Embryonic Ethanol Exposure Affects Early- and Late-Added Cardiac Precursors and Produces Long-Lasting Heart Chamber Defects in Zebrafish
Department of Biology, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 723 West Michigan, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
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Academic Editor: David R. Wallace
Toxics 2017, 5(4), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics5040035
Received: 27 October 2017
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Revised: 20 November 2017
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Accepted: 22 November 2017
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Published: 1 December 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology)
Drinking mothers expose their fetuses to ethanol, which produces birth defects: craniofacial defects, cognitive impairment, sensorimotor disabilities and organ deformities, collectively termed as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Various congenital heart defects (CHDs) are present in FASD patients, but the mechanisms of alcohol-induced cardiogenesis defects are not completely understood. This study utilized zebrafish embryos and older larvae to understand FASD-associated CHDs. Ethanol-induced cardiac chamber defects initiated during embryonic cardiogenesis persisted in later zebrafish life. In addition, myocardial damage was recognizable in the ventricle of the larvae that were exposed to ethanol during embryogenesis. Our studies of the pathogenesis revealed that ethanol exposure delayed differentiation of first and second heart fields and reduced the number of early- and late-added cardiomyocytes in the heart. Ethanol exposure also reduced the number of endocardial cells. Together, this study showed that ethanol-induced heart defects were present in late-stage zebrafish larvae. Reduced numbers of cardiomyocytes partly accounts for the ethanol-induced zebrafish heart defects.
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Keywords:
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder; congenital heart defects; cardiac defects in zebrafish; ethanol exposure
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MDPI and ACS Style
Sarmah, S.; Marrs, J.A. Embryonic Ethanol Exposure Affects Early- and Late-Added Cardiac Precursors and Produces Long-Lasting Heart Chamber Defects in Zebrafish. Toxics 2017, 5, 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics5040035
AMA Style
Sarmah S, Marrs JA. Embryonic Ethanol Exposure Affects Early- and Late-Added Cardiac Precursors and Produces Long-Lasting Heart Chamber Defects in Zebrafish. Toxics. 2017; 5(4):35. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics5040035
Chicago/Turabian StyleSarmah, Swapnalee, and James A. Marrs. 2017. "Embryonic Ethanol Exposure Affects Early- and Late-Added Cardiac Precursors and Produces Long-Lasting Heart Chamber Defects in Zebrafish" Toxics 5, no. 4: 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics5040035
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