PUBLICATION

Visualization of Estrogen Receptor Transcriptional Activation in Zebrafish

Authors
Gorelick, D.A., and Halpern, M.E.
ID
ZDB-PUB-110519-32
Date
2011
Source
Endocrinology   152(7): 2690-703 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Gorelick, Daniel, Halpern, Marnie E.
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Zebrafish Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
  • Liver/drug effects
  • Liver/growth & development
  • Liver/metabolism
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism
  • Consensus Sequence
  • Receptors, Estrogen/antagonists & inhibitors
  • Receptors, Estrogen/genetics
  • Receptors, Estrogen/metabolism*
  • Transcriptional Activation*/drug effects
  • Phytoestrogens/pharmacology
  • Molecular Imaging/methods*
  • Genes, Reporter/drug effects
  • Larva/drug effects
  • Larva/genetics
  • Larva/metabolism
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Neurons/drug effects
  • Neurons/metabolism
  • Organ Specificity
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Estrogen Antagonists/administration & dosage
  • Estrogen Antagonists/pharmacology
  • Zebrafish*
  • Animals
  • Estrogens, Non-Steroidal/administration & dosage
  • Estrogens, Non-Steroidal/pharmacology
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins/genetics
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins/metabolism
  • Female
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/genetics
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic/drug effects
PubMed
21540282 Full text @ Endocrinology
Abstract
Estrogens regulate a diverse range of physiological processes and affect multiple tissues. Estrogen receptors (ERs) regulate transcription by binding to DNA at conserved estrogen responset elements, and such elements have been used to report ER activity in cultured cells and in transgenic mice. We generated stable, transgenic zebrafish containing five consecutive elements upstream of a c-fos minimal promoter and green fluorescent protein (GFP) to visualize and quantify transcriptional activation in live larvae. Transgenic larvae show robust, dose-dependent estrogen-dependent fluorescent labeling in the liver, consistent with er gene expression, whereas ER antagonists inhibit GFP expression. The nonestrogenic steroids dexamethasone and progesterone fail to activate GFP, confirming ER selectivity. Natural and synthetic estrogens activated the transgene with varying potency, and two chemicals, genistein and bisphenol A, preferentially induce GFP expression in the heart. In adult fish, fluorescence was observed in estrogenic tissues such as the liver, ovary, pituitary gland, and brain. Individual estrogen-responsive neurons and their projections were visualized in the adult brain, and GFP-positive neurons increased in number after 17β-estradiol exposure. The transgenic estrogen-responsive zebrafish allow ER signaling to be monitored visually and serve as in vivo sentinels for detection of estrogenic compounds.
Genes / Markers
Figures
No images available
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping