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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Studying Neurobehavioral Effects of Environmental Pollutants on Zebrafish Larvae
Published on: February 5, 2020
Protective effects of vitamin E against 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB126) induced toxicity in zebrafish
Yi-Rang Na1, Seung-Hyeok Seok, Min-Won Baek
1Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine and KRF Zoonotic Disease Priority Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
3,3',4,4',5-Pentachlorinated biphenyls 126 (PCB126) is a global environmental contaminant that can induce cellular oxidative stress. We investigated whether vitamin E can protect against toxicity from PCB126 during zebrafish (Danio rerio) development. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to 100nM PCB126 and compared with a second group that was co-exposed with 100muM vitamin E until 5 days post fertilization. PCB126 induced pericardial sac edema, yolk sac edema, and growth retardation in zebrafish embyos. In contrast, vitamin E co-exposure group did not show any gross changes. Real-time PCR results showed that vitamin E co-exposure group were restored to control group for the expression levels of heat shock protein 70 Cognate, aryl hydrocarbon receptor type-2, cytochrome P450 1A, and superoxide dismutase-1. These data give insights into the use of vitamin E to reduce PCB126-mediated toxicity and into the use of zebrafish embryos for exploring mechanisms underlying the oxidative potential of AHR agonists.

