Chronic fluoxetine treatment of juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) does not elicit changes in basal cortisol levels and anxiety-like behavior in adulthood

Exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during development may elicit long-term neuroadaptive changes that could alter the basal regulation of stress-associated physiological and behavioral processes later in life. Currently, the effects of juvenile fluoxetine exposure in rodent...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Maureen L. Petrunich-Rutherford
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2019-03-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/6407.pdf
_version_ 1827608232201289728
author Maureen L. Petrunich-Rutherford
author_facet Maureen L. Petrunich-Rutherford
author_sort Maureen L. Petrunich-Rutherford
collection DOAJ
description Exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during development may elicit long-term neuroadaptive changes that could alter the basal regulation of stress-associated physiological and behavioral processes later in life. Currently, the effects of juvenile fluoxetine exposure in rodent models appear to be dependent on the developmental window targeted as well as the duration of drug exposure. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) model is rapidly becoming a useful tool in pharmacological research and can be used to help elucidate some of the long-term effects of fluoxetine exposure prior to sexual maturation on neuroendocrine and behavioral stress markers. In the current study, juvenile zebrafish were chronically exposed to fluoxetine hydrochloride (0 or 100 μg/L) for 14 days (31–44 days post-fertilization (dpf)), then were left untreated until young adulthood. Starting at 90 dpf, basal neuroendocrine stress and behavioral responses of zebrafish were assessed. Cortisol was extracted from the young adult zebrafish body (trunk) and quantified via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Anxiety-like behaviors were assessed in response to introduction to the novel tank test. It was expected that juvenile exposure to fluoxetine would (1) reduce basal cortisol levels and (2) elicit anxiolytic effects in the novel tank test in adulthood. However, fluoxetine exposure during the juvenile period was not associated with alterations in basal levels of cortisol nor were there any significant changes in anxiety-like behavior in the young adult zebrafish. Thus, in zebrafish, it does not appear that SSRI exposure during the juvenile period has a long-term adverse or maladaptive impact on the basal expression of cortisol and anxiety-like behavior in adulthood. Further studies are needed to determine if SSRI exposure during this developmental window influences neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to acute stress.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T07:08:06Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2e208e6e33de4d14b8ff122a6b050d80
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2167-8359
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T07:08:06Z
publishDate 2019-03-01
publisher PeerJ Inc.
record_format Article
series PeerJ
spelling doaj.art-2e208e6e33de4d14b8ff122a6b050d802023-12-03T09:20:00ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-03-017e640710.7717/peerj.6407Chronic fluoxetine treatment of juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) does not elicit changes in basal cortisol levels and anxiety-like behavior in adulthoodMaureen L. Petrunich-RutherfordExposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during development may elicit long-term neuroadaptive changes that could alter the basal regulation of stress-associated physiological and behavioral processes later in life. Currently, the effects of juvenile fluoxetine exposure in rodent models appear to be dependent on the developmental window targeted as well as the duration of drug exposure. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) model is rapidly becoming a useful tool in pharmacological research and can be used to help elucidate some of the long-term effects of fluoxetine exposure prior to sexual maturation on neuroendocrine and behavioral stress markers. In the current study, juvenile zebrafish were chronically exposed to fluoxetine hydrochloride (0 or 100 μg/L) for 14 days (31–44 days post-fertilization (dpf)), then were left untreated until young adulthood. Starting at 90 dpf, basal neuroendocrine stress and behavioral responses of zebrafish were assessed. Cortisol was extracted from the young adult zebrafish body (trunk) and quantified via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Anxiety-like behaviors were assessed in response to introduction to the novel tank test. It was expected that juvenile exposure to fluoxetine would (1) reduce basal cortisol levels and (2) elicit anxiolytic effects in the novel tank test in adulthood. However, fluoxetine exposure during the juvenile period was not associated with alterations in basal levels of cortisol nor were there any significant changes in anxiety-like behavior in the young adult zebrafish. Thus, in zebrafish, it does not appear that SSRI exposure during the juvenile period has a long-term adverse or maladaptive impact on the basal expression of cortisol and anxiety-like behavior in adulthood. Further studies are needed to determine if SSRI exposure during this developmental window influences neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to acute stress.https://peerj.com/articles/6407.pdfZebrafishJuvenileCortisolAnxietyFluoxetineSSRI
spellingShingle Maureen L. Petrunich-Rutherford
Chronic fluoxetine treatment of juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) does not elicit changes in basal cortisol levels and anxiety-like behavior in adulthood
PeerJ
Zebrafish
Juvenile
Cortisol
Anxiety
Fluoxetine
SSRI
title Chronic fluoxetine treatment of juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) does not elicit changes in basal cortisol levels and anxiety-like behavior in adulthood
title_full Chronic fluoxetine treatment of juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) does not elicit changes in basal cortisol levels and anxiety-like behavior in adulthood
title_fullStr Chronic fluoxetine treatment of juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) does not elicit changes in basal cortisol levels and anxiety-like behavior in adulthood
title_full_unstemmed Chronic fluoxetine treatment of juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) does not elicit changes in basal cortisol levels and anxiety-like behavior in adulthood
title_short Chronic fluoxetine treatment of juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) does not elicit changes in basal cortisol levels and anxiety-like behavior in adulthood
title_sort chronic fluoxetine treatment of juvenile zebrafish danio rerio does not elicit changes in basal cortisol levels and anxiety like behavior in adulthood
topic Zebrafish
Juvenile
Cortisol
Anxiety
Fluoxetine
SSRI
url https://peerj.com/articles/6407.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT maureenlpetrunichrutherford chronicfluoxetinetreatmentofjuvenilezebrafishdanioreriodoesnotelicitchangesinbasalcortisollevelsandanxietylikebehaviorinadulthood