Insights from metabolomics and transcriptomics studies on Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) exposed zebrafish embryos

Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) is a short-chain perfluoroalkyl substance widely used to replace the banned perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in various industrial and household products. It can be found in the environment and human bodies; however, its potential toxicities are not well studied. Zebrafish have been extensively used as a model for studying toxicants, and currently, two studies have reported on the toxicity of PFHxS in zebrafish from different approaches. Ulhaq and Tse (J Hazard Mater. 2023; 457: 131722) conducted general biological experiments and applied transcriptomics to demonstrate that PFHxS at a concentration of 5 μM could affect glucose and fatty acid metabolism, leading to oxidative stress, developmental defects, and cell cycle arrest. Xu et al. (Sci Total Environ. 2023; 887: 163770) employed metabolomics and showed that concentrations of various metabolites changed after exposure to 3 and 10 μM PFHxS. As we observed a match between the metabolomics data and our biochemistry experimental findings, we integrated the two studies, which enabled us to unfold the possible mechanism of the deregulated metabolites. We identified 22 differential expressed genes (DEGs) in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, 17 DEGs in glcyolytic process, including the critical glucokinase under the carbon metabolism. Besides, genes likes aldehyde dehydrogenases, and histone-lysine N-methyltransferases that participate in lipid peroxidation and amino metabolism respectively were spotted. Lastly, we further strengthen our discoveries by undergoing the gene set enrichment analysis. This article could provide insights into the toxicity of PFHxS, as well as prospects for environmental studies.