title: Unpredictable chronic stress model in zebrafish (Danio rerio): behavioral and physiological responses.
abstract: Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have emerged as a promising model organism to study development, toxicology, pharmacology, and neuroscience, among other areas. Despite the increasing number of studies using zebrafish, behavioral studies with this species are still elementary when compared to rodents. The aim of this study was to develop a model of unpredictable chronic stress (UCS) in zebrafish. We evaluated the effects of UCS protocol during 7 or 14 days on behavioral and physiological parameters. The effects of stress were evaluated in relation to anxiety and exploratory behavior, memory, expression of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and cortisol levels. As expected, UCS protocol increased the anxiety levels, impaired cognitive function, and increased CRF while decreased GR expression. Moreover, zebrafish submitted to 7 or 14 days of UCS protocol presented increased cortisol levels. The protocol developed here is a complementary model for studying the neurobiology and the effects of chronic stress in behavioral and physiological parameters. In addition, this protocol is less time consuming than standard rodent models commonly used to study chronic stress. These results confirm UCS in zebrafish as an adequate model to preclinical studies of stress, although further studies are warranted to determine its predictive validity.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Neuroquímica e Psicofarmacologia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Avenida Ipiranga, 6681, 90619-900, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. angelopiato@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ângelo L
authors.initials: ÂL
authors.lastname: Piato
authors.forename: Katiucia M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Capiotti
authors.forename: Angélica R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Tamborski
authors.forename: Jean P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Oses
authors.forename: Leonardo J G
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Barcellos
authors.forename: Maurício R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Bogo
authors.forename: Diogo R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Lara
authors.forename: Monica R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Vianna
authors.forename: Carla D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Bonan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000235:genetics; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D057567:Memory, Long-Term / Q000502:physiology; D023421:Models, Animal; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000235:genetics; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone