A review of toxicity and mechanism of atmospheric particulate matter on zebrafish embryos

Epidemiological studies have showed that low birth weight, preterm delivery, preeclampsia, spontaneous abortion, abnormal development of cardiovascular, digestive and nervous system, and birth defects in infants are associated with PM_2.5 exposure. However, the toxic mechanism of PM_2.5 on children’s development remains unclear. Zebrafish has been the main model animal of developmental toxicity research in vivo. The research progress of toxicity and mechanism of atmospheric particulate matter on zebrafish embryos was reviewed. It was revealed that atmospheric particulate matter exposure could cause an increase in embryo malformation rate and mortality, and the effect intensity was related to the source and exposure mode of particulate matter. Exposure to atmospheric particulate matter could damage the bones, heart, swim bladder, liver, bowel, muscle and other tissues. The toxicity mechanism mainly included changing the whole zebrafish embryo gene expression, microRNA expression, and heart AhR and Wnt/β-catenin pathway related gene expression, which eventually caused physiological process such as inflammation and oxidative stress, leaded to the embryo toxicity and organs deformity, and affected the cardiovascular, nervous and locomotor system development.