title: Biological response of zebrafish embryos after short-term exposure to thifluzamide.
abstract: Thifluzamide is a new amide fungicide, and its extensive application may have toxic effects on zebrafish. To better understand the underlying mechanism, we investigated in detail the potential toxic effects of thifluzamide on zebrafish embryos. In the present study, embryos were exposed to 0, 0.19, 1.90, and 2.85 mg/L thifluzamide for 4 days. Obvious pathological changes were found upon a histological exam, and negative changes in mitochondrial structure were observed under Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), which qualitatively noted the toxic effects of thifluzamide on embryos. Moreover, we quantitatively evaluated the enzyme activities [succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), caspases], the contents of malonaldehyde (MDA) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) and the expression levels of the related genes. This study suggests that the negative changes in mitochondrial structure and SDH activity might be responsible for oxidative damage, cell apoptosis and inflammation, which would facilitate the action of these factors in cell death and might play a crucial role during toxic events. In addition to providing the first description of the mechanism of the toxic effects of thifluzamide on embryos, this study also represents a step towards using embryos to assess mitochondrial metabolism and disease.
authors.affiliation: College of Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wenxian
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Center of Fishery Resources and Ecology Environment Research, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.affiliation: College of Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Suzhen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: College of Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: College of Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chengju
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000813:Anilides / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000633:toxicity*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000633:toxicity*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: D000813:Anilides; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D013844:Thiazoles; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C494892:thifluzamide