Skip Navigation
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document
Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document

Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Perfluorobutanesulfonic Acid Disrupts Pancreatic Organogenesis and Regulation of Lipid Metabolism in the Zebrafish, Danio rerio.

Authors: Sant, Karilyn E; Venezia, Olivia L; Sinno, Paul P; Timme-Laragy, Alicia R

Published In Toxicol Sci, (2019 01 01)

Abstract: Following the phase-out of highly persistent perfluorosulfonates in the United States from non-stick and stain-resistant products in the early 2000s, perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) has replaced these compounds as a primary surfactant. Measurements of PFBS in environmental and human samples have been rising in recent years, raising concerns about potential negative health effects. We previously found that embryonic exposures to a related compound, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), decreased pancreas length and insulin-producing islet area in zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio). The objective of this study was to compare the effects of PFBS exposures on pancreatic organogenesis with our previous PFOS findings. Dechorionated zebrafish embryos from two different transgenic fish lines (Tg[insulin:GFP], Tg[ptf1a:GFP]) were exposed to 0 (0.01% DMSO), 16, or 32 µM PFBS daily beginning at 1 day post fertilization (dpf) until 4 and 7 dpf when they were examined using fluorescent microscopy for islet area and morphology, and exocrine pancreas length. PFBS-exposed embryos had significantly increased caudal fin deformities, delayed swim bladder inflation, and impaired yolk utilization. Incidence of fish with significantly stunted growth and truncated exocrine pancreas length was significantly increased, although these two effects occurred independently. Islet morphology revealed an increased incidence of severely hypomorphic islets (areas lower than the 1st percentile of controls) and an elevated occurrence of fragmented islets. RNA-Seq data (4 dpf) also identify disruptions in regulation of lipid homeostasis. Overall, this work demonstrates that PFBS exposure can perturb embryonic development, energy homeostasis, and pancreatic organogenesis.

PubMed ID: 30239974 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; Embryo, Nonmammalian/drug effects*; Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism; Environmental Pollutants/toxicity*; Fluorocarbons/toxicity*; Gene Expression/drug effects; Lipid Metabolism/drug effects*; Lipid Metabolism/genetics; Organogenesis/drug effects*; Pancreas/drug effects*; Pancreas/embryology; Pancreas/metabolism; Sulfonic Acids/toxicity*; Zebrafish*

Back
to Top