Effects on the teleost kidney following early life-stages exposure to Deepwater Horizon crude oil

While there is some evidence that exposure to individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) impairs development of the early stage kidney (i.e. pronephros), little is known regarding the effects on the pronephros following exposure to complex crude oil mixtures at environmentally relevant concentrations. Transcriptional changes in genes with various structural, functional and signaling roles specific to different regions of the developing pronephros were assessed by QPCR and whole mount in situ hybridizations, in zebrafish. Morphological changes in the pronephros were determined by immunohistochemistry using an antibody raised against Na/K ATPase (NKA) in zebrafish. Additionally, latent effects of ELS crude oil exposure on kidney function and overall osmoregulation were assessed by subjecting red drum to an acute salinity transfer challenge. And, edema size was assessed in zebrafish after an acute salinity stress.

已有研究证实，单独暴露于多环芳烃（polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs）会损害早期肾脏（即前肾，pronephros）的发育，但针对环境相关浓度下复杂原油混合物暴露对前肾的影响，目前相关认知仍较为匮乏。本研究以斑马鱼为实验对象，采用定量聚合酶链反应（QPCR）与整体原位杂交（whole mount in situ hybridizations）技术，对发育阶段前肾不同区域中具备特异性结构、功能及信号调控作用的基因的转录变化进行了评估；通过免疫组化法，使用针对钠钾ATP酶（Na/K ATPase, NKA）的抗体，检测了前肾的形态学改变。此外，本研究通过对红鼓鱼（red drum）开展急性盐度转移胁迫实验，评估了早期生命阶段（Early Life Stage, ELS）原油暴露对其肾脏功能与整体渗透压调节的潜在影响；同时还对急性盐度胁迫后的斑马鱼水肿程度进行了量化分析。