Long-term behavioral change as a result of acute ethanol exposure in zebrafish: Evidence for a role for sonic hedgehog but not retinoic acid signaling

Abstract Background Developmental exposure to ethanol is recognized to produce long-term neurobehavioral impairment in multiple animal models. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these deficits remain poorly understood. The present study was undertaken to ascertain whether two well-characterized targets of prenatal alcohol exposure, sonic hedgehog (Shh) and retinoic acid (RA), that induce the hallmark morphological phenotypes of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), are involved in the generation of behavioral alterations as a result of alcohol exposure. Methods Zebrafish embryos were exposed to ethanol (0%, 1%, 3%) at either 8–10 or 24–27 h post-fertilization (hpf) and then evaluated during adolescence in the novel tank dive test to assess anxiety and risk-taking behavior. Overt signs of dysmorphogenesis were also scored and behavioral and morphological changes were compared for embryos treated with alcohol alone or in combination with subthreshold doses of shh or alhh1a3 morpholinos (MOs). Results Ethanol treated fish displayed altered tank diving behavior that was not exacerbated by combined MO treatment. While treatment of embryos with either shha mRNA or RA prior to ethanol exposure only ameliorated the altered tank diving response in the case of shha mRNA overexpression, dysmorphogenesis was rescued by both treatments. Conclusion These results suggest that the effects of ethanol exposure on changes in anxiety and risk-taking behavior in adolescent zebrafish is manifested by a blunting of Shh, but not RA, signaling during early development.