Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Evaluating Toxicity of Chemicals using a Zebrafish Vibration Startle Response Screening System

Evaluating Toxicity of Chemicals using a Zebrafish Vibration Startle Response Screening System

Published on: January 12, 2024

Gene expression changes in developing zebrafish as potential markers for rapid developmental neurotoxicity screening.

Chun-Yang Fan¹, John Cowden, Steven O Simmons

¹Cellular and Molecular Toxicology Branch, Neurotoxicology Division, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.

Neurotoxicology and Teratology

|May 23, 2009

Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Recent SARS-CoV-2 infections and increased antibody responses to viral antigens are associated with greater autoantibody reactivity.

Immunology letters·2026

Same author

A data analysis approach for locomotor behavioral responses in developmentally exposed zebrafish.

NAM journal·2026

Same author

Utilizing Multiple Behavioral Endpoints to Identify Negative Control Chemicals in a Larval Zebrafish Behavior Assay.

Toxics·2025

Same author

Insights derived from testing a library of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in a battery of new approach methods (NAMs).

Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews·2025

Same author

Profiling the Tox21 Compound Library for Their Inhibitory Effects on Cytochrome P450 Enzymes.

International journal of molecular sciences·2025

Same author

Bioactivity of the ubiquitous tire preservative 6PPD and degradant, 6PPD-quinone in fish- and mammalian-based assays.

Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology·2025

Zebrafish gene expression profiles can serve as biomarkers for developmental neurotoxicity. This study identifies ten nervous system genes whose transcript levels change during zebrafish development and are altered by ethanol exposure, aiding rapid chemical risk assessment.

Area of Science:

Environmental toxicology
Neuroscience
Molecular biology

Background:

Developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) risk assessment is crucial but lacks sufficient hazard data for many chemicals.
Rodent-based DNT testing is time-consuming and costly, necessitating alternative methods.
Zebrafish offer a rapid, high-throughput model for toxicity screening.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify and characterize transcriptional biomarkers for rapid DNT assessment in zebrafish.
To analyze the developmental expression profiles of ten nervous system genes in zebrafish embryos/larvae.
To evaluate the response of these gene expression profiles to ethanol, a known developmental neurotoxicant.

Main Methods:

Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to profile the expression of ten nervous system genes in zebrafish from 1 to 6 days post-fertilization.

More Related Videos

Small Molecule Screening and Toxicity Testing in Early-stage Zebrafish Larvae

Small Molecule Screening and Toxicity Testing in Early-stage Zebrafish Larvae

Published on: March 7, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Evaluating Toxicity of Chemicals using a Zebrafish Vibration Startle Response Screening System

Evaluating Toxicity of Chemicals using a Zebrafish Vibration Startle Response Screening System

Published on: January 12, 2024

Small Molecule Screening and Toxicity Testing in Early-stage Zebrafish Larvae

Small Molecule Screening and Toxicity Testing in Early-stage Zebrafish Larvae

Published on: March 7, 2025

Gene expression patterns were analyzed throughout zebrafish embryonic and larval development.

Zebrafish embryos/larvae were exposed to sublethal doses of ethanol to assess biomarker responses.

Main Results:

Distinct developmental expression patterns were observed for the ten candidate genes, with some increasing, decreasing, or showing a transient increase followed by a decline.
Exposure to ethanol significantly altered the expression profiles of a subset of these genes during and after exposure.
The observed gene expression changes in zebrafish are consistent with known developmental neurotoxicity mechanisms.

Conclusions:

The characterized developmental expression profiles of these ten genes provide a foundation for their use as biomarkers.
Altered gene expression in response to ethanol validates their potential utility in DNT screening.
These zebrafish-based transcriptional biomarkers may enable rapid and cost-effective evaluation of chemical DNT potential.