Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are persistent flame retardants ubiquitously existing in various environment matrices. In spite of a recent reduction in use according to the phase-out policy, high levels of PBDEs are still found in both environmental and biological samples due to their persistent property and large-scale production over a long history. Developmental toxicity is a major health concern of PBDEs. However, the impact of PBDE exposure on vascular development remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of low concentrations of 2,2′,4,4′-Tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), a predominant PBDE congener, in environmental matrices and biota, on early vascular development using zebrafish. Zebrafish embryos were continuously exposed to waterborne BDE-47 at 0.06, 0.2, 0.6 μM starting from 2 h post-fertilization (hpf). Fluorescent images of vasculatures in Tg(kdrl:eGFP) zebrafish were acquired using a confocal microscope. The results indicated that BDE-47 exposure had no effect on hatching rate, survival, body weight, body length or heart rate in the early stage within 72 hpf, whereas zebrafish exposed to BDE-47 exhibited impairments in the growth of multiple types of blood vessels. The percentage of completed intersegmental vessels (ISV) at 30 hpf decreased in embryos treated with BDE-47 in a dose-dependent fashion. BDE-47 exposure led to a slight decrease in the growth of common cardinal vein (CCV), while dramatically hindered CCV remodeling process reflected by the larger CCV area and wider ventral diameter. BDE-47 exposure significantly reduced sub-intestinal vessels (SIV) area as well as the vascularized yolk area in zebrafish larvae at 72 hpf. In addition, the expression of genes related to vascular growth and remodeling was markedly suppressed in BDE-47-exposed zebrafish. These findings demonstrate the adverse effects of BDE-47 on early vascular development, and confirm the vascular toxicity of PBDEs in vivo. The results indicate that developing vasculature in zebrafish is sensitive to BDE-47 exposure, and may serve as a powerful tool for the assessment of early exposure to PBDEs.

多溴联苯醚（PBDEs）是各种环境基质中普遍存在的持久性阻燃剂。尽管根据淘汰政策最近减少了使用，但由于其长期存在的持久特性和大规模生产，在环境和生物样品中仍发现了高含量的多溴二苯醚。发育毒性是多溴二苯醚的主要健康问题。然而，多溴二苯醚暴露对血管发育的影响仍然知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们调查了环境基质和生物区系中低浓度的2,2'，4,4'-四溴二苯醚（BDE-47）（一种主要的PBDE同源物）对使用斑马鱼早期血管发育的影响。斑马鱼的胚胎以0.06、0.2、0的浓度连续暴露于水性BDE-47。受精后2小时（hpf）开始6μM。Tg（）中脉管系统的荧光图像kdrl：eGFP使用共聚焦显微镜获得斑马鱼。结果表明，BDE-47暴露对72 hpf早期的孵化率，存活率，体重，体长或心率没有影响，而斑马鱼暴露于BDE-47对多种类型血液的生长均显示出损害船只。BDE-47处理的胚胎在30 hpf时完成的节段间完整血管（ISV）的百分比呈剂量依赖性。BDE-47暴露导致普通主静脉（CCV）的生长略有下降，而由于较大的CCV面积和较宽的腹侧直径而明显阻碍了CCV重构过程。BDE-47暴露显着降低了斑马鱼幼虫在72 hpf时的肠下血管（SIV）面积以及血管化卵黄面积。此外，在暴露于BDE-47的斑马鱼中，与血管生长和重塑相关的基因的表达被显着抑制。这些发现证明了BDE-47对早期血管发育的不利影响，并证实了PBDEs的血管毒性体内。结果表明，斑马鱼中发育的脉管系统对BDE-47暴露敏感，并且可以作为评估PBDEs早期暴露的有力工具。