Effect of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) on Vitellogenin Levels in Blood Plasma and Tissue Homogenate of Zebrafish (Brachydanio rerio)
全氟辛烷磺酸(PFOS)对斑马鱼血浆和组织匀浆中卵黄蛋白原含量的影响

To study the endocrine disrupting effect and action mechanism of low dose of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) on aquatic organisms, the effect of PFOS exposure on vitellogenin (VTG) levels in the blood plasma and tissue homogenate of zebrafish (Brachydanio rerio) was investigated. Male and female zebrafish were separately exposed to PFOS (0.1, 1, 10 and 100 μg·L-1) for 21 days. VTG levels in the blood plasma, whole body homogenate and head&tail homogenate were analyzed at the end of PFOS exposure. Results showed that: (1) VTG levels in the blood plasma, whole body homogenate and head & tail homogenate of zebrafish increased after PFOS exposure. VTG levels followed the order of (plasma>>whole body homogenate>head&tail homogenate) in female zebrafish >>(plasma>whole body homogenate>>head&tail homogenate) in male zebrafish. (2) VTG levels in the plasma and head&tail homogenate of male zebrafish increased in a negative dose-response pattern, and VTG levels in 0.1 μg·L-1 PFOS exposure group showed significant difference compared with the control (p<0.05). (3) VTG levels in the plasma and head&tail homogenate of female zebrafish increased in an inverted U-shaped dose-response pattern, and VTG levels in 10 μg·L-1 PFOS exposure group were significantly different from those in the control (p<0.05). (4) VTG levels in the whole body homogenate increased but had no significant difference compared with the control. Therefore, it was indicated that PFOS exposure could be active on the endocrine system of zebrafish with the xenoestrogenic action mechanism, and that VTG levels in the blood plasma and head&tail homogenate of zebrafish can be as sensitive biomarkers for assessing endocrine disrupting effect of PFOS, with different responding patterns dependent on sexes and tissues.