PUBLICATION

Diesel exhaust exposure alters the expression of networks implicated in neurodegeneration in zebrafish brains

Authors
Jami, M.S., Murata, H., Barnhill, L.M., Li, S., Bronstein, J.M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-210601-16
Date
2021
Source
Cell biology and toxicology   39(3): 641-655 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Barnhill, Lisa, Bronstein, Jeff, Li, Sharon
Keywords
Air pollution, Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Proteomics, Transcriptomics
MeSH Terms
  • Air Pollutants*/toxicity
  • Animals
  • Brain
  • Proteomics
  • Vehicle Emissions/toxicity
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
34057650 Full text @ Cell Biol. Toxicol.
CTD
34057650
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are a major cause of disability in the world, but their etiologies largely remain elusive. Genetic factors can only account for a minority of risk for most of these disorders, suggesting environmental factors play a significant role in the development of these diseases. Prolonged exposure to air pollution has recently been identified to increase the risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, but the molecular mechanisms by which it acts are not well understood. Zebrafish embryos exposed to diesel exhaust particle extract (DEPe) lead to dysfunctional autophagy and neuronal loss. Here, we exposed zebrafish embryos to DEPe and performed high throughput proteomic and transcriptomic expression analyses from their brains to identify pathogenic pathways induced by air pollution. DEPe treatment altered several biological processes and signaling pathways relevant to neurodegenerative processes, including xenobiotic metabolism, phagosome maturation, and amyloid processing. The biggest induction of gene expression in brains was in Cyp1A (over 30-fold). The relevance of this expression change was confirmed by blocking induction using CRISPR/Cas9, which resulted in a dramatic increase in sensitivity to DEPe toxicity, confirming that Cyp1A induction was a compensatory protective mechanism. These studies identified disrupted molecular pathways that may contribute to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. Ultimately, determining the molecular basis of how air pollution increases the risk of neurodegeneration will help in the development of disease-modifying therapies.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping