2022 journal article

Systematic developmental toxicity assessment of a structurally diverse library of PFAS in zebrafish

JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, 431.

By: L. Truong*, Y. Rericha*, P. Thunga n, S. Marvel n, D. Wallis n, M. Simonich*, J. Field*, D. Cao*, D. Reif n, R. Tanguay n

co-author countries: United States of America 🇺🇸
author keywords: PFAS; Developmental toxicity; Structure-activity relationship; Abnormal behavior; Zebrafish
MeSH headings : Animals; Fluorocarbons / analysis; Larva; Teratogens; Zebrafish
Source: Web Of Science
Added: May 10, 2022

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of widely used chemicals with limited human health effects data relative to the diversity of structures manufactured. To help fill this data gap, an extensive in vivo developmental toxicity screen was performed on 139 PFAS provided by the US EPA. Dechorionated embryonic zebrafish were exposed to 10 nominal water concentrations of PFAS (0.015–100 µM) from 6 to 120 h post-fertilization (hpf). The embryos were assayed for embryonic photomotor response (EPR), larval photomotor response (LPR), and 13 morphological endpoints. A total of 49 PFAS (35%) were bioactive in one or more assays (11 altered EPR, 25 altered LPR, and 31 altered morphology). Perfluorooctanesulfonamide (FOSA) was the only structure that was bioactive in all 3 assays, while Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) was the most potent teratogen. Low PFAS volatility was associated with developmental toxicity (p < 0.01), but no association was detected between bioactivity and five other physicochemical parameters. The bioactive PFAS were enriched for 6 supergroup chemotypes. The results illustrate the power of a multi-dimensional in vivo platform to assess the developmental (neuro)toxicity of diverse PFAS and in the acceleration of PFAS safety research.