Many toxicological studies have utilized zebrafish embryos to investigate the developmental toxicity of organophosphate esters (OPEs). However, in respect of the presence or absence of the chorion, a consistent experimental methodology has yet to be developed. In this study, we used a fixed exposure scheme to compare the developmental toxicities of six major OPEs in chorionated and dechorionated zebrafish embryos. Removal of the chorion increased sensitivity to OPEs: we found higher incidence of mortality and malformation in dechorionated embryos. In a behavioral assay, the locomotive activity of zebrafish larvae was consistently inhibited by OPEs except tris (1-chloropropyl) phosphate regardless of chorion presence. However, at the molecular level, the expression of ZHE1 and mmp9 was affected by the presence of the chorion in zebrafish embryos exposed to tributyl phosphate and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), respectively. Furthermore, in zebrafish embryos exposed to TPHP, the increased expression of miR-137 and miR-141 was abolished by the presence of the chorion. Our results demonstrate for the first time that the presence of the chorion influences phenotypic morbidity, organismal behavior, and gene expression in zebrafish embryos exposed to chemicals; thus, we suggest that dechorionation is desirable for exploring the toxicity mechanisms that underlie effects of chemical exposure.

许多毒理学研究已利用斑马鱼胚胎研究有机磷酸酯（OPE）的发育毒性。然而，关于绒毛膜的存在或不存在，尚未开发出一致的实验方法。在这项研究中，我们使用固定的暴露方案来比较六种主要OPE在绒毛膜化和去绒毛化斑马鱼胚胎中的发育毒性。去除绒毛膜可提高对OPE的敏感性：我们发现去绒毛膜化胚胎的死亡率和畸形率更高。在行为分析中，除磷酸三（1-氯丙基）酯外，无论毛绒毛虫的存在如何，OPE均能持续抑制斑马鱼幼虫的机车活性。然而，在分子水平上，ZHE1和mmp9的表达分别受磷酸三丁酯和磷酸三苯酯（TPHP）照射的斑马鱼胚胎中绒毛膜的影响。此外，在暴露于TPHP的斑马鱼胚胎中，绒毛膜的存在消除了miR-137和miR-141表达的增加。我们的结果首次证明了绒毛膜的存在会影响暴露于化学物质的斑马鱼胚胎中的表型发病率，生物行为和基因表达。因此，我们建议使用去绒毛化处理来探索构成化学暴露影响的毒性机制。