Exposure of Larval Zebrafish to the Insecticide Propoxur Induced Developmental Delays that Correlate with Behavioral Abnormalities and Altered Expression of <i>hspb9</i> and <i>hspb11</i>
Jeremiah N. Shields,
Eric C. Hales,
Lillian E. Ranspach,
Xixia Luo,
Steven Orr,
Donna Runft,
Alan Dombkowski,
Melody N. Neely,
Larry H. Matherly,
Jeffrey Taub,
Tracie R. Baker,
Ryan Thummel
Affiliations
Jeremiah N. Shields
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Eric C. Hales
Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
Lillian E. Ranspach
Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Xixia Luo
Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Steven Orr
Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
Donna Runft
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA
Alan Dombkowski
Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Melody N. Neely
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA
Larry H. Matherly
Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Jeffrey Taub
Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Tracie R. Baker
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Ryan Thummel
Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Recent studies suggest that organophosphates and carbamates affect human fetal development, resulting in neurological and growth impairment. However, these studies are conflicting and the extent of adverse effects due to pesticide exposure warrants further investigation. In the present study, we examined the impact of the carbamate insecticide propoxur on zebrafish development. We found that propoxur exposure delays embryonic development, resulting in three distinct developmental stages: no delay, mild delay, or severe delay. Interestingly, the delayed embryos all physically recovered 5 days after exposure, but behavioral analysis revealed persistent cognitive deficits at later stages. Microarray analysis identified 59 genes significantly changed by propoxur treatment, and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis revealed that these genes are involved in cancer, organismal abnormalities, neurological disease, and hematological system development. We further examined hspb9 and hspb11 due to their potential roles in zebrafish development and found that propoxur increases expression of these small heat shock proteins in all of the exposed animals. However, we discovered that less significant increases were associated with the more severely delayed phenotype. This raises the possibility that a decreased ability to upregulate these small heat shock proteins in response to propoxur exposure may cause embryos to be more severely delayed.
