Low lipid levels caused by bisphenol S exposure trigger neuroinflammation and apoptosis in the brain of zebrafish

Abstract

Bisphenol S (BPS), as an environmental pollutant, is known to reduce brain lipid levels and induce neurotoxicity. However, whether brain lipid imbalance can induce neurotoxicity has not yet been clarified. Here, wild-type zebrafish and apoEb mutant zebrafish were used to investigate the effect of BPS on the macrophages proliferation and microglia mobilization caused by the decrease of cerebral lipids and its potential neurotoxic effects. The zebrafish exposed to BPS (1, 10, or 100 μg/L) from 2 hours after fertilization (hpf) to 3 days after fertilization (dpf) displayed microglial aggregation, as well as a decrease in brain lipid content. Lipidomic analyses of the brains and plasma of 50 dpf zebrafish exposed to BPS were used to identify key lipids, including lysophosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylcholine in brain and phosphatidylcholine in plasma. The apoEb mutant zebrafish as a hyperlipidemia model was used to further demonstrate that BPS-induced lipid reduction increased the number of microglia in the brain. Our data provide new insight into the mechanism by which pollutants cause neurotoxicity.