PUBLICATION

Acute ethanol induces behavioral changes and alters c-fos expression in specific brain regions, including the mammillary body, in zebrafish

Authors
Ariyasiri, K., Choi, T.I., Gerlai, R., Kim, C.H.
ID
ZDB-PUB-210207-12
Date
2021
Source
Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry   109: 110264 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Gerlai, Robert T.
Keywords
Alcohol, Cerebellum, Ethanol, Gene expression, Mammillary body, Social interaction
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Behavior, Animal/drug effects*
  • Brain/drug effects
  • Brain/metabolism
  • Ethanol/pharmacology*
  • Mammillary Bodies/drug effects*
  • Mammillary Bodies/metabolism
  • Neurons/drug effects
  • Neurons/metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
33545226 Full text @ Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry
Abstract
Ethanol is one of the most commonly abused substances in the world, and ethanol abuse and dependence disorders represent major societal problems. However, appropriate treatment is lacking as we still do not fully understand the molecular bases of these disorders. The zebrafish is one of the model organisms utilized for studying such mechanisms. In this study, we examined the effects of acute ethanol administration on the behavior of zebrafish, and we also analyzed correlated gene expression changes using whole-mount in situ hybridization focusing on a number of genes associated with different neurotransmitter systems, stress response, and neuronal activity. We found ethanol treatment to result in hyperactivity and reduced shoal cohesion compared to control. Analysis of c-fos expression demonstrated altered activity patterns in certain brain regions, including intense activation of the mammillary body in zebrafish with acute ethanol treatment. We also found reduced level of gad1b expression in the cerebellum of ethanol treated fish compared to control. However, we could not detect significant changes in the expression level of other genes, including vglut2b, th, crh, hdc, avp, pomc, and galn in ethanol treated fish compared controls. Our results suggest that zebrafish is a promising animal model for the study of mechanisms underlying alcohol induced behavioral changes and alcohol related human disorders.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping