Chiral PCB 91 and 149 Toxicity Testing in Embryo and Larvae (Danio rerio): Application of Targeted Metabolomics via UPLC-MS/MS.

Tingting Chai,Yang Yang,Zhiqiang Yin,Jing Qiu,Chengju Wang,Feng Cui

doi:10.1038/srep33481

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to investigate the dysfunction of zebrafish embryos and larvae induced by rac-/(+)-/(−)- PCB91 and rac-/(−)-/(+)- PCB149. UPLC-MS/MS (Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry) was employed to perform targeted metabolomics analysis, including the quantification of 22 amino acids and the semi-quantitation of 22 other metabolites. Stereoselective changes in target metabolites were observed in embryos and larvae after exposure to chiral PCB91 and PCB149, respectively. In addition, statistical analyses, including PCA and PLS-DA, combined with targeted metabolomics were conducted to identify the characteristic metabolites and the affected pathways. Most of the unique metabolites in embryos and larvae after PCB91/149 exposure were amino acids, and the affected pathways for zebrafish in the developmental stage were metabolic pathways. The stereoselective effects of PCB91/149 on the metabolic pathways of zebrafish embryos and larvae suggest that chiral PCB91/149 exposure has stereoselective toxicity on the developmental stages of zebrafish.

Highlights

Swimming with a rich repertoire of stereotyped motor behaviours, which operate on a simple blueprint of a vertebrate nervous system[19]
Amino acids are essential for the synthesis of proteins, polypeptides, and other molecules of biological importance and individual amino acids participate in and regulate key metabolic pathways related to reproduction, immunology, pathology, and cell biology[24]
Metabolomics in combination with principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) enables us to detect the targeted metabolites and to discover unique metabolites and generate new hypotheses because the change in the metabolites is directly combined with the phenotype[30]

Summary

Introduction

Swimming with a rich repertoire of stereotyped motor behaviours, which operate on a simple blueprint of a vertebrate nervous system[19]. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS)-based multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) has been considered as the preferred technology to assessing targeted metabolomics[29]. This is the first report to clarify changes in zebrafish embryos and larvae after chiral PCB91 and PCB149 exposure using targeted metabolomics. The characterized metabolic pathways were investigated through metabolomics combined with statistical analyses to explore dysfunction after PCB91/149 exposure. This information is intended to provide new insights into the assessment of the environmental risk of chiral PCBs in aquatic systems

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Conclusion