Response to low-dose cortisol treatment in zebrafish embryos [larvae]

Chronic early life stress increases adult susceptibility to numerous health problems linked to chronic inflammation. One way that this may occur is via glucocorticoid-induced developmental programming. To gain insight into such programming we treated zebrafish embryos with 1 micromolar cortisol and examined the effects on larvae. Treated larvae had elevated whole-body cortisol and glucocorticoid signaling, and up-regulated genes associated with defense response and immune system processes. Overall design: 6 samples total were analyzed. 3 DMSO controls, and 3 cortisol treated (1 micromolar).慢性早期生活应激会增加成年个体对诸多与慢性炎症相关健康问题的易感性，其潜在致病机制之一为糖皮质激素（glucocorticoid）诱导的发育编程。为深入探究此类发育编程的调控规律，本研究采用1微摩尔浓度的皮质醇（cortisol）处理斑马鱼胚胎，并检测其对幼鱼的影响。经皮质醇处理的幼鱼不仅全身皮质醇水平与糖皮质激素信号通路均显著升高，且与防御反应、免疫系统进程相关的基因呈现上调表达。整体实验设计：本次分析共纳入6个样本，其中3个为二甲基亚砜（DMSO）对照组，剩余3个为经1微摩尔皮质醇处理的实验组样本。