Effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) on early life stages of zebrafish (Danio rerio)

摘要

Tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) has been received great concerns because of its increasing presence in various environmental compartments and toxicity. In the present study, zebrafish embryos were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of TCEP (0.2, 2, 20, 200μg/L) from 3 to 120 h post-fertilization (hpf). The results showed that TCEP exposure (20, 200 μg/L) led to developmental toxicity including decreased body length and delay of hatching. Treatment with TCEP significantly decreased whole-body thyroxine (T4) levels and mRNA level of thyroglobulin (ig), and enhanced transcriptions of genes sodium/iodide symporter (rtis), thyroid hormone receptor α (trα) and ugtlab involved in thyroid synthesis and metabolism, respectively. Additionally, TCEP altered the transcription of a1-tubulin, gap43 and mbp related to nervous system development, even at relatively low concentrations. Overall, our results revealed that TCEP exposure can lead to developmental toxicity, thyroid endocrine disruption and neurotoxicity on early developmental stages of zebrafish.