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Updated: Jul 2, 2025
High-fat Feeding Paradigm for Larval Zebrafish: Feeding, Live Imaging, and Quantification of Food Intake
Published on: October 27, 2016
Investigating the effects of PFOA accumulation and depuration on specific phospholipids in zebrafish through imaging
Qiuyue Shi1, Zhengfen Wan1, Shaoyong Lu1
1State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, National Engineering Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, National Environmental Protection Dongting Lake Scientific Observation and Research Station, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China. lushy2000@163.com.
Abstract:
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is an emerging persistent organic pollutant. Exposure to PFOA was observed to have a correlation with the expression levels of phospholipids. However, there are currently no studies that directly visualize the effects of PFOA on phospholipids. To this end, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-IMS) was used to visualize changes in phospholipids in the different tissues of zebrafish following exposure to PFOA. This study found that the major perturbed phospholipids were phosphatidylcholine (PC), diacylglycerol (DG), phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), sphingomyelin (SM), and triacylglycerol (TG). These perturbed phospholipids caused by PFOA were reversible in some tissues (liver, gill, and brain) and irreversible in others (such as the highly exposed intestine). Moreover, the spatial distribution of perturbed phospholipids was mainly located around the edge or center of the tissues, implying that these tissue regions need special attention. This study provides novel insight into the biological toxicity and toxicity mechanisms induced by emerging environmental pollutants.
