Glowing fish offer clues to pollution damage
27 Apr 2012 by Evoluted New Media
Green-glowing zebrafish could offer new clues to the health impacts of pollution on both wildlife and human health.
A team from the University of Exeter and University College London (UCL) created a transgenic zebrafish that makes it easier than ever before to see where in the body environmental chemicals act and how they affect health.
The chemicals under question are oestrogenic chemicals, which are linked to reproductive problems in both animals and humans. Ethinylosestradiol – found in the contraceptive pill and hormone replacement therapy – nonylphenol found in paints and industrial detergents and Bisphenol A found in many plastics are known to affect different parts of the body.
When the transgenic zebrafish are exposed to these environmental oestrogens, the fish produced green fluorescent signals in the areas where the chemicals acted in the body.
“This is a very exciting development in the international effort to understand the impact of oestrogenic chemicals on the environment and human health,” said Professor Charles Taylor from the University of Exeter. “This zebrafish gives us a more comprehensive view than ever before of the potential effects of this hormone-disrupting chemicals on the body.”
PhD student Okhyun Lee exposed fish to chemicals at levels found in wastewaters that are discharged into our rivers – and found that the chemicals impact more parts of the body that previously thought. She was able to observe the effects of the exposure on the fish in real time, watching specific organs or areas of tissue glowing green in response to the chemicals.
The team identified responses in parts of the body already associated with chemicals – the liver and the heart. But they also observed responses in the skeletal muscle and eyes – areas that were not previously known to be targeted by these chemicals.
“By being able to localise precisely where different environmental oestrogens actin the body, we will be able to more effectively target health effect analyses for these chemicals of concern,” said Taylor, corresponding author of the study published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
“While it is still early days, we are confident that our zebrafish model can help us better understand the way the human body responds to these pollutants.”
