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Effects of Di-n-butyl Phthalate and Diethyl Phthalate on Acetylcholinesterase Activity and Neurotoxicity Related Gene Expression in Embryonic Zebrafish

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Abstract

In the present study, zebrafish embryos were used to assess the neurotoxicity of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), diethyl phthalate (DEP) and their mixture. Four-hour post-fertilization (hpf) zebrafish embryos were exposed to various concentrations of DBP, DEP and their mixture (DBP–DEP) until 96 hpf. The transcriptions levels of selected neuron-related genes reported as neurotoxicity biomarkers were analyzed. The results showed that transcripts of growth associated protein 43 (gap43), embryonic lethal abnormal vision-like 3 (elavl3), glial fibrillary acidic protein (gfap), myelin basic protein (mbp), α1-tubulin and neurogenin1 (ngn1) were significantly up-regulated after DBP, DEP and DBP–DEP mixture exposure. In addition, acetylcholinesterase activity was significantly inhibited in the embryos. These results indicate that DBP and DEP have the potential neurotoxicity in zebrafish embryos.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported financially by Research Foundation for Advanced Talents of Jiangsu University (13JDG014), Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Chinese Universities from Ministry of Education (20113227110020), Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (HCK201017) and Open Fund Project from State key laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology (KF2011–20).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of the Environment, Jiangsu University, Xuefu Rd. 301, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu, China

    Hai Xu, Xiaoling Shao, Zhen Zhang, Yanmin Zou, Yao Chen, Songlei Han, Shasha Wang & Xiangyang Wu

  2. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Xuefu Rd. 301, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu, China

    Liuqing Yang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, Hei Longjiang, China

    Zhonglin Chen

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  1. Hai Xu
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  2. Xiaoling Shao
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  3. Zhen Zhang
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  4. Yanmin Zou
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  5. Yao Chen
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  6. Songlei Han
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  7. Shasha Wang
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  8. Xiangyang Wu
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  9. Liuqing Yang
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  10. Zhonglin Chen
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Correspondence to Xiangyang Wu or Zhonglin Chen.

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Xu, H., Shao, X., Zhang, Z. et al. Effects of Di-n-butyl Phthalate and Diethyl Phthalate on Acetylcholinesterase Activity and Neurotoxicity Related Gene Expression in Embryonic Zebrafish. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 91, 635–639 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-013-1101-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-013-1101-9

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