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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Assessing Teratogenic Changes in a Zebrafish Model of Fetal Alcohol Exposure
Published on: March 20, 2012
Low ethanol concentration alters CHRNA5 RNA levels during early human development
Malini Krishnamoorthy1, Brian A Gerwe, Christopher D Scharer
1Department of Anesthesiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Abstract:
Alcohol use is common and consumption during pregnancy has been shown to lead to a myriad of physical and neurologic abnormalities commonly referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Substance addiction, which includes alcohol, has been shown to involve the major nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit CHRNA5. Using human embryonic stem cells as a model of early human development, we show that low concentrations of ethanol (20mM) can alter the expression of CHRNA5. Changes in CHRNA5 expression is linked to altered GABA and NMDA receptor expression, as well as abnormal development of the frontal cortex. These results suggest that alcohol exposure can alter early neurologic development, which may favor addiction and other developmental abnormalities in unborn children.
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