PUBLICATION
The Developmental Toxicity of Haloperidol on Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Embryos
- Authors
- Leonardos, M., Georgalis, C., Sergiou, G., Leonardos, D., Lakkas, L., Alexiou, G.A.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-250828-22
- Date
- 2025
- Source
- Biomedicines 13: (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Keywords
- antipsychotic, behavior, haloperidol, toxicity, zebrafish
- MeSH Terms
- none
- PubMed
- 40868050 Full text @ Biomedicines
Citation
Leonardos, M., Georgalis, C., Sergiou, G., Leonardos, D., Lakkas, L., Alexiou, G.A. (2025) The Developmental Toxicity of Haloperidol on Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Embryos. Biomedicines. 13:.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Haloperidol is a typical antipsychotic drug widely used for acute confusional state, psychotic disorders, agitation, delirium, and aggressive behavior. Methods: The toxicity of haloperidol was studied using zebrafish (ZF) embryos as a model organism. Dechorionated embryos were exposed to various concentrations of haloperidol (0.5-6.0 mg/L). The lethal dose concentration was estimated and was found to be 1.941 mg/L. Results: The impact of haloperidol was dose-dependent and significant from 0.25 mg/L. Haloperidol induced several deformities at sublethal doses, including abnormal somites, yolk sac edema, and skeletal deformities. Haloperidol significantly affected heart rate and blood flow and induced pericardial edema and hyperemia in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting its influence on heart development and function. Embryos exposed to haloperidol during their ontogenetic development had smaller body length and eye surface area than non-exposed ones in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions: It was found that haloperidol significantly affects the behavior of the experimental organisms in terms of mobility, reflexes to stimuli, and adaptation to dark/light conditions.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping