PUBLICATION

Tissue-, sex- and development-specific transcription profiles of eight UDP-glucuronosyltransferase genes in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and their regulation by activator of aryl hydrocarbon receptor

Authors
Christen, V., Fent, K.
ID
ZDB-PUB-140513-278
Date
2014
Source
Aquatic toxicology (Amsterdam, Netherlands)   150: 93-102 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor, Developmental expression, Phase II enzymes, Transcription profile, UDP-Glucuronosyltransferases, Ugt, Zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Benzo(a)pyrene/toxicity*
  • Cell Line
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/drug effects*
  • Glucuronosyltransferase/genetics*
  • Liver/cytology
  • Liver/drug effects*
  • Male
  • Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon/metabolism*
  • Sex Factors
  • Transcriptome
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity
  • Zebrafish/embryology
  • Zebrafish/genetics*
  • Zebrafish/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
PubMed
24667232 Full text @ Aquat. Toxicol.
Abstract
UDP-Glucuronosyltransferases (Ugts) are phase II biotransformation enzymes that glucuronidate numerous endogenous and xenobiotic substrates. Based on the reported zebrafish Ugt gene repertoire, primers for the Ugt1a and Ugt1b family and for individual Ugt5a1, Ugt5a3, Ugt5a4, Ugt5a5, Ugt5c2 and Ugt5c3 were designed and applied in RT-qPCR analyses. Transcriptional expression profiles of these Ugts were analyzed in intestine, liver, gonad and brain of female and male adult zebrafish and at different embryonic developmental stages. We found tissue-, sex- and developmental-specific expression patterns for all isoforms. Throughout all tissues, the most abundant Ugts were Ugt1a, Ugt1b, Ugt5a1 and Ugt5a3. Expression during embryonic development was assessed between 24 and 120 hpf. Ugts showed a development-dependent expression. The pattern of Ugt1a, Ugt1b, Ugt5a1, Ugt5a3 and Ugt5a4 were similar with highest expression at 24 hpf followed by a decrease and rebound increase up to 120 hpf. To analyze for transcriptional regulation of Ugts by the arylhydrocarbon receptor (ahr2), zebrafish eleuthero-embryos were exposed to 5, 25 and 50 μg/L benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a model ahr2 regulator for cyp1a. Besides transcriptional induction of ahr2 and cyp1a, BaP produced a significant induction of Ugt1a, Ugt5a1, Ugt5a3 and Ugt5a5 as well as a down-regulation of Ugt1b. These data demonstrate the link between ahr2 signalling and transcriptional expression of Ugt genes. This is the first study showing transcriptional expression of eight different Ugts in tissues and during embryonic development and offers new perspectives on the involvement of Ugts in fish xenobiotic metabolism.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping