Issue 4, 2025

A study to assess the vascular developmental toxicity of anticarcinogen toremifene in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Abstract

Due to the increasing burden of disease and demand for medicines, more and more pharmaceutical compounds are appearing in the environment. Toremifene (TOR), a first-line drug in the therapy of breast cancer, is widely used in the treatment of related diseases. However, the toxicity assessment of TOR is insufficient. Here, a model organism zebrafish and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were used to investigate the effects and mechanisms of TOR on angiogenesis. The results showed that TOR exposure reduced hatching and survival rates, and increased the malformation rate. TOR inhibited angiogenesis by inducing nuclear condensation in zebrafish endothelial cells and impeding cell migration, resulting in vascular malformation in zebrafish embryos. TOR disrupted the cytoskeleton, suppressed HUVEC migration, adhesion, activity and division, induced cell cycle arrest, and accelerated apoptosis. qRT-PCR indicated that transcriptional levels of Integrin β1, Rho, ROCK, and MLC-1 reduced in the TOR-exposed groups, and western blot indicated that TOR decreased the contents of Integrin β1, Rho, ROCK, MLC, and pMLC in the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway. Collectively, TOR may disturb endothelial cell behaviors by disrupting the cytoskeleton via the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway, ultimately resulting in abnormal angiogenesis. The study increases awareness of the toxicity of TOR to aquatic organisms and raises public concern about the health risks posed by anti-tumor drugs.

Graphical abstract: A study to assess the vascular developmental toxicity of anticarcinogen toremifene in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Oct 2024
Accepted
19 Mar 2025
First published
08 Apr 2025

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2025,27, 1169-1183

A study to assess the vascular developmental toxicity of anticarcinogen toremifene in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

J. Liu, H. Wang, C. Yang and T. Hu, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2025, 27, 1169 DOI: 10.1039/D4EM00614C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements