Opportunities and challenges for using the zebrafish to study neuronal connectivity as an endpoint of developmental neurotoxicity

摘要: Chemical exposures have been implicated as environmental risk factors that interact with genetic susceptibilities to influence individual for complex neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and intellectual disabilities. Altered patterns of neuronal connectivity represent a convergent mechanism pathogenesis these other growing evidence suggests chemicals can interfere specific signaling pathways regulate the development connections. There is, therefore, interest in developing screening platforms identify alter connectivity. Cell-cell, cell-matrix interactions systemic influences are known be important defining brain, thus, systems-based model offers significant advantages over cell-based models effects on The embryonic zebrafish represents vertebrate amenable higher throughput chemical has proven useful characterizing conserved mechanisms neurodevelopment. Moreover, is readily gene editing integrate susceptibilities. Although use toxicity testing increased recent years, diverse tools available imaging structural differences brain not widely applied studies by environment brain. Here, we discuss zebrafish, review what published this regard, suggest path forward applying information developmental neurotoxicity testing.