Effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of niclosamide on lipid metabolism and steroid hormone synthesis in adult female zebrafish

Niclosamide (NIC) is a commonly used molluscicide that reportedly disrupts the endocrine system and may lead to lipid metabolism disorders. However, few studies have investigated the mechanism by which NIC affects the endocrine system from the perspective of lipid metabolism. Adult female zebrafish were fed either a normal-fat diet (NFD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) and then exposed for 28 days to environmentally relevant concentrations of NIC. NIC accumulated most in the liver followed by the brain and then the gonads in both feeding conditions. Somatic index changes confirmed that HFD promotes fish growth, and NIC administration inhibits it. Lipid metabolites were decreased by NIC, as were levels of pregnenolone, androstenedione, estrogen, testosterone, and estradiol, suggesting that NIC impacted steroidogenesis. In addition, gene transcription changes related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad-liver (HPGL) axis and altered ovarian histology strongly suggest that environmental relevant concentrations of NIC exposure may disrupt endocrine function. These findings highlighted that NIC exposure at environmentally relevant concentrations elicited endocrine-disruption effects may through impairing of steroid hormone synthesis.