Murray State University
The impact of Psychotropic Substances on Developmental Zebrafish Gene Expression
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Biology
Minor
Chemistry
Institution 24-25
Murray State University
KY House District #
5
KY Senate District #
1
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Dena Weinberger, PhD
Department
Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract
Recent studies have shown evidence of the relationship between environmental factors to neurodevelopmental disorder susceptibility. Some evidence suggests that long-lasting disruptions in the structure and function of the nervous system are frequently caused by prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse. Inappropriate use of both legal and illegal drugs has always been a major issue in the United States. According to the CDC, 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 12 have used illicit drugs in 2022. A substantial amount of prescribed and illicit psychotropic drugs is excreted through urine and feces every day. Wastewater treatment does not remove drug residue, leading to the contaminated water being discharged into surface water sources and reaching the drinking water consumed by humans and animals. The drug levels detected in source water bodies are negligible, however, what remains unknown is the real effect of the mixture of these low drug doses on the nervous system. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is used as a toxicity model due to its high neurological resemblance to humans. Our central hypothesis is that developmental exposure to low levels of psychoactive drugs through contaminated water will have a significant effect on protein and gene expression involved in nervous system development and function. Here we are evaluating which genes might be expressed in the brain. This project uses zebrafish embryos to simulate human embryos exposed to those contaminants in utero, focusing on gene-environment interactions to shed light on the effects of drug exposure on the nervous system gene expression in developing zebrafish.
The impact of Psychotropic Substances on Developmental Zebrafish Gene Expression
Recent studies have shown evidence of the relationship between environmental factors to neurodevelopmental disorder susceptibility. Some evidence suggests that long-lasting disruptions in the structure and function of the nervous system are frequently caused by prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse. Inappropriate use of both legal and illegal drugs has always been a major issue in the United States. According to the CDC, 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 12 have used illicit drugs in 2022. A substantial amount of prescribed and illicit psychotropic drugs is excreted through urine and feces every day. Wastewater treatment does not remove drug residue, leading to the contaminated water being discharged into surface water sources and reaching the drinking water consumed by humans and animals. The drug levels detected in source water bodies are negligible, however, what remains unknown is the real effect of the mixture of these low drug doses on the nervous system. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is used as a toxicity model due to its high neurological resemblance to humans. Our central hypothesis is that developmental exposure to low levels of psychoactive drugs through contaminated water will have a significant effect on protein and gene expression involved in nervous system development and function. Here we are evaluating which genes might be expressed in the brain. This project uses zebrafish embryos to simulate human embryos exposed to those contaminants in utero, focusing on gene-environment interactions to shed light on the effects of drug exposure on the nervous system gene expression in developing zebrafish.