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Updated: Jul 19, 2025
Analysis of Oxidative Stress in Zebrafish Embryos
Published on: July 7, 2014
Developmental toxicity induced by chelerythrine in zebrafish embryos via activating oxidative stress and apoptosis
Yuxin Shi1, Lei Li1, Chuansen Wang1
1Biology Institute, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, 28789 East Jingshi Road, Ji'nan 250103, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of Zebrafish Models for Human Diseases and Drug Screening of Shandong Province, Shandong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Biological Testing Technology, 28789 Jingshidong Road, Licheng District, Jinan 250103, Shandong Province, PR China.
Abstract:
Chelerythrine (CHE), a natural benzophenanthridine alkaloid, possesses various biological and pharmacological activities, such as antimicrobial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory effects. However, its adverse side effect has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the developmental toxicity of CHE in zebrafish. We found that CHE could lead to a notably increase of the mortality and malformation rate, while lead to reduction of the hatching rate and body length. CHE also could affect the normal developing processes of the heart, liver and phagocytes in zebrafish. Furthermore, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis levels were notably increased. In addition, the mRNA expressions of genes (bax, caspase-9, p53, SOD1, KEAP1, TNF-α, STAT3 and NF-κB) were significantly increased, while the bcl2 and nrf2 were notably inhibited by CHE. These results indicated that the elevation of ROS and apoptosis were involved in the developmental toxicity induced by CHE. In conclusion, CHE exhibits a developmental toxicity in zebrafish, which helps to understand the potential toxic effect of CHE.
