Noninvasive Imaging of Ethanol-Induced Developmental Defects in Zebrafish Embryos Using Optical Coherence Tomography

• Published in: Birth defects research. Part B. Developmental and reproductive toxicology Vol. 95; no. 1; pp. 7 - 11
• Main Authors: Divakar Rao, K., Upadhyaya, Piyush, Sharma, Mrinalini, Gupta, P. K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.02.2012
• Subjects: Animals; developmental defects; Embryo, Nonmammalian - abnormalities; Embryo, Nonmammalian - drug effects; Embryo, Nonmammalian - pathology; embryo/fetal physiology; Embryonic Development - drug effects; Ethanol - toxicity; Eye - drug effects; Eye - pathology; Female; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Male; optical coherence tomography; Survival Analysis; Tail - abnormalities; Tomography, Optical Coherence - methods; Zebrafish - embryology; developmental defects; ethanol toxicity; embryo/fetal physiology; optical coherence tomography
• ISSN: 1542-9733; 1542-9741
• DOI: 10.1002/bdrb.20332

In this article, we report the use of optical coherence tomography for noninvasive cross‐sectional real‐time imaging of ethanol‐induced developmental defects in zebrafish embryos larvae. For ethanol concentration of over 300 mM, developmental defects of eye (shrinkage and retinal abnormalities), malformation of the notochord and ataxia arising due to the toxic effects of ethanol were observed in OCT images from 3 days post fertilization onwards. The results suggest that OCT could be a valuable tool for noninvasive assessment of birth defects in small animal systems.