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Updated: Jun 19, 2025
Author Spotlight: High-Throughput Toxicity Screening Using Zebrafish Embryo Startle Response Assay
Published on: January 12, 2024
Investigation of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Genes as Requirements for Visual Startle Response
Sebastian Gutsfeld1, Leah Wehmas2, Ifeoluwa Omoyeni1
1Department of Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology, Chemicals in the Environment Research Section, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.
Background:
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals widely detected in humans and the environment. Exposure to perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) or perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) was previously shown to cause dark-phase hyperactivity in larval zebrafish.
Objectives:
The objective of this study was to elucidate the mechanism by which PFOS or PFHxS exposure caused hyperactivity in larval zebrafish.
Methods:
Swimming behavior was assessed in 5-d postfertilization (dpf) larvae following developmental (1-4 dpf) or acute (5 dpf) exposure to PFOS, PFHxS, or 0.4% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). After developmental exposure and chemical washout at 4 dpf, behavior was also assessed at 5-8 dpf. RNA sequencing was used to identify differences in global gene expression to perform transcriptomic benchmark concentration-response () modeling, and predict upstream regulators in PFOS- or PFHxS-exposed larvae. CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing was used to knockdown peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (ppars) pparaa/ab, pparda/db, or pparg at day 0. Knockdown crispants were exposed to PFOS or 0.4% DMSO from 1-4 dpf and behavior was assessed at 5 dpf. Coexposure with the ppard antagonist GSK3787 and PFOS was also performed.
Results:
Transient dark-phase hyperactivity occurred following developmental or acute exposure to PFOS or PFHxS, relative to the DMSO control. In contrast, visual startle response (VSR) hyperactivity only occurred following developmental exposure and was irreversible up to 8 dpf. Similar global transcriptomic profiles, estimates, and enriched functions were observed in PFOS- and PFHxS-exposed larvae, and ppars were identified as putative upstream regulators. Knockdown of pparda/db, but not pparaa/ab or pparg, blunted PFOS-dependent VSR hyperactivity to control levels. This finding was confirmed via antagonism of ppard in PFOS-exposed larvae.
Discussion:
This work identifies a novel adverse outcome pathway for VSR hyperactivity in larval zebrafish. We demonstrate that developmental, but not acute, exposure to PFOS triggered persistent VSR hyperactivity that required ppard function. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13667.
