Particulate matter (PM) can cause human diseases, particularly respiratory diseases. Since eyes are directly exposed to the air, they might be directly adversely affected by PM. Therefore, we determined the toxicity caused to eye development by PM using zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. The PM-induced embryo toxicity was dependent on dose and time and caused significant morphological defects, reducing the total body length and the total eye area. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction was confirmed in the PM treatment group, and antioxidant genes (cat and sod2), photoreceptor cell development, pigmentation genes (atoh8, vsx1, and rho), eye-embryogenesis genes (pax6a and pax6b), and eye-lens-development genes (cryaa) were downregulated, while eye-development genes (crybb1) were upregulated. In conclusion, PM had a direct adverse effect on the eyes, and zebrafish embryos can be used as a model to evaluate PM-induced eye toxicity in vivo.
Keywords: eye disease model; particulate matter; toxicity; zebrafish.