IOVS AJP: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

(Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 2006;47:4589-4597.)
© 2006 by The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.
DOI:  10.1167/iovs.05-0971
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Matsui, J. I.
Right arrow Articles by Dowling, J. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Matsui, J. I.
Right arrow Articles by Dowling, J. E.

Effects of Ethanol on Photoreceptors and Visual Function in Developing Zebrafish

Jonathan I. Matsui,1,2,3 Ana L. Egana,1,3 Todd R. Sponholtz,1 Alan R. Adolph,1 and John E. Dowling1

1From the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; and the 2Department of Otolaryngology, Children’s Hospital of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts.

PURPOSE. Children born to mothers who have consumed alcohol during pregnancy have an array of retinal abnormalities and visual dysfunctions. In the past, rodent systems have been used to study the teratogenic effects of ethanol on vertebrate embryonic development. The exact developmental windows in which ethanol causes specific developmental defects have been difficult to determine because rodents and other mammals develop in utero. In this study, we characterized how ethanol affects the function and development of the visual system in an ex utero embryonic system, the zebrafish.

METHODS. Zebrafish embryos were raised in fish water containing various concentrations of ethanol from 2 to 5 days after fertilization. The effects of ethanol on retinal morphology were assessed by histologic and immunohistochemical analyses and those on retinal function were analyzed by optokinetic response (OKR) and electroretinography (ERG).

RESULTS. Zebrafish embryos exposed to moderate and high levels of ethanol during early embryonic development had morphological abnormalities of the eye characterized by hypoplasia of the optic nerve and inhibition of photoreceptor outer segment growth. Ethanol treatment also caused an increased visual threshold as measured by the OKR. Analysis with the ERG indicated that there was a severe reduction of both the a- and b-waves, suggesting that ethanol affects the function of the photoreceptors. Indeed, low levels of ethanol that did not cause obvious morphologic changes in either the body or retina did affect both the OKR visual threshold and the a- and b-wave amplitudes.

CONCLUSIONS. Ethanol affects photoreceptor function at low concentrations that do not disturb retinal morphology. Higher levels of ethanol inhibit photoreceptor development and cause hypoplasia of the optic nerve.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2006 by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology