Thousands of chemical substances daily reachthe aquatic environment, mainly deriving from in-dustrial, urban, and agricultural activity. Such chem-ical substances can form mixtures that are difficultto detect with routine chemical analysis. Many ofthem exhibit neuroactive properties and they areconsidered an emerging issue for both human andenvironmental health. The real impact of exposure toneurotoxic contaminants on the ecosystem is not yetwell known but there is evidence that they can causeimportant changes in organism behavior with a long-term impact on biodiversity and human health. Hu-mans can be indirectly exposed to neurotoxicants forexample through ingestion of fishery products anddrinking waters. Neurotoxicity was identified as oneof the most emerging Modes of Action (MoAs) inthe aquatic environment. An improvement to bridgethe gap of knowledge in this sector is needed andnew standardized methods are required.The aim of this study is to verify the feasi-bility of the Coiling Activity Test (CAT) with thezebrafish embryo model applied on environmentalsamples and chemical substances. Spontaneousmovements of the tail in embryos occurred earlier at17 hours post-fertilization (hpf) originate from a sin-gle neural circuit and are influenced by contaminantexposure. The count of bursts and their intensity areimportant parameters of the neurotoxic effect andspecific software allows rapid measurement of them.We applied the CAT on different environmen-tal samples and chemical substances at different la-boratory conditions in order to recommend a rapid,cost-effective operating protocol for environmentalanalysis. In parallel, we have carried out the 96 hoursFish Embryo Acute Toxicity (FET) test (OECD,236) to add more information on the samples and toverify the sensibility between the two tests.The spontaneous tail movement in zebrafish isdemonstrated to be a very powerful tool in eco-neu-rotoxicological studies as it provides in few hoursimportant screening information on the presence ofdangerous neurotoxic substances in the ecosystem.This test could give also a valid contribution to implementing the regulatory guidelines for the identification of neurotoxic risks in the ecosystems.

COILING TAIL ACTIVITY IN ZEBRAFISH EMBRYO:A PROTOCOL FOR AN EARLY WARNING SYSTEM OFNEUROTOXIC SUBSTANCES

Walter Cristiano;
2022-01-01

Abstract

Thousands of chemical substances daily reachthe aquatic environment, mainly deriving from in-dustrial, urban, and agricultural activity. Such chem-ical substances can form mixtures that are difficultto detect with routine chemical analysis. Many ofthem exhibit neuroactive properties and they areconsidered an emerging issue for both human andenvironmental health. The real impact of exposure toneurotoxic contaminants on the ecosystem is not yetwell known but there is evidence that they can causeimportant changes in organism behavior with a long-term impact on biodiversity and human health. Hu-mans can be indirectly exposed to neurotoxicants forexample through ingestion of fishery products anddrinking waters. Neurotoxicity was identified as oneof the most emerging Modes of Action (MoAs) inthe aquatic environment. An improvement to bridgethe gap of knowledge in this sector is needed andnew standardized methods are required.The aim of this study is to verify the feasi-bility of the Coiling Activity Test (CAT) with thezebrafish embryo model applied on environmentalsamples and chemical substances. Spontaneousmovements of the tail in embryos occurred earlier at17 hours post-fertilization (hpf) originate from a sin-gle neural circuit and are influenced by contaminantexposure. The count of bursts and their intensity areimportant parameters of the neurotoxic effect andspecific software allows rapid measurement of them.We applied the CAT on different environmen-tal samples and chemical substances at different la-boratory conditions in order to recommend a rapid,cost-effective operating protocol for environmentalanalysis. In parallel, we have carried out the 96 hoursFish Embryo Acute Toxicity (FET) test (OECD,236) to add more information on the samples and toverify the sensibility between the two tests.The spontaneous tail movement in zebrafish isdemonstrated to be a very powerful tool in eco-neu-rotoxicological studies as it provides in few hoursimportant screening information on the presence ofdangerous neurotoxic substances in the ecosystem.This test could give also a valid contribution to implementing the regulatory guidelines for the identification of neurotoxic risks in the ecosystems.
2022
8427
8434
Ines Lacchetti, Walter Cristiano, Kevin di Domenico, Mario Carere, Laura Mancini
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1886083
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