PUBLICATION

Ethanol effects on the developing zebrafish: neurobehavior and skeletal morphogenesis

Authors
Carvan, M.J. III, Loucks, E., Weber, D.N., and Williams, F.E.
ID
ZDB-PUB-041004-16
Date
2004
Source
Neurotoxicology and teratology   26(6): 757-768 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Carvan III, Michael J., Weber, Dan, Williams, Fred
Keywords
Ethanol; Development; Zebrafish; Apoptosis; Learning; Behavior
MeSH Terms
  • Alcohol-Induced Disorders, Nervous System/pathology
  • Alcohol-Induced Disorders, Nervous System/physiopathology*
  • Animals
  • Behavior, Animal/drug effects
  • Behavior, Animal/physiology
  • Bone and Bones/abnormalities
  • Bone and Bones/drug effects
  • Cell Death/drug effects
  • Cell Death/genetics
  • Craniofacial Abnormalities/chemically induced*
  • Craniofacial Abnormalities/pathology
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/abnormalities
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/drug effects
  • Ethanol/toxicity*
  • Larva/drug effects
  • Larva/growth & development
  • Learning Disabilities/chemically induced
  • Learning Disabilities/physiopathology
  • Memory Disorders/chemically induced
  • Memory Disorders/physiopathology
  • Reflex, Startle/drug effects
  • Reflex, Startle/genetics
  • Zebrafish/abnormalities*
  • Zebrafish/growth & development*
PubMed
15451040 Full text @ Neurotoxicol. Teratol.
CTD
15451040
Abstract
Exposure to ethanol during development can lead to a constellation of congenital anomalies, resulting in prenatal and postnatal failure to thrive, central nervous system (CNS) deficits, and a number of patterning defects that lead to defects in the cardiovascular system, facial structures, and limbs. The cellular, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms by which ethanol exerts its developmental toxicity and the genes that influence sensitivity to developmental ethanol exposure have yet to be discovered, despite being one of the more common nongenetic causes of birth defects. The zebrafish undergoes much the same patterning and morphogenesis as other vertebrate embryos do-including humans-that are distinct and cannot be studied in invertebrates. Developmental processes in zebrafish are affected by ethanol exposure in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in learning and memory deficits, cell death in the CNS, skeletal dysmorphogenesis, and alterations in startle reflex responses. Interestingly, significant ethanol effects on learning and behavioral endpoints occurred at concentrations well below those that induced cell death in the CNS. This work provides the foundation for identifying genes and pathways involved in developmental alcohol toxicity in vertebrates, leading to a more complete mechanistic understanding of fetal alcohol disorders in humans.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping