Chronic Dietary PhIP Exposure Disrupts Brain Homeostasis in Adult Zebrafish through Dose-Dependent Proteostatic and Clock-Associated Remodeling

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Authors: Panpan Wang, Shuanglei Zhang, Ziwen Qü, Siwei Zhang, Lifeng Zhang, Yongning Wu, Guoliang Li
Cited by: 1
References: 63

Abstract

] pyridine (PhIP) has emerged as a potential neurotoxicant beyond its established carcinogenicity. Adult zebrafish were fed PhIP for 90 days at 0.006, 0.4, and 7.2 mg/kg body weight/day. Chronic exposure impaired locomotion and induced brain injury, oxidative imbalance, and glial reactivity. Transcriptomic analyses revealed dose-dependent remodeling, with low exposures primarily engaging endoplasmic reticulum proteostasis, intermediate dosages enriching oxidative phosphorylation- and proteasome-related pathways, and high exposure associated with clock-related regulation. Proteasome-related enrichment increased progressively with dose (ρ = 0.842). Molecular validation supported a shift from adaptive unfolded protein response signaling toward unresolved cellular stress, accompanied by depletion of melatonin, dopamine, serotonin, and GABA. These findings indicate that chronic dietary PhIP disrupts brain homeostasis through progressive proteostatic and clock-associated dysregulation, supporting consideration of long-term neurological effects in food safety evaluation.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Disease Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications Tryptophan and brain disorders

Publication details

Journal / source
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Volume
74
Issue
22
Pages
17449–17462
Publication date
28 May 2026
Language
EN