Maternal Chronic Ethanol Exposure Decreases Stress Responses in Zebrafish Offspring
In humans, prenatal alcohol exposure can cause serious health issues in children, known collectively as Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Despite the high prevalence of FASD and a lack of effective treatments, the underlying mechanisms causing the teratogenic action of ethanol are still obsc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Biomolecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/12/8/1143 |
| _version_ | 1797411061644656640 |
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| author | Juliet E. Kitson James Ord Penelope J. Watt |
| author_facet | Juliet E. Kitson James Ord Penelope J. Watt |
| author_sort | Juliet E. Kitson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In humans, prenatal alcohol exposure can cause serious health issues in children, known collectively as Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Despite the high prevalence of FASD and a lack of effective treatments, the underlying mechanisms causing the teratogenic action of ethanol are still obscure. The limitations of human studies necessitate the use of animal models for identifying the underlying processes, but few studies have investigated the effects of alcohol in the female germline. Here, we used the zebrafish <i>Danio rerio</i> to investigate the effects of chronic (repeated for seven days) exposure to alcohol. Specifically, we tested whether the offspring of females chronically exposed to ethanol during oogenesis exhibited hormonal abnormalities when subjected to a stressor (alarm cue) as larvae, and if they exhibited anxiety-like behaviours as adults. Exposure to alarm cue increased whole-body cortisol in control larvae but not in those of ethanol-treated females. Furthermore, adult offspring of ethanol-treated females showed some reduced anxiety-like behaviours. These findings suggest that the offspring of ethanol-treated females had reduced stress responses. This study is the first to investigate how maternal chronic ethanol exposure prior to fertilisation influences hormonal and behavioural effects in a non-rodent model. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:40:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f06ce0176f004416ae90030b44acc410 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-273X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:40:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomolecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-f06ce0176f004416ae90030b44acc4102023-12-03T13:22:57ZengMDPI AGBiomolecules2218-273X2022-08-01128114310.3390/biom12081143Maternal Chronic Ethanol Exposure Decreases Stress Responses in Zebrafish OffspringJuliet E. Kitson0James Ord1Penelope J. Watt2School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UKCentre for Fish and Wildlife Health, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, SwitzerlandSchool of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UKIn humans, prenatal alcohol exposure can cause serious health issues in children, known collectively as Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Despite the high prevalence of FASD and a lack of effective treatments, the underlying mechanisms causing the teratogenic action of ethanol are still obscure. The limitations of human studies necessitate the use of animal models for identifying the underlying processes, but few studies have investigated the effects of alcohol in the female germline. Here, we used the zebrafish <i>Danio rerio</i> to investigate the effects of chronic (repeated for seven days) exposure to alcohol. Specifically, we tested whether the offspring of females chronically exposed to ethanol during oogenesis exhibited hormonal abnormalities when subjected to a stressor (alarm cue) as larvae, and if they exhibited anxiety-like behaviours as adults. Exposure to alarm cue increased whole-body cortisol in control larvae but not in those of ethanol-treated females. Furthermore, adult offspring of ethanol-treated females showed some reduced anxiety-like behaviours. These findings suggest that the offspring of ethanol-treated females had reduced stress responses. This study is the first to investigate how maternal chronic ethanol exposure prior to fertilisation influences hormonal and behavioural effects in a non-rodent model.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/12/8/1143alcoholdevelopmenttransgenerationalcortisolzebrafishstress |
| spellingShingle | Juliet E. Kitson James Ord Penelope J. Watt Maternal Chronic Ethanol Exposure Decreases Stress Responses in Zebrafish Offspring Biomolecules alcohol development transgenerational cortisol zebrafish stress |
| title | Maternal Chronic Ethanol Exposure Decreases Stress Responses in Zebrafish Offspring |
| title_full | Maternal Chronic Ethanol Exposure Decreases Stress Responses in Zebrafish Offspring |
| title_fullStr | Maternal Chronic Ethanol Exposure Decreases Stress Responses in Zebrafish Offspring |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maternal Chronic Ethanol Exposure Decreases Stress Responses in Zebrafish Offspring |
| title_short | Maternal Chronic Ethanol Exposure Decreases Stress Responses in Zebrafish Offspring |
| title_sort | maternal chronic ethanol exposure decreases stress responses in zebrafish offspring |
| topic | alcohol development transgenerational cortisol zebrafish stress |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/12/8/1143 |
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