Long/Short-Chain Pfass and Their Mixtures on Zebrafish Embryos Developmental Toxicity and Relevant Gene Regulation Mechanisms : Enlightenment to Human Health

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) questions have become increasingly prominent in the fields of ecotoxicology and public health. More crucially, exposure to long-chain PFASs frequently produces developmental toxicity, prompting the large-scale production and use of derivatives based on short-chain PFASs.Objective: To compare the potential effects of long/short-chain PFASs and their mixtures exposure according to the zebrafish embryos toxic phenotype and its gene expression regulation.Results: (i) PFASs had negative influence on hatchability, lethality and teratogenicity of embryos. Long-chain PFASs were more toxic than short-chain, and the toxicity of their mixtures were irregular. (ii) PFASs exposure caused zebrafish pericardial edema, abnormal bending, blood accumulation, and developmental delay. (iii) Zebrafish treated with different PFASs had significant differences in gene expression. Even causing overall genetic changes, the main pathways of this process were autophagy and apoptosis. (Ⅳ) Zebrafish resists the stress of PFASs by down-regulating the expression of genes, such as ATPase and Ca2+ transport-related gene (atp1b2b), mitochondrial function-related regulatory genes (mt-co2, mt-co3 and mt-cyb), and tumor or carcinogenic and cell proliferation-related genes (laptm4b and ctsbb).Conclusion: PFASs are harmful to human health, and the mechanism of zebrafish coping with PFASs stress may have positive enlightenment for human against tumor-associated diseases