The Toxicity of Chlorpyrifos on the Early Life Stage of Zebrafish: a Survey on the Endpoints at Development, Locomotor Behavior, Oxidative Stress and Immunotoxicity

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is one of the most toxic pesticides in aquatic ecosystem, but its toxicity mechanisms to fish are still not fully understood. This study examined the toxicity targets of CPF in early life stage of zebrafish on the endpoints at developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, oxidative stress and immunotoxicity. Firstly, CPF exposure decreased the body length, inhibited the hatchability and heart rate, and resulted in a number of morphological abnormalities, primarily spinal deformities (SD) and pericardial edema (PE), in larval zebrafish. Secondly, the free swimming activities and the swimming behaviors of the larvae in response to the stimulation of light-to-dark photoperiod transition were significantly influenced by the exposure to 100 and 300 μg/L CPF. In addition, the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and the transcription of some genes related to neurotoxicity were also influenced by CPF exposure. Thirdly, CPF exposure induced oxidative stress in the larval zebrafish. The malondialdehyde (MDA) levels increased and the glutathione (GSH) contents decreased significantly in a concentration-dependent manner after the exposure to CPF for 96 hours post fertilization (hpf). CPF affected not only the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione S-transferase (GST), but also the transcriptional levels of their respective genes. Finally, the mRNA levels of the main cytokines including tumor necrosis factor α (Tnfα), interferon (Ifn), interleukin-1 beta (Il-1β), interleukin 6 (Il6), complement factor 4 (C4) in the larvae increased significantly after the exposure to 100 or 300 μg/L CPF for 96 hpf, suggesting that the innate immune system disturbed by CPF in larvae. Taken together, our results suggested that CPF had the potential to cause developmental toxicity, behavior alterations, oxidative stress and immunotoxicity in the larval zebrafish.