Bisphenol S induces cardiovascular toxicity by disturbing the development of the common cardinal vein and myocardial contractility in zebrafish embryos

Abstract

Bisphenol S (BPS) has been widely used as a substitute for bisphenol A in industrial manufacturing. However, the safety of BPS is controversial, and the mechanism by which BPS exerts cardiovascular toxicity remains unclear. In this study, zebrafish embryos, including wild-type zebrafish and transgenic (flk1:eGFP), (gata1:DsRed) and (cmlc2:eGFP) zebrafish at 2 h postfertilization (hpf), were exposed to BPS at concentrations of 1, 10 and 100 μg/L for 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. The data showed that BPS accelerated the expansion of the common cardinal vein and inhibited lumen formation between 24 hpf and 72 hpf. Moreover, low-dose BPS disturbed cardiac muscle contraction by breaking the calcium balance in cardiac muscle cells according to the RNA-seq results. As a consequence, increased heart rate and irregular blood circulation were observed in the BPS treatment groups. This result suggested that BPS at environmental relevant concentrations caused cardiovascular toxicity during the development of zebrafish embryos, possibly being an important inducer of cardiovascular injury later in life. These findings provide insight into the rational and safe application of BPS.