Project description:Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a potent hepatocarcinogen and peroxisome proliferator (PP) in rodents. Humans are not susceptible to peroxisome proliferation and are thought to be refractory to carcinogenesis by PFOA and other PPs. However, previous studies with rainbow trout have shown that they are also insensitive to peroxisome proliferation by the PP, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), but are still susceptible to enhanced hepatocarcinogenesis after chronic exposure. In this study, we determined whether PFOA is also a tumor promotor in trout and then examined hepatic gene expression profiles to further investigate possible mechanisms of action. Trout were initiated as fry to the hepatocarcinogen, aflatoxin B1, and then fed 200-1800 ppm PFOA in the diet for 30 weeks. Two structurally diverse PPs, clofibrate (CLOF) and DHEA, were included for comparison. Hepatic gene expression profiles were subsequently examined in animals exposed to similar doses of PFOA, DHEA and CLOF along with 5 ppm 17β-estradiol (E2; a known tumor promotor) in the diet. PFOA (1800 ppm) and DHEA treatments resulted in enhanced liver tumor incidence and multiplicity while CLOF showed no effect. Carcinogenesis seemed independent of peroxisome proliferation as no induction of peroxisomal β-oxidation and catalase activity were observed. Alternately, plasma VTG was elevated in fish fed PFOA and DHEA suggesting that estrogenic mechanisms may play a role. Both tumor promotors, PFOA and DHEA, resulted in strong correlation of transcriptional profiles with E2 by Pearson correlation (R=0.81 and 0.78, respectively). In comparison, CLOF regulated no genes in common with E2. Overall, these data suggest that the tumor promoting activities of DHEA and PFOA in trout are independent of peroxisome proliferation and may involve estrogenic mechanisms. Juvenile trout, 12-18 months old, were fed experimental diets containing 500 or 1800 ppm PFOA, 1800 ppm CLOF, 750 ppm DHEA, 5 ppm E2 or 0.15 % dimethyl sulfoxide vehicle control for 14 days. Liver samples were collected for microarray analysis. Hybridizations were performed using standard reference design with dye-swapping. For each sample, equal amounts of RNA (µg) were pooled from five fish per tank for every treatment (n=3 biological replicates per treatment). cDNA from two of the three biological replicates was dye-swapped and hybridized to two slides as technical replicates (5 arrays per treatment).

Project description:Microarray analyses were used to evaluate patterns of gene transcription following exposure of the waterflea Daphnia magna to two natural and one anthropogenic stressor. cDNA microarrays compiled of three life stage specific and three stressor-specific EST libraries, yielding 1734 different EST sequences, were used. We exposed the water flea Daphnia magna to three stressors known to exert strong selection in natural populations of this species i.e. a sublethal concentration of the pesticide carbaryl, infective spores of the endoparasite Pasteuria ramosa, and fish predation risk mimicked by exposure to fish kairomones. A total of 148 gene fragments were differentially expressed compared to the control. Most gene fragments were downregulated under stress (82.4% downregulation compared to 17.6% upregulation) irrespective of the treatment. In approximately 5% of the cases up- or downregulation depended on stressor identity. Based on a PCA, we could identify two different groups within our exposure treatments: small and big gene expression differences compared to the control condition. The treatments parasite 96h exposure, carbaryl 144h of exposure and fish 144h of exposure are combined in the high stress group. 26 samples x 2 biological replicates were analysed in a carriage wheel design (Khanin & Wit, 2005; Knapen et al., 2009) with a reference sample composed of a clutch of non-exposed D. magna that were collected at different time points ranging from 0-24h until three weeks old. The 26 samples included: 4 treatments (control, carbaryl, fish and parasite exposure) x three time points (48h, 96h and 144h) x 2 replicates + 2 start samples (non-exposed individuals younger than 24h old). This led to 52 different microarray hybridizations: 26 hybridizations for the inner part of the wheel, where every sample is hybridized against the reference, and another 26 for the outer part. Color flip experiments were incorporated per sample to fulfill the conditions of technical replicates on the level of labelling; every stressor-time combination was included at least once in red and once in green. One hybridization in the outer part of the wheel had technical problems, and is not included here.

Project description:Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic chemicals that are persistent in the environment. Due to concerns linked with longer chain PFAS, shorter chain chemicals were used as replacements, but developmental toxicity assessments of the shorter chain chemicals are limited. The aim of this study was to compare the developmental toxicity of three perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs): perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), composed of 8 carbon (C8), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA, C6), and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA, C4) using the zebrafish (Danio rerio). LC50s at 120 hour post fertilization (hpf) were determined to assess the potency of each PFAA by exposing developing zebrafish (1-120 hpf) to a range of concentrations. In sublethal assessments, zebrafish were exposed to 0, 4, 40, or 400 parts per billion (ppb; µg/L) of the PFAAs throughout embryonic development (1-72 hpf). Effects of the embryonic exposure on locomotor activities was completed with the visual motor response test at 120 hpf. At 72 hpf, morphological changes including total body length, head length, and head width were assessed. Additionally, transcriptomic profiles of PFOA, PFHxA, and PFBA were determined at 72 hpf to compare altered molecular and disease pathways. The LC50 ranking was PFOA > PFHxA > PFBA, which followed trend as expected based on chain length. PFOA caused hyperactivity and PFBA hypoactivity, while PFHxA did not change behavior. PFOA, PFHxA, and PFBA caused morphological and transcriptomic alterations that were unique for each chemical and were concentration dependent. Cancer was a top enriched disease for PFOA, while FXR/RXR activation was a top canonical pathway in all PFBA exposures. Overall, an embryonic exposure to PFOA, PFHxA, or PFBA resulted in morphological alterations in zebrafish eleuthero-embryos; however, only PFOA and PFBA induced neurobehavioral alterations. The transcriptomic profile of each chemical was unique indicating different toxicity mechanisms and were aligned with human adverse health outcomes supporting predictive value.

Dataset Information

Mechanistic information on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

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