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Updated: Apr 20, 2026
Quantification of Ethanol Levels in Zebrafish Embryos Using Head Space Gas Chromatography
Published on: February 11, 2020
Ethanol reduces neural precursor cells and inhibits neuronal and glial differentiation in zebrafish embryos
Guo Yin1, Fang Yao, Xiaohui Chen
1Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Nanfang Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510180, China.
Objective:
To investigate the influence of exposure to different concentrations of ethanol on neural progenitor cells and the differentiation of neurons and glial cells in zebrafish embryos.
Methods:
Zebrafish embryos were exposed to 1%, 2%, and 2.5% (V/V) ethanol at 5 hpf by adding ethanol to the egg water. In situ hybridization and real-time PCR were used to detect the changes in the mRNA expression profiles of the markers of different cells to examine the effects of alcohol on neural development.
Results:
The number of neural precursor cells, neurons and mature glial cells was significantly reduced in the zebrafish embryos following ethanol exposure, and this reduction became more prominent as the ethanol concentration increased. The expression of the early glial marker slc1a3a was down-regulated in the spinal cord but increased in the brain after exposure to increased ethanol concentrations. The expression of the mature glial markers was significantly lowered in response to exposure to increasing ethanol concentrations.
Conclusions:
Ethanol can reduce neural precursor cells and inhibits neuronal and glial differentiation in zebrafish embryos.
