Behavioral effects of early-life exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid might synthetically link to multiple aspects of dopaminergic neuron development and dopamine functions in zebrafish larvae

Tingting Yu; Guangdi Zhou; Zhenzhen Cai; Wei Liang; Yatao Du; Weiye Wang

doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2021.105926

Behavioral effects of early-life exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid might synthetically link to multiple aspects of dopaminergic neuron development and dopamine functions in zebrafish larvae

Aquat Toxicol. 2021 Jul 24:238:105926. doi: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2021.105926. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Tingting Yu¹, Guangdi Zhou¹, Zhenzhen Cai¹, Wei Liang¹, Yatao Du², Weiye Wang³

Affiliations

¹ Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200292, China.
² Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200292, China. Electronic address: duyatao@xinhuamed.com.cn.
³ Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200292, China. Electronic address: wangweiye@xinhuamed.com.cn.

PMID: 34340000
DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2021.105926

Abstract

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is known as an environmental endocrine disruptor and has developmental neurotoxicity that could be associated with behavior changes in human and animal studies. Previous studies have shown that PFOA might affect the dopaminergic nervous system. However, the mode of action underlying the effects of PFOA remains poorly understood. Our study used zebrafish as an animal model to investigate the effects of early-life PFOA exposure on dopaminergic neuron development and dopamine functions in zebrafish larvae. Zebrafish fertilized eggs were exposed to different concentrations of PFOA (0, 10, 100, 1000 μg/L). After exposure to PFOA for 7 days, the locomotor activity of zebrafish was decreased; the mRNA levels of nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group a member 2b (nr4a2b), paired box 2 and 5 (pax2, pax5), tyrosine hydroxylase 1/2 (th1/th2) and dopamine transporter (dat) were increased; mRNA and protein level of mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (manf) were decreased. Neural cell proliferation in the preoptic area of hypothalamus was increased. In conclusion, dopaminergic neuron development might be one of the targets of early-life PFOA exposure. The neurobehavior changes induced by PFOA exposure might link to multiple aspects of dopaminergic neuron development and dopamine functions in zebrafish larvae.

Keywords: Dopaminergic nervous system; Early-life exposure; Neurobehavior; Neurotoxicity; Perfluorooctanoic acid.