Lifespan and underlying mechanism of tetrabromobisphenol A in Caenorhabditis elegans

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is a widely used new brominated flame retardant, the ecological risk of TBBPA received increasing attention. In current study, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was selected to investigate the toxic effects of TBBPA at environmentally realistic concentrations (1～200 µg·L^–1) from L1 larvae after 72 h subacute exposure, the endpoints including longevity, superoxide dismutase enzyme, catalase enzyme, malondialdehyde content and stress-related gene expressions were measured. The results showed that the average lifespan of C. elegans was significantly inhibited at TBBPA exposure concentrations greater than or equal to 10 µg·L^–1. The levels of superoxide dismutase enzyme, catalase enzyme and malondialdehyde content in nematode gradually enhanced with the increasing TBBPA exposure concentrations. The stress-related gene expressions showed the highest sensitive. The text of mutant nematodes validated that the ctl-2 gene is involved in determining the lifespan of C. elegans. Pearson correlation analysis indicating that the damage of free radicals to C. elegans induced by TBBPA could further act on its lifespan, while superoxide dismutase enzyme and catalase enzyme worked as a detoxification in the process.