title: Toxic effects of perfluorononanoic acid on the development of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos.
abstract: Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) is a nine-carbon perfluoroalkyl acid widely used in industrial and domestic products. It is a persistent organic pollutant found in the environment as well as in the tissues of humans and wildlife. There is a concern that this chemical might be a developmental toxicant and teratogen in various ecosystems. In the present study, the toxic effects of PFNA were evaluated in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. One hour post-fertilization embryos were treated with 0, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 350, and 400 μmol/L PFNA for 96 hr in 6-well plates. Developmental phenotypes and hatching rates were observed and recorded. Nineteen genes related to oxidative stress and lipid metabolism were examined using Quantitative RT-PCR and confirmed by whole mount in situ hybridization (WISH). Results showed that PFNA delayed the development of zebrafish embryos, reduced the hatching rate, and caused ventricular edema and malformation of the spine. In addition, the amount of reactive oxygen species in the embryo bodies increased significantly after exposure to PFNA compared with that of the control group. The Quantitative RT-PCR and WISH experiments demonstrated that mRNA expression of the lfabp and ucp2 genes increased significantly while that of sod1 and mt-nd1 decreased significantly after PFNA exposure. The mRNA expression levels of gpx1 and mt-atp6 decreased significantly in the high concentration group. However, the mRNA expression levels of both ppara and pparg did not show any significant variation after exposure. These findings suggest that PFNA affected the development of zebrafish embryos at relatively low concentrations.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: liuhui@ioz.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: daijy@ioz.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jiayin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000633:toxicity*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C101816:perfluoro-n-nonanoic acid
keywords: Danio rerio; Developmental toxicity; Perfluorononanoic acid; Zebrafish embryo