PUBLICATION

Toxic effects of polystyrene nanoparticles on the development, escape locomotion, and lateral-line sensory function of zebrafish embryos

Authors
Lin, L.Y., Kantha, P., Horng, J.L.
ID
ZDB-PUB-230723-41
Date
2023
Source
Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Toxicology & pharmacology : CBP   272: 109701 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Horng, Jiun-Lin
Keywords
Hair cell, Locomotion, Nanoparticle, Neurotoxicity, Polystyrene
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian
  • Lateral Line System*
  • Nanoparticles*/toxicity
  • Polystyrenes/toxicity
  • Sensation
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical*/metabolism
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
37478959 Full text @ Comp. Biochem. Physiol. C Toxicol. Pharmacol.
Abstract
Environmental pollution by micro- and nanosized plastic particles is a potential threat to aquatic animals. Polystyrene is one of the most common plastic particles in aquatic environments. Previous studies found that polystyrene nanoparticles (PNs) can penetrate the integument and accumulate in the organs of fish embryos. However, the potential impacts of PNs on fish embryos are not fully understood. To investigate this issue, zebrafish embryos were exposed to different concentrations (10, 25, and 50 mg/L) of PNs (25 nm) for 96 h (4-100 h post-fertilization), and various endpoints were examined, including developmental morphology (body length, sizes of the eyes, otic vesicles, otoliths, pericardial cavity, and yolk sac), locomotion (touch-evoked escape response and spinal motor neurons), and lateral-line function (hair cell number and hair bundle number). Exposure to 50 mg/L of PNs resulted in significant adverse effects across all endpoints studied, indicating that embryonic development was severely disrupted, and both locomotion and sensory function were impaired. However, at 25 mg/L of PNs, only locomotion and sensory function were significantly affected. The effects were insignificant in all examined endpoints at 10 mg/L of PNs. Transcript levels of several marker genes for neuronal function and eye development were suppressed after treatment. Exposure to fluorescent PNs showed that they accumulated in various organs including, the eyes, gills, blood vessels, gallbladder, gut, and lateral line neuromasts. Overall, this study suggests that short-term exposure to a high concentration of PNs can threaten fish survival by impairing embryonic development, locomotion performance, and mechanical sensory function.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping