantly down-regulated in the exposure groups, the expression level of transthyretin (ttr) was significantly up-regulated in the 0.02 μg·L−1 TBP group, and the iodothyronine deiodinase 2 (dio2) expression level was significantly down-regulated in the 0.02 μg·L−1 TBP group (P<0.05); the neurodevelopment-related gene acetylcholinesterase (ache) was significantly down-regulated in the exposure groups, and the expression levels of myelin basic protein (mbp) and Elav like neuron-specific RNA binding protein 3 (elavl3) were significantly down-regulated in the 0.02 μg·L−1 TBP group (P<0.05). ConclusionTBP exposure can lead to early developmental abnormalities in zebrafish, manifested as developmental toxicity, thyroid endocrine disruption and neurotoxicity during hatching and early juvenile stages.http://www.jeom.org/article/cn/10.11836/JEOM24391organophosphatetributyl phosphatezebrafishendocrine disruptionneurotoxicitydevelopmental toxicity
spellingShingle Yao LI
Jingying ZHU
Yao LI
Limei CHEN
Pengfei ZHU
Xinliang DING
Weijie ZHOU
Effects of flame retardant tributyl phosphate on early development of zebrafish
环境与职业医学
organophosphate
tributyl phosphate
zebrafish
endocrine disruption
neurotoxicity
developmental toxicity
title Effects of flame retardant tributyl phosphate on early development of zebrafish
title_full Effects of flame retardant tributyl phosphate on early development of zebrafish
title_fullStr Effects of flame retardant tributyl phosphate on early development of zebrafish
title_full_unstemmed Effects of flame retardant tributyl phosphate on early development of zebrafish
title_short Effects of flame retardant tributyl phosphate on early development of zebrafish
title_sort effects of flame retardant tributyl phosphate on early development of zebrafish
topic organophosphate
tributyl phosphate
zebrafish
endocrine disruption
neurotoxicity
developmental toxicity
url http://www.jeom.org/article/cn/10.11836/JEOM24391
work_keys_str_mv AT yaoli effectsofflameretardanttributylphosphateonearlydevelopmentofzebrafish
AT jingyingzhu effectsofflameretardanttributylphosphateonearlydevelopmentofzebrafish
AT yaoli effectsofflameretardanttributylphosphateonearlydevelopmentofzebrafish
AT limeichen effectsofflameretardanttributylphosphateonearlydevelopmentofzebrafish
AT pengfeizhu effectsofflameretardanttributylphosphateonearlydevelopmentofzebrafish
AT xinliangding effectsofflameretardanttributylphosphateonearlydevelopmentofzebrafish
AT weijiezhou effectsofflameretardanttributylphosphateonearlydevelopmentofzebrafish