Avaliação do metabolismo da adenosina em um modelo de síndrome alcoólica fetal em zebrafish (Danio rerio)

• Ano de defesa: 2015
• Autor(a) principal: Lutte, Aline Haab
• Orientador(a): Silva, Rosane Souza da
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular
• Departamento: Faculdade de Biociências
• País: Brasil
• Palavras-chave em Português: BIOLOGIA CELULAR; BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR; PEIXES - PESQUISAS; EXPERIMENTAÇÃO ANIMAL
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS::BIOLOGIA GERAL
• Link de acesso: http://tede2.pucrs.br/tede2/handle/tede/6037

The ethanol exposure during early embryonic development can cause morphological and behavioral changes even when ingested in low doses. Growth retardation, microcephaly and mental retardation are some of the features observed in children with FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) whose mothers ingested ethanol during pregnancy. The mechanisms by which ethanol affects embryonic development and cause such changes have not been fully elucidated. The increase in the extracellular adenosine levels after chronic and acute exposure to ethanol indicates that the purinergic system has an important role in this situation. Adenosine is a neuromodulator that acts through the activation of metabotropic receptors type P1 (A1, A2A, A2B and A3) and can act as an endogenous neuroprotector. In the extracellular space, adenosine can be produced by sequential hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) held by ectonucleotidases, a cascade of a family of enzymes located on the cell surface, which the key process to hydrolyze to adenosine is performed by ecto-5'-nucleotidase. The use of zebrafish in toxicology studies and development offers a number of advantages. Its size and breeding allow the maintenance of a large quantity of fish in a relatively small space. The production of a large number of eggs and the development occurs rapidly, and progresses through well-defined steps. Recent studies have employed the zebrafish as a model for fetal alcohol syndrome and demonstrated that embryonic exposure to ethanol results in phenotypes comparable to those observed in other vertebrate models. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of adenosine metabolism in the morphological and locomotor parameters of zebrafish larvae exposed to ethanol. The results showed that in addition to morphological damage already known, there is a change in the enzymatic activity of ecto-5'-nucleotidase in larvae of seven days, in both treatments, acute and chronic, independent of gene expression form, which in time was not changed. Pre-treatment with AOPCP, an inhibitor of ecto-5'- nucleotidase, was unable to prevent the morphological damage in a relevant way, although statistically there was a slight prevention. Pre-treatment with dipyridamole, an adenosine transport blocker further worsened the effects caused by ethanol. Considering the changes that occur in extracellular levels of adenosine after exposure to ethanol and the involvement of the purinergic system in early stages of development, our results suggest that there is a combined action of the enzyme ecto-5'-nucleotidase and nucleoside transporters in this rising of extracellular adenosine levels, with emphasis on the inhibition of nucleoside transporters. Additionally, we can infer that there is a correlation between elevated levels of adenosine and morphological defects after exposure to ethanol. These results suggest that the purinergic system is a target for the toxic effects induced by ethanol in the early stages of development.