PUBLICATION

Polystyrene microplastic exposure disturbs hepatic glycolipid metabolism at the physiological, biochemical, and transcriptomic levels in adult zebrafish

Authors
Zhao, Y., Bao, Z., Wan, Z., Fu, Z., Jin, Y.
ID
ZDB-PUB-200110-20
Date
2019
Source
The Science of the total environment   710: 136279 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
Polystyrene microplastic, Transcription, Transcriptome, Zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Glycolipids
  • Liver
  • Male
  • Microplastics*
  • Polystyrenes
  • Transcriptome
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
31918190 Full text @ Sci. Total Environ.
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs), which are new types of environmental pollutants, have recently received widespread attention worldwide. MPs can accumulate in the bodies of animals and in plants, and they can also enter the human body through the food chain. However, knowledge of the effects of MPs on the health of animals is still limited. In this experiment, adult male zebrafish were exposed to 20 or 100 μg/L of 5 μm polystyrene MP for 21 days in an attempt to determine the hepatic effects related to glycolipid metabolism at the biochemical and transcriptomic levels. It was found that body weight and condition factor decreased significantly in zebrafish after exposure to 20 and 100 μg/L polystyrene MP for 21 days. The transcription levels of major genes related to glycolipid metabolism decreased significantly in the liver. Correspondingly, the levels of major biochemical parameters, including Glu, pyruvic acid, α-ketoglutaric acid and IDH, were also decreased in the livers of exposed zebrafish, especially those in the 100 μg/L polystyrene MP-treated group. Moreover, the data on the hepatic transcriptome also confirmed that some genes related to fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and carbon metabolism tended to be decreased in the livers of exposed zebrafish. Taken together, our data confirmed that polystyrene PS-MP can induce hepatic glycolipid metabolism disorder at the physiological, biochemical, and transcriptomic levels in adult zebrafish after 21 days of exposure.
Errata / Notes
It should be noted that the primers listed for apoa4 (Apoa-IV) may not amplify either apoa4b.1 or apoa4b.2 While the primer sequences do find XM_001344786 when BLAST is conducted at NCBI, XM_001344786 finds nbn, which is adjacent to the 2 apoa4b genes. The primer sequences BLAST to npn in Ensembl. In conclusion, it is more likely that the RTPCR results reflect the expression of nbn and not an apoa4b gene.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping