Chronic exposure to dichloroacetamide induces biochemical and histopathological changes in the gills of zebrafish

To evaluate the impact of DCAcAm on zebrafish gill, we measure the responses of antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase, SOD), lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA), ATPase (Na⁺/K⁺‐ATPase and Ca²⁺/Mg²⁺‐ATP) and histopathological changes of gill in adult zebrafish, after exposed to different concentrations of DCAcAm (0, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 μg L⁻¹) for 30 days. Results indicated that DCAcAm first increased and then decreased SOD activity, and DCAcAm also lowered the activities of Na⁺/K⁺‐ATPase and Ca²⁺/Mg²⁺‐ATPase. These results indicated that high affinity of DCAcAm probably be a main factor, which can damage the structures of enzymes, thereby inhibiting the SOD and ATPase activities. Besides, histopathological investigation results also manifested that chronic exposure to DCAcAm can damage the gill tissues, disrupting the normal function of gills. We conclude that chronic exposure to DCAcAm was harmful to organisms, not only influence gill function, but also further cause damage on the gill tissues.