Rotenone exposure causes features of Parkinson`s disease pathology linked with muscle atrophy in developing zebrafish embryo
Thilini Ranasinghe, Yongbo Seo, Hae‐Chul Park, Seong‐Kyu Choe, Seon‐Heui Cha
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with both genetic and environmental factors; however, sporadic forms of PD account for > 90 % of cases, and PD prevalence has doubled in the past 25 years. Depending on the importance of the environmental factors, various neurotoxins are used to induce PD both in vivo and in vitro . Unlike other neurodegenerative diseases, PD can be induced in vivo using specific neurotoxic chemicals. However, no chemically induced PD model is available because of the sporadic nature of PD. Rotenone is a pesticide that accelerates the induction of PD and exhibits the highest toxicity in fish, unlike other pesticides. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to establish a model exhibiting PD pathologies such as dysfunction of DArgic