Abstract
This study investigated the acute effects of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) exposure on energy metabolism and gill histology in zebrafish (Danio rerio). The in vitro incubation of gill tissue with 10 μM DBP for 60 min altered tissue energy supply, as shown by decreased lactate content and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. Higher concentrations of DBP (100 μM and 1 mM) increased lactate content and LDH activity; however, they blocked glucose uptake, depleted the glycogen content in cellular stores, and induced injury to the gills, as measured by LDH release to the extracellular medium. In addition, in vivo exposure of fish to 1 pM DBP for 12 h induced liver damage by increasing alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activities. Gill histology indicated hyperemia, lamellar fusion, lamellar telangiectasis, and necrosis. Data indicate that acute exposure of zebrafish gills to the higher DBP concentrations studied induces anaerobic cellular activity and high lactate production, causing gill damage, diminishing cell viability, and incurring liver dysfunction.
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The datasets generated during the current study will be available upon request to the author’s e-mail: mena.barreto@ufsc.br
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the technical support provided by UFSC/LAMEB I-CCB. We also thank Prof. Bóris Stambuk/UFSC for the technical support.
Funding
This study was supported by grants from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico-Brazil (CNPq grant agreement no. 401440/2014-1) and Coordenação de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES/PROAP no. 2018/2019). KR thanks CNPq/PIBIC-UFSC for her scientific initiation fellowship, HBS is registered at PPG-Biochemistry/UFSC and supported by CAPES. FRMBS is the recipient of a CNPq productivity fellowship (no. 305799/2019-3), and GVK is recipient of a CNPq/PVE fellowship (no. 401440/2014-1). The authors declare that no kind of support was received during the preparation of this manuscript.
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Silva FRMB, De Moura KRS, and Van Der Kraak G proposed the study and designed the project, analyzed data and wrote the paper. Rodrigues K and Batista-Silva H prepared the assays, analyzed the data by statistical methods, revised the literature, and prepared figures and legends and contributed to the discussion. All authors revised and edited the manuscript. F. R. M. B. S. was responsible for the acquisition of the financial support for the project, had access to all the data of this study, and takes responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the data analysis.
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All animals were carefully monitored and maintained in accordance with the recommendations of the local Ethical Committee for Animal Use of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Protocol CEUA/UFSC/PP00968).
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Rodrigues, K., Batista-Silva, H., de Moura, K.R.S. et al. Dibutyl phthalate disrupts energy metabolism and morphology in the gills and induces hepatotoxicity in zebrafish. Fish Physiol Biochem 49, 883–893 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-023-01227-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-023-01227-z