Benzotriazole ultraviolet stabilizers alter the expression of the thyroid hormone pathway in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos

•BUVSs decreased heart rate of zebrafish in all treatments by 6.9%-21.4%.•BUVSs affected transcriptional levels of HPT axis-related genes.•Disruption of thyroid-related transcripts was dependent on the structure of BUVSs.•Gene networks and pathways were predicted using IMP.

Benzotriazole ultraviolet stabilizers (BUVSs) are widely used in industrial products as well as personal-hygiene products to protect the material or skin from harmful UV-radiation. Due to their persistence and bioaccumulation, BUVSs have been ubiquitously detected in aquatic environments. Although the toxicological effects of BUVSs in aquatic organisms have been previously examined, the effects of BUVSs on the thyroid system have not been adequately addressed. In this study, we assessed putative thyroid disrupting effects of BUVSs (UV-234, UV-326, UV-329 and UV-P) in zebrafish embryos at 1, 10 and 100 μg/L for 96 h. The heart rate was assessed in zebrafish and was observed to be decreased by 6.9%-21.4% in exposure of tested BUVSs. We also observed that the transcript levels of HPT axis-related genes were affected by the 4 BUVSs tested in different ways. Specifically, mRNA levels of thyroid hormone receptors (thraa and thrb) in zebrafish embryos were differentially expressed and the direction of change in these transcripts was isoform and BUVSs dependent. Pathway analysis of the targeted genes measured indicated that cellular processes putatively affected by BUVSs included response to organic substance, regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter, intracellular receptor signaling pathway, and hypothyroidism. Upon expansion of the network, novel genes involved in this predicted gene network may provide insight into the mechanisms of thyroid disrupting mechanisms of BUVSs. Taken together, our results indicate that BUVSs can potentially impact the thyroid system, and that this is dependent upon the type or structure of BUVSs.