PUBLICATION

Developmental nephrotoxicity of aristolochic acid in a zebrafish model

Authors
Ding, Y.J., and Chen, Y.H.
ID
ZDB-PUB-120409-1
Date
2012
Source
Toxicology and applied pharmacology   261(1): 59-65 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Chen, Yau-Hung, Ding, Yu-Ju
Keywords
aristolochic acid, heart, nephrotoxicity, transgenic, zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Abnormalities, Drug-Induced/etiology*
  • Abnormalities, Drug-Induced/pathology
  • Animals
  • Aristolochic Acids/administration & dosage
  • Aristolochic Acids/toxicity*
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/drug effects
  • Embryonic Development/drug effects
  • Glomerular Filtration Rate
  • Heart/drug effects
  • Heart/embryology
  • In Situ Hybridization/methods
  • Inflammation/chemically induced*
  • Kidney/abnormalities
  • Kidney/drug effects*
  • Kidney/embryology
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Renal Insufficiency/chemically induced*
  • Time Factors
  • Up-Regulation/drug effects
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
22472514 Full text @ Tox. App. Pharmacol.
CTD
22472514
Abstract

Aristolochic acid (AA) is a component of Aristolochia plant extracts which is used as a treatment for different pathologies and their toxicological effects have not been sufficiently studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate AA-induced nephrotoxicity in zebrafish embryos. After soaking zebrafish embryos in AA, the embryos displayed malformed kidney phenotypes, such as curved, cystic pronephric tubes, pronephric ducts, and cases of atrophic glomeruli. The percentages of embryos with malformed kidney phenotypes increased as the exposure dosages of AA increased. Furthermore, AA-treated embryos exhibited significantly reduced glomerular filtration rates (GFRs) in comparison with mock-control littermates (mock-control: 100 ± 2.24% vs. 10 ppm AA treatment for 3–5 h: 71.48 ± 18.84% ~ 39.41 ± 15.88%), indicating that AA treatment not only caused morphological kidney changes kidney but also induced renal failure. In addition to kidney phenotype malformations, AA-treated zebrafish embryos also exhibited deformed hearts, swollen pericardiums, impaired blood circulation and the accumulation(s) of red blood cells. Whole-mount in situ hybridization studies using cmlc2 and wt1b as riboprobes indicated that the kidney is more sensitive than the heart to AA damage. Real-time PCR showed that AA can up-regulate the expression of proinflammatory genes like TNF-α, cox2 and mpo. These results support the following conclusions: (1) AA-induced renal failure is mediated by inflammation, which causes circulation dysfunction followed by serious heart malformation; and (2) the kidney is more sensitive than the heart to AA injury.

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Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
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Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping