The effects of triclosan on pluripotency factors and development of mouse embryonic stem cells and zebrafish

• DOI: 10.1007/s00204-014-1270-2
• Publication Date: 2014-05-30T06:07:56Z
• Authors: Xiaojiao Chen; Bo Xu; Xiumei Han; Zhilei Mao; Minjian Chen; Guizhen Du; Prue Talbot; Xinru Wang; Yankai Xia
• Keywords: Pluripotency; 0301 basic medicine; Embryo, Nonmammalian; Cell Survival; Medical Biotechnology; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; Cell Culture Techniques; Stem Cell Research - Embryonic - Non-Human; Embryonic Development; Apoptosis; Zebrafish embryos; Endocrine Disruptors; Regenerative Medicine; Toxicology; Developmental retardation; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; Genetics; Animals; SOX Transcription Factors; Zebrafish; Homeodomain Proteins; Nonmammalian; Biomedical and Clinical Sciences; SOXB1 Transcription Factors; Cell Cycle; MicroRNA; Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells; Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Nanog Homeobox Protein; Zebrafish Proteins; Stem Cell Research; Triclosan; Up-Regulation; Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences; Embryo; Biochemistry and cell biology; Mouse embryonic stem cells; Octamer Transcription Factor-3

Triclosan (TCS) poses potential risks to reproduction and development due to its endocrine-disrupting properties. However, the mechanism of TCS's effects on early embryonic development is little known. Embryonic stem cells (ESC) and zebrafish embryos provide valuable models for testing the toxic effects of environmental chemicals on early embryogenesis. In this study, mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC) were acutely exposed to TCS for 24 h, and general cytotoxicity and the effect of TCS on pluripotency were then evaluated. In addition, zebrafish embryos were exposed to TCS from 2- to 24-h post-fertilization (hpf), and their morphology was evaluated. In mESC, alkaline phosphatase staining was significantly decreased after treatment with the highest concentration of TCS (50 μM). Although the expression levels of Sox2 mRNA were not changed, the mRNA levels of Oct4 and Nanog in TCS-treated groups were significantly decreased compared to controls. In addition, the protein levels of Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog were significantly reduced in response to TCS treatment. MicroRNA (miR)-134, an expression inhibitor of pluripotency markers, was significantly increased in TCS-treated mESC. In zebrafish experiments, after 24 hpf of treatment, the controls had developed to the late stage of somitogenesis, while embryos exposed to 300 μg/L of TCS were still at the early stage of somitogenesis, and three genes (Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog) were upregulated in treated groups when compared with the controls. The two models demonstrated that TCS may affect early embryonic development by disturbing the expression of the pluripotency markers (Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog).