Effects of Toluene on the Development of the Inner Ear and Lateral Line Sensory System of Zebrafish / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

Objective@#The aim of this study was to explore the ototoxicity of toluene in the early development of zebrafish embryos/larvae.@*Methods@#Zebrafish were utilized to explore the ototoxicity of toluene. Locomotion analysis, immunofluorescence, and qPCR were used to understand the phenotypes and molecular mechanisms of toluene ototoxicity.@*Results@#The results demonstrated that at 2 mmol/L, toluene induced zebrafish larvae death at 120 hours post fertilization (hpf) at a rate of 25.79% and inhibited the rate of hatching at 72 hpf. Furthermore, toluene exposure inhibited the distance travelled and average swimming velocity of zebrafish larvae while increasing the frequency of movements. As shown by fluorescence staining of hair cells, toluene inhibited the formation of lateral line neuromasts and middle line 1 (Ml @*Conclusion@#This study indicated that toluene may affect the development of both the inner ear and lateral line systems in zebrafish, while the lateral line system may be more sensitive to toluene than the inner ear.

Effects of Disinfectants on Larval Development of Ascaris suum Eggs

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of several different commercial disinfectants on the embryogenic development of Ascaris suum eggs. A 1-ml aliquot of each disinfectant was mixed with approximately 40,000 decorticated or intact A. suum eggs in sterile tubes. After each treatment time (at 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 30, and 60 min), disinfectants were washed away, and egg suspensions were incubated at 25℃ in distilled water for development of larvae inside. At 3 weeks of incubation after exposure, ethanol, methanol, and chlorohexidin treatments did not affect the larval development of A. suum eggs, regardless of their concentration and treatment time. Among disinfectants tested in this study, 3% cresol, 0.2% sodium hypochlorite and 0.02% sodium hypochlorite delayed but not inactivated the embryonation of decorticated eggs at 3 weeks of incubation, because at 6 weeks of incubation, undeveloped eggs completed embryonation regardless of exposure time, except for 10% povidone iodine. When the albumin layer of A. suum eggs remained intact, however, even the 10% povidone iodine solution took at least 5 min to reasonably inactivate most eggs, but never completely kill them with even 60 min of exposure. This study demonstrated that the treatment of A. suum eggs with many commercially available disinfectants does not affect the embryonation. Although some disinfectants may delay or stop the embryonation of A. suum eggs, they can hardly kill them completely.

Inhibitory effects of osteoprotegerin on osteoclast formation and function under serum-free conditions

The purpose of this study was to determine whether osteoprotegerin (OPG) could affect osteoclat differentiation and activation under serum-free conditions. Both duck embryo bone marrow cells and RAW264.7 cells were incubated with macrophage colony stimulatory factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator for nuclear factor kappaB ligand (RANKL) in serum-free medium to promote osteoclastogenesis. During cultivation, 0, 10, 20, 50, and 100 ng/mL OPG were added to various groups of cells. Osteoclast differentiation and activation were monitored via tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, filamentous-actin rings analysis, and a bone resorption assay. Furthermore, the expression osteoclast-related genes, such as TRAP and receptor activator for nuclear factor kappaB (RANK), that was influenced by OPG in RAW264.7 cells was examined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. In summary, findings from the present study suggested that M-CSF with RANKL can promote osteoclast differentiation and activation, and enhance the expression of TRAP and RANK mRNA in osteoclasts. In contrast, OPG inhibited these activities under serum-free conditions.

Glyceollins, a novel class of soybean phytoalexins, inhibit SCF-induced melanogenesis through attenuation of SCF/c-kit downstream signaling pathways

The anti-melanogenesis effect of glyceollins was examined by melanin synthesis, tyrosinase activity assay in zebrafish embryos and in B16F10 melanoma cells. When developing zebrafish embryos were treated with glyceollins, pigmentation of the embryos, melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity were all decreased compared with control zebrafish embryos. In situ expression of a pigment cell-specific gene, Sox10, was dramatically decreased by glyceollin treatment in the neural tubes of the trunk region of the embryos. Stem cell factor (SCF)/c-kit signaling pathways as well as expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) were determined by western blot analysis. Glyceollins inhibited melanin synthesis, as well as the expression and activity of tyrosinase induced by SCF, in a dose-dependent manner in B16F10 melanoma cells. Pretreatment of B16F10 cells with glyceollins dose-dependently inhibited SCF-induced c-kit and Akt phosphorylation. Glyceollins significantly impaired the expression and activity of MITF. An additional inhibitory function of glyceollins was to effectively downregulate intracellular cyclic AMP levels stimulated by SCF in B16F10 cells. Glyceollins have a depigmentation/whitening activity in vitro and in vivo, and that this effect may be due to the inhibition of SCF-induced c-kit and tyrosinase activity through the blockade of downstream signaling pathway.

