Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
3121808 
Journal Article 
Exposure to low dose benzo[a]pyrene during early life stages causes symptoms similar to cardiac hypertrophy in adult zebrafish 
Huang, L; Gao, D; Zhang, Y; Wang, C; Zuo, Z 
2014 
Yes 
Journal of Hazardous Materials
ISSN: 0304-3894
EISSN: 1873-3336 
Elsevier 
AMSTERDAM 
276 
377-382 
English 
24922095 
WOS:000339692700045 
Growing evidence indicates that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can lead to cardiac hypertrophy and recent research indicates that exposure to low dose crude oil during early embryonic development may lead to impacts on heart health at later life stages. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether exposure during early life stages to low dose benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), as a high-ring PAH, would lead to cardiac hypertrophy at later life stages. Zebrafish were exposed to low dose BaP until 96 hpf, then transferred to clean water and maintained for a year before histological and molecular biological analysis. Our results showed that exposure to low level BaP during early life stages increased heart weight to body weight ratios and deposited collagen in the heart of adult zebrafish. ANP, BNP and c-Myc were also induced in the heart of adult zebrafish by BaP. These results proved that low level BaP exposure during early life stages caused symptoms similar to cardiac hypertrophy in adult zebrafish. Our results displayed an elevated expression of CdC42, RhoA, p-ERK1, 2 and Rac1. Therefore, the mechanism of the cardiac hypertrophy caused by BaP exposure during early life stages may be through inducing the expression of CdC42, RhoA and Rac1, together with activating ERK1, 2. 
Adult zebrafish; BaP; Cardiac toxicity; Early life stages; Later life consequences