PUBLICATION

Exercise induced lordosis in zebrafish Danio rerio (Hamilton, 1822)

Authors
Printzi, A., Fragkoulis, S., Dimitriadi, A., Keklikoglou, K., Arvanitidis, C., Witten, P.E., Koumoundouros, G.
ID
ZDB-PUB-191223-4
Date
2019
Source
Journal of Fish Biology   98(4): 987-994 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Koumoundouros, Giorgos, Witten, P. Eckhard
Keywords
fish, haemal lordosis, skeletal abnormalities, swimming, vertebrae
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Cartilage/pathology*
  • Lordosis/diagnostic imaging
  • Lordosis/pathology*
  • Physical Conditioning, Animal/adverse effects*
  • Spine/pathology*
  • Swimming*
  • X-Ray Microtomography
  • Zebrafish/physiology*
PubMed
31858594 Full text @ J. Fish Biol.
Abstract
The anabolic effect of exercise on muscles and bones is well documented. In teleost fish exercise has been shown to accelerate skeletogenesis, to increase the bone volume, and to change the shape of vertebral bodies. Still, increased swimming has also been reported to induce malformations of the teleost vertebral column, particularly lordosis. This study examines whether zebrafish (Danio rerio) develops lordosis as a result of continuous physical exercise. Animals were submitted, for one week, to increased swimming exercise of 5.0, 6.5 or 8.0 total body lengths (TL) per second. Control and exercise group animals were examined for the presence of vertebral abnormalities, by in vivo examination, by whole mount staining for bone and cartilage, by histology and by micro-CT scanning. Exercised animals developed a significantly higher rate of lordosis in the haemal part of the vertebral column. At the end of the experiment, the frequency of lordosis was 0.5±1.3% in the control groups and 7.5±10.6%, 47.5±10.6% and 92.5±6.0% in the exercised groups of 5.0, 6.5 and 8.0 TL∙s-1 respectively. Histological analysis and CT-scanning revealed abnormal vertebrae with dorsal folding of the vertebral body end plates. Possible mechanisms that trigger lordotic spine malformations are discussed. To our knowledge this is the first study to report a quick, reliable and welfare compatible method of inducing skeletal abnormalities in a vertebrate model during the post-embryonic period. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping