Project description:Although many drugs and environmental chemicals are teratogenic, the mechanisms by which most toxicants disrupt embryonic development are not well understood. microRNAs (miRNAs), single-stranded RNA molecules of ~22 nt that regulate protein expression by inhibiting mRNA translation and promoting mRNA sequestration or degradation, are important regulators of a variety of cellular processes including embryonic development and cellular differentiation. We hypothesized that exposure to xenobiotics can alter miRNA expression and contribute to the mechanisms by which environmental chemicals disrupt embryonic development. To test this hypothesis for one well-known teratogen, we exposed zebrafish embryos to DMSO (0.1%) or TCDD (5 nM) for 1 hr at 30 hours post fertilization (hpf) and measured microRNA expression using several methods at 36 and 60 hpf. TCDD caused strong induction of CYP1A at 36 hpf (62-fold) and 60 hpf (135-fold) as determined by qPCR, verifying the effectiveness of the exposure. microRNA expression profiles were determined using microarrays (Agilent and Exiqon), next-generation sequencing (SOLiD) and real time RT-PCR. The two microarray platforms yielded results that were similar but not identical; both showed significant changes in expression of miR-451, 23a, 23b, 24 and 27e at 60 hpf. Multiple analyses were performed on the SOLiD sequences yielding a total of 16 miRNAs as potentially differentially expressed by TCDD in zebrafish embryos. However, miR-27e was the only miRNA to be identified as differentially expressed by all three methods (both microarrays, SOLiD sequencing, and qPCR). These results suggest that TCDD exposure causes modest changes in expression of microRNAs, including some (miR-451, 23a, 23b, 24 and 27e) that are critical for hematopoiesis and cardiovascular development. MicroRNA profiling was performed (N=3 biological replicates per group) using custom designed Agilent miRNA microarrays (8x15K) and exiqon miRCURY LNA microarrays. Custom-made Agilent oligonucleotide miRNA microarrays were designed based on zebrafish mature miRNA sequences from miRbase v.16. Each individual array contained a total of 548 unique probes representing 259 mature miRNAs from zebrafish (245), Fugu rubripes (11) and Tetraodon nigriviridis (3). Exiqon miRNA probes were based on zebrafish miRNA sequences from miRbase v. 12.

Project description:Exposure to environmental contaminants can disrupt normal development of the early vertebrate skeleton. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) impairs craniofacial skeletal development across many vertebrate species and its effects are especially prominent in early life stages of fish. TCDD activates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a transcription factor that mediates most if not all TCDD responses. We investigated the transcriptional response in the developing zebrafish jaw following TCDD exposure using DNA microarrays. Zebrafish larvae were exposed to TCDD at 96 h postfertilization (hpf) and jaw cartilage tissue was harvested for microarray analysis at 1, 2, 4 and 12 h postexposure (hpe). Numerous chondrogenic transcripts were misregulated by TCDD in the jaw. Comparison of transcripts altered by TCDD in jaw with transcripts altered in embryonic heart showed that the transcriptional responses in the jaw and the heart were strikingly different. Sox9b, a critical chondrogenic transcription factor, was the most significantly reduced transcript in the jaw. We hypothesized that the TCDD reduction of sox9b expression plays an integral role in affecting formation of the embryonic jaw. Morpholino knock down of sox9b expression demonstrated that partial reduction of sox9b expression alone was sufficient to produce a TCDD-like jaw phenotype. Heterozygous sox9b deletion mutant embryos were sensitized to TCDD. Lastly, embryos injected with sox9b mRNA and then exposed to TCDD blocked TCDD-induced jaw toxicity in approximately 14% of sox9b-injected embryos. These results suggest that reduced sox9b expression in TCDD-exposed zebrafish embryos contributes to jaw malformation. Experiment Overall Design: Three independent replicate microarray time course experiments were performed comparing transcript levels between TCDD-exposed and control zebrafish. For each experiment, zebrafish were exposed to TCDD for 1 h starting at 96 hpf as described above. For each time point (97, 98, 100 and 108 hpf) and treatment jaw samples were pooled from 10 dissections for RNA isolation and hybridization with Affymetrix zebrafish arrays (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA). Each microarray contains roughly 14,900 probes corresponding to approximately 30% of the zebrafish genome. For each array, total RNA (1 Âµg) was isolated from 10 jaw microdissections with the QIAGEN RNeasy Mini kit following the manufacturerâs protocol (QIAGEN, Valencia, CA). The One-Cycle Target Labeling and Control Reagents kit was used to synthesize cDNA and biotinylated cRNA following the manufacturerâs protocol (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA). Biotin-labeled cRNA (15 Âµg) was fragmented and hybridized onto Affymetrix Zebrafish Genechip Arrays following the protocol in the Affymetrix Genechip Expression Analysis Technical Manual. Following hybdrization, the arrays were washed and stained with streptavidin-phycoerythrin on an Affymetrix Fluidics Station 400 using the protocol EukGE WS2v4. Arrays were scanned with an Agilent Gene Array Scanner.

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MicroRNA expression profiling after short-term exposure to TCDD in zebrafish embryos

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