Abstract
Lead (Pb) is one of the most toxic and persistent elements and may adversely affect both humans and wildlife. Given the risks posed to humans, lead is listed among priority substances of public health importance worldwide. In fish, available studies deal with high doses, and the potential hazard of Pb at low concentrations is largely unknown. Given its well-demonstrated translational value for human toxicity research, we used zebrafish as a model species. Embryos were exposed to two environmentally relevant concentrations of lead (2.5 and 5 µg/L) from 6 h post-fertilization and analyzed after 48, 96, and 144 h. The morphological abnormality arose after 48 h, and the incidence and intensity were dose and time dependent. Spinal and tail deformities were the most frequently detected alterations. Pb also modulated the expression of genes involved in the toxicological responses (sod and mt), thus demonstrating that zebrafish’s early stages are able to mount an adaptive response. Moreover, ldh and β-catenin were significantly upregulated in all groups, whereas wnt3 expression was increased in the high concentration group. Our results confirm that zebrafish embryos and larvae are valuable early warning indicators of pollution and may play a major role in ecosystems and human health monitoring.
Highlights
Heavy metals are naturally found in the earth’s crust, and some are essential in biological systems at very low concentrations fig [1]
Incidence of oxidative stress resulting from exposure to Pb and heavy metal contamination is the most common response in both fish and mammalian models [51]; we investigated the expression of two markers of oxidative stress induction during zebrafish development
The hatching in zebrafish reared at 28 ◦ C occurs from 48 to 72 hpf but can take more time depending on the water temperature
Summary
Heavy metals are naturally found in the earth’s crust, and some are essential in biological systems at very low concentrations fig [1]. These elements are considered toxic when their presence exceeds the vital dose, and heavy metal pollution is currently considered one of the most serious environmental issues [2,3,4,5,6]. Among the most common heavy metals, is ubiquitous in the environment and can be found in traces in soils, plants, and water [7,8], it has no recognized physiological role in living organisms. Food, and air are key routes for human exposure in emergent nations, but lead poisoning occurs in developed countries such as the United
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