Expression and functionality of transient receptor potential melastatin 4 (TRPM4)-like channels during development of the zebrafish.

Calcium signaling, from localized spikes to coordinated waves, are linked to cleavage, patterning, differentiation, and growth during embryonic development. The basis for control of these Ca(2+) signals is poorly defined. In this study, the expression and functionality of the transient receptor potential melastatin 4 protein (TRPM4), an ion channel that controls Ca(2+) entry into cells, was examined in the zebrafish embryo and adult.

Seasonal influences on PCB retention and biotransformation in fish.

There is extensive evidence that fish from waters with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)-contaminated sediments accumulate PCBs and related chemicals and that people who eat fish from contaminated waters have higher body burdens of PCBs and PCB metabolites than those who do not. PCBs and their metabolites are potentially toxic; thus, it is important to human health to understand the uptake, biotransformation, and elimination of PCBs in fish since these processes determine the extent of accumulation. The intestinal uptake of PCBs present in the diet of fish into fish tissues is a process that is influenced by the lipid composition of the diet.

Zebrafish embryos sequester and retain petrochemical combustion products: developmental and transcriptome consequences.

Zebrafish embryos are a model for studying effects of environmental stressors on development. Incomplete combustion of the environmentally relevant volatile petrochemical, 1,3-butadiene (BD) yields butadiene soot (BDS) nanoparticles, to which polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are adsorbed. In mammalian cells these PAHs are concentrated in lipid droplets and trigger up-regulation of biotransformation, oxidative stress and inflammatory genes.

Enhanced bioaccumulation of dietary contaminants in catfish with exposure to the waterborne surfactant linear alkylbenzene sulfonate.

Fish bioaccumulate a variety of contaminants and act as an exposure portal to the human consumer. Surfactants, known pharmaceutically to alter membrane permeability, change drug bioavailability and attenuate transporter function are also found in contaminant mixtures in the aquatic environment. The overall objective of this study was to determine if the surfactant C-12 linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) at environmentally relevant concentrations, alters the disposition and enhances bioaccumulation of co-exposed dietary xenobiotics in the catfish.

Influence of dietary Coexposure to benzo(a)pyrene on the biotransformation and distribution of 14C-methoxychlor in the channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus).

Methoxychlor (MXC) is an organochlorine pesticide whose mono- and bis-demethylated metabolites, 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane (OH-MXC) and 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane (HPTE), respectively, are estrogenic and antiandrogenic. Studies in vitro showed that treatment of channel catfish with a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon increased phase I and phase II metabolism of MXC. To determine the in vivo significance, groups of four channel catfish were treated by gavage for 6 days with 2 mg/kg (14)C-MXC alone or 2 mg/kg (14)C-MXC and 2 mg/kg benzo(a)pyrene (BaP).