Hormetic effect induced by alpha-particle-induced stress communicated in vivo between zebrafish embryos
- Authors
- Choi, V.W., Cheung, A.L., Cheng, S.H., and Yu, P.K.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-121016-32
- Date
- 2012
- Source
- Environmental science & technology 46(21): 11678-11683 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Cheng, Shuk Han
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Alpha Particles/adverse effects*
- Animal Communication*
- Animals
- Apoptosis/radiation effects
- Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
- Embryo, Nonmammalian/physiology
- Hormesis/physiology*
- Stress, Physiological/physiology*
- Zebrafish/physiology*
- PubMed
- 23050846 Full text @ Env. Sci. Tech.
We report data showing that embryos of the zebrafish, Danio rerio, at 1.5 h post fertilization (hpf) subjected to a low-dose alpha-particle irradiation can release a stress signal into the water, which can be communicated to unirradiated bystander zebrafish embryos sharing the same water medium to induce a hormetic effect in the bystander embryos. Hormesis describes the phenomenon that low doses of a stressor drop the toxic effect to below the spontaneous level. The effects on the whole embryos were studied through quantification of apoptotic signals at 24 hpf through staining with the vital dye acridine orange, followed by counting the stained cells under a microscope. The results show that, for low alpha-particle dose, the number of apoptotic signals decreases in the irradiated embryos and also in the unirradiated bystander embryos having partnered with the irradiated embryos. These suggested that alpha-particle-irradiated zebrafish embryos could release a stress signal into the water, which could be communicated to unirradiated bystander zebrafish embryos sharing the same water medium to induce a hormetic effect in the bystander embryos.