title: A panel of biological tests reveals developmental effects of pharmaceutical pollutants on late stage zebrafish embryos.
abstract: Standard toxicological assays using the zebrafish model system evaluate lethality and teratogenicity upon exposure during the first 2 days after fertilization. We tested the biological effects of several widely used drugs on zebrafish by acute treatment for 24 h starting at late embryonic stages, between 48 and 72 h post-fertilization. For 4 out of 6 compounds, we observed a higher sensitivity of late stage zebrafish embryos for general toxicity (lethality) compared to younger embryos. Morphological defects such as edema, body curvature, delayed growth, decreased heart rate and locomotion were observed for each of the compounds tested, often at sublethal concentrations. Gene expression studies on a set of four selected genes revealed a specific regulatory pattern for the different compounds tested. Our results allow us to compare various toxicological endpoints and may contribute to the design of a rational high throughput approach using the zebrafish model.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering, Université de Liège, GIGA-R B34, Sart Tilman, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Benoist
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pruvot
authors.forename: Yobhana
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Quiroz
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Voncken
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jeanray
authors.forename: Amandine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piot
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Martial
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D002110:Caffeine / Q000633:toxicity; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000633:toxicity; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000633:toxicity; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D010424:Pentobarbital / Q000633:toxicity; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000633:toxicity*; D013806:Theophylline / Q000633:toxicity; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002220:Carbamazepine; D002110:Caffeine; D014635:Valproic Acid; D013806:Theophylline; D018021:Lithium Chloride; D010424:Pentobarbital