One of the most common plasticizers used in the production of plastic are phthalates. These chemicals have been associated with many adverse effects including developmental and reproductive anomalies. Early developmental processes targeted by chemicals can have long-lasting effects on individuals. The focus of this study was on investigating the effects of a phthalate monoester mixture on two evolutionarily conserved processes, Wnt/β-catenin signaling and apoptosis, both of which play an important role during development. Focus was also given on the mixture’s effect in metabolic rate. The phthalate mixture used is part of mixture G, a mixture which additionally contains triclosan and three perfluoroalkyl acids. The components of Mixture G were identified in a Swedish pregnancy cohort (SELMA) and were inversely associated with birth weight. The experiments were conducted in zebrafish embryos. Wnt signaling was analyzed in a transgenic zebrafish line, which had the EGFP gene linked to β-catenin regulated promoters, by measuring the fluorescence in the caudal fin. Apoptosis was analyzed through the acridine orange assay and metabolic rate through the transformation of resazurin to resorufin in presence of NADH/NADPH. The results showed a downregulation of Wnt signaling in zebrafish at two days post-fertilization (2 dpf), at a water concentration 100 times higher than the geometric mean serum concentration (100x hsc) of the mothers in the SELMA cohort. An upregulation of apoptosis was found at 1 dpf, at 60x hsc and 100x hsc. An effect on metabolic rate was observed at 100x hsc at 5 dpf. The results indicate that phthalates can disrupt Wnt signaling, induce apoptosis and influence metabolic rate, which along with the various reproductive effects they can induce warrants cause for concern not only for zebrafish embryos but for human fetuses as well.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-415065 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Bountis, Stavros |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för biologisk grundutbildning |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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