Assessment of immunotoxicity of dibutyl phthalate using live zebrafish embryos

This study set out to understand the immune-toxic effects of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) using transgenic, albino or AB line zebrafish. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to different concentrations of DBP, and the immune cells formation, phagocytosis ability were measured after a short-term exposure to DBP for 6 h post-fertilization (hpf) to 72 or 96 hpf. Exposure to DBP was found to inhibit the neutrophils and macrophage formation in a concentration-dependent manner. The ability of macrophage phagocytosis was all decreased after exposure to DBP, indicating the occurrence of immunotoxicity. The respiratory burst was induced, and the transcription levels of T/B cell-related genes rag1/2 were up-regulated. The overall results indicate that DBP in aquatic environment greatly influence the immune system in fish, and zebrafish embryos can serve as a reliable model for the developmental immunotoxicity of toxic-chemicals.