Sublethal concentrations of waterborne copper induce cellular stress and cell death in zebrafish embryos and larvae

Copper is an essential ion that forms part of the active sites of many proteins. At the same time, an excess of this metal produces free radicals that are toxic for cells and organisms. Fish have been used extensively to study the effects of metals, including copper, present in food or the environment. It has been shown that different metals induce different adaptive responses in adult fish. However, until now, scant information has been available about the responses that are induced by waterborne copper during early life stages of fish. Here, acute toxicity tests and LC50 curves have been generated for zebrafish larvae exposed to dissolved copper sulphate at different concentrations and for different treatment times. We determined that the larvae incorporate and accumulate copper present in the medium in a concentration-dependent manner, resulting in changes in gene expression. Using a transgenic fish line that expresses enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) under the hsp70 promoter, we monitored tissue-specific stress responses to waterborne copper by following expression of the reporter. Furthermore, TUNEL assays revealed which tissues are more susceptible to cell death after exposure to copper. Our results establish a framework for the analysis of whole-organism management of excess external copper in developing aquatic animals.

5-Formylhonokiol exerts anti-angiogenesis activity via inactivating the ERK signaling pathway

Our previous report has demonstrated that 5-formylhonokiol (FH), a derivative of honokiol (HK), exerts more potent anti-proliferative activities than honokiol in several tumor cell lines. In present study, we first explored the antiangiogenic activities of 5-formylhonokiol on proliferation, migration and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) for the first time in vitro. Then we investigated the in vivo antiangiogenic effect of 5-formylhonokiol on zebrafish angiogenesis model. In order to clarify the underlying molecular mechanism of 5-formylhonokiol, we investigated the signaling pathway involved in controlling the angiogenesis process by western blotting assay. Wound-healing results showed that 5-formylhonokiol significantly and dose-dependently inhibited migration of cultured human umbilical vein enthothelial cells. The invasiveness of HUVEC cells was also effectively suppressed at a low concentration of 5-formylhonokiol in the transwell assay. Further F-actin imaging revealed that inhibitory effect of 5-formylhonokiol on invasion may partly contribute to the disruption of assembling stress fiber. Tube formation assay, which is associated with endothelial cells migration, further confirmed the anti-angiogenesis effect of 5-formylhonokiol. In in vivo zebrafish angiogenesis model, we found that 5-formylhonokiol dose-dependently inhibited angiogenesis. Furthermore, western blotting showed that 5-formylhonokiol significantly down-regulated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) expression and inhibited the phosphorylation of ERK but not affecting the total protein kinase B (Akt) expression and related phosphorylation, suggesting that 5-formylhonokiol might exert anti-angiogenesis capacity via down-regulation of the ERK signal pathway. Taken together, these data suggested that 5-formylhonokiol might be a viable drug candidate in antiangiogenesis and anticancer therapies.

Effects of the coastal sediment elutriates containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on early reproductive outputs of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas.

We previously found that embryonic development of the bivalve species was highly vulnerable to xenobiotic chemicals, damaging the coastal ecosystem integrity To further assess their potential damage to ecosystem, the xenobiotic composition of the sediment elutriates from two representative industrialized Korean coasts, Pohang and Ulsan, were determined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The presumed critical dilution of the elutriate was then exposed to early life stages of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), embryonic development and metamorphic stage to first spat, at which they were believably more vulnerable by the chemical exposure. The early life damage by the xenobiotic exposure was apparently significant by the significant degree of pollution. Here, we indicated their potential damages to the Pacific oyster

An improved method for chemical devitellinization of X-gal stained Drosophila embryos.

In Drosophila developmental biological studies, X-gal staining is commonly employed to study the spatio-temporal expression of the lacZ reporter gene in the transformed flies or their embryos. Study of the lacZ pattern in embryos often suffers from the lack of an efficient and high yielding technique for devitellinization of X-gal stained embryos. Devitellinization techniques employed during antibody staining, in situ hybridization or embryonic cuticular preparations generally do not give satisfactory results when used for similar purpose in X-gal stained embryos. This results in the flaky appearance of the blue stain. We present here an improved chemical devitellinization technique which gives a high yield of devitellinized embryos and a better resolution of the X-gal staining pattern.

Ultrastructural cell surface alterations in developing embryos of frog (Microhyla ornata) treated with cytochalasins.

Scanning electron microscopic examination of M. ornata embryos treated with cytochalasins A, B and H (CA, CB and CH) showed extensive cell disaggregation resulting in large intercellular spaces and apparent loss of intercellular communication. All the three cytochalasins significantly reduced surface features, such as, filopodia and membrane ruffling which are considered essential for normal morphogenetic movements. Appreciable qualitative differences could not be detected in effects exerted by CA, CB and CH although potency of the three drugs clearly differed. The results demonstrate that in spite of the differences in their primary mechanisms of action, treatment with all the three cytochalasins culminates in comparable effects on the cell surface architecture resulting into abnormal morphogenesis.

Effect of histaminergic drugs on tail melanophores of tadpole, Bufo melanostictus.

The H1 and H2 receptor agonist histamine caused a powerful aggregation of B. melanostictus tail melanophores, which was completely blocked by metiamide, a specific H2 receptor antagonist, while mepyramine an H1 receptor blocker partially blocked the aggregating response. The strong melanin aggregating effect of 4-methyl histamine a specific H2 receptor agonist and its complete blockade by metiamide further supports the conclusion that there exists a dominant population of H2 type of histamine receptors along with sparse population of H1 receptor on the tail melanophores of the toad, which mediate centripetal movement of melanin granules within the pigment cells leading to blanching of the animal.