Investigation of the Effects of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) on Apoptosis and Cell Cycle in a Zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) Liver Cell Line

This study aimed to explore the effects of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) on apoptosis and cell cycle in a zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) liver cell line (ZFL). Treatment groups included a control group, PFOA-IC 50 , PFOA-IC 80 , PFOS-IC 50 and PFOS-IC 80 groups. IC 50 and IC 80 concentrations were identified by cellular modeling and MTT assays. mRNA levels of p53, Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase-3 and NF-κB p65 were detected by qPCR. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry and the protein levels of p53, Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase-3 and NF-κB p65 were determined by western blotting. Both PFOA and PFOS inhibited the growth of zebrafish liver cells, and the inhibition rate of PFOS was higher than that of PFOA. Bcl-2 expression levels in the four groups were significantly higher than the control group and Bcl-2 increased significantly in the PFOA-IC 80 group. However, the expression levels of Bax in the four treatment groups were higher than the control group. The percentage of cell apoptosis increased significantly with the treatment of PFOA and PFOS ( p < 0.05). Cell cycle and cell proliferation were blocked in both the PFOA-IC 80 and PFOS-IC 80 groups, indicating that PFOA-IC 80 and PFOS-IC 50 enhanced apoptosis in ZFL cells.