PUBLICATION

Neurotoxicity of the Parkinson's Disease-Associated Pesticide Ziram Is Synuclein-Dependent in Zebrafish Embryos

Authors
Lulla, A., Barnhill, L., Bitan, G., Ivanova, M.I., Nguyen, B., O'Donnell, K., Stahl, M.C., Yamashiro, C., Klärner, F.G., Schrader, T., Sagasti, A., Bronstein, J.M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-160616-8
Date
2016
Source
Environmental health perspectives   124(11): 1766-1775 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Barnhill, Lisa, Bronstein, Jeff, Sagasti, Alvaro
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Synucleins/genetics
  • Synucleins/metabolism
  • Synucleins/physiology*
  • Parkinson Disease/etiology*
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
  • Animals
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/drug effects*
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism
  • Neurotoxins/toxicity*
  • Ziram/toxicity*
  • Behavior, Animal/drug effects
  • Dopaminergic Neurons/drug effects*
  • Dopaminergic Neurons/metabolism
(all 13)
PubMed
27301718 Full text @ Environ. Health Perspect.
Abstract
Exposure to the commonly used dithiocarbamate (DTC) pesticide ziram is associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD), although the mechanisms of toxicity are not completely understood. In this study, we utilized zebrafish (ZF) embryos to study the mechanisms of ziram's neurotoxicity in vivo. Nanomolar concentrations of ziram caused selective loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons and impaired swimming behavior. Since ziram increases α-synuclein (α-syn) concentrations in rat primary neuronal cultures, we investigated the effect of ziram on ZF γ-synuclein 1 (γ1). ZF express 3 synuclein isoforms and ZF γ1 appears to be a functional homologue of α-syn. We found that recombinant ZF γ1 formed fibrils in vitro and overexpression of ZF γ1 in ZF embryos led to the formation of neuronal aggregates and neurotoxicity similarly to α-syn. Importantly, knockdown of ZF γ1 with morpholinos or disruption of oligomers with the molecular tweezer CLR01 prevented ziram's DA toxicity. These data demonstrate that ziram is selectively toxic to DA neurons in vivo and this toxicity is synuclein-dependent. These findings have important implications for understanding the mechanisms by which pesticides may cause PD.
Genes / Markers
Figures
No images available
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping
Your Input Welcome
We welcome your input and comments. Please use this form to recommend updates to the information in ZFIN. We appreciate as much detail as possible and references as appropriate. We will review your comments promptly.
Citation
Lulla, A., Barnhill, L., Bitan, G., Ivanova, M.I., Nguyen, B., O'Donnell, K., Stahl, M.C., Yamashiro, C., Klärner, F.G., Schrader, T., Sagasti, A., Bronstein, J.M. (2016) Neurotoxicity of the Parkinson's Disease-Associated Pesticide Ziram Is Synuclein-Dependent in Zebrafish Embryos. Environmental health perspectives. 124(11):1766-1775.