The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been used as a model for the study of endocrine disrupting chemicals. This study set out to determine the profiles of whole-body thyroxine (T4) and 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) levels during the development of zebrafish from embryo to adult. Enzyme-linked immunoassay was used to analyze whole-body T4 and T3 contents. The results showed that whole-body T4 and T3 levels remained stable during the pre-hatching period (0–3 d) and increased significantly during early development after hatching. The T3 level peaked at 0.28 ± 0.01 ng g-1 body weight at 10 days post-fertilization (dpf), and T4 peaked at 0.58 ± 0.09 ng g-1 body weight at 21 dpf. Both thyroid hormones subsequently declined during later development. This study establishes a baseline for thyroid hormones in zebrafish, which will be vital for the understanding of thyroid hormone functions and in future studies of thyroid toxicants in this species.
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1 March 2012
Changes in Thyroid Hormone Levels during Zebrafish Development
Juhua Chang,
Minghua Wang,
Wenjun Gui,
Ying Zhao,
Liang Yu,
Guonian Zhu
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Zoological Science
Vol. 29 • No. 3
March 2012
Vol. 29 • No. 3
March 2012
development
Endocrine
thyroxine (T4)
triiodothyronine (T3)
zebrafish