Effects of organophosphate flame retardants on Atlantic cod liver cells

Organophosphorous flame retardants (PFRs) were first reported in the late 1970, and today they account for approximately 20 % of the total use of flame retardants in Europe. PFRs are found ubiquitously in the environment, including remote areas stretching from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Generally, similar levels of PFRs is observed between Arctic and more rural areas. The toxicity of PFRs varies depending on their chemical structure. The World Health Organization have reported LC50 values for mammals and aquatic organisms with high variation from 4.2 to 180 mg/L or 707 to 4700 mg/kg body weight, depending on substance and test species. However, little is known about the toxicity and physiological effects of PFRs to fish, particularly in the Arctic species. Hence, the objective of this study is to determine the effects of PFR exposure on hepatic gene expression patterns in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) using liver explants in vitro. Liver explants were exposed to 2-Ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPP), tris(2-chloroisopropyl)phosphate (TCPP), and a mixture of both EHDPP and TCPP for 0, 24 and 48 hours. Samples were analyzed for gene expresson profiling using RNAseq. RNAsequening results suggest that exposure to PFRs differentially expressed genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism. We did not observe any chemical-specific effects on gene expression patterns. However, temporal changes in gene expression were observed. Most of the differentially expressed genes (DE) in 24h exposed samples are related in xenobiotic metabolism, whereas in 48h samples DE genes belong to diverse physiological processes. Overall design: Each treatment contains three replicate biological samples (liver explants) exposed to either 24 or 48 hours. The treatments include DMSO (carrier control), TCPP and EHDPP.