Acute and sub-chronic exposure to bisphenol AF induces cardiac inflammatory response in zebrafish through lncRNA/circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks

Bisphenol AF (BPAF) is a fluorinated derivative of bisphenol A and widely used as an alternative in industry. BPAF is often detected in various environmental media. The cardiovascular toxicity of bisphenols has been previously reported; however, how epigenetic regulation plays a role in bisphenol-induced cardiotoxicity remains unclear. Here, we aimed to assess the cardiovascular toxicity-related endpoints of BPAF. Using zebrafish as an experimental model, we combined an acute 120-h exposure to a series of BPAF concentrations (10, 100, and 1000 μg/L) with a sub-chronic (28 days) exposure of adults to an environmentally relevant concentration of BPAF at 10 μg/L. Acute BPAF exposure exerted dose-dependent impairment on cardiac development, morphology, and function in zebrafish embryos and larvae. Following 28-day exposure of adult zebrafish to an environmentally relevant concentration of BPAF, inflammatory infiltration was observed in both male and female zebrafish heart tissues. Whole-transcriptome sequencing revealed significant changes in the expression patterns of messenger RNAs (mRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circulatory RNAs (circRNAs), and subsequent competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network analysis identified upstream regulators that differed between sexes. We also identified BPAF-disrupted key pathways (complement cascades, arachidonic acid metabolism, PPAR signaling) whose core genes (fga, fgb, gpx3, ptgdsb, cd36, apoa1) are potentially ncRNA-regulated. Paternal exposure had a more significant impact on the cardiac function of the next generation. These findings help to advance our understanding of the toxicity and action mechanisms of bisphenols, and provide scientific data for screening specific biomarkers for assessing bisphenol-induced cardiac toxicity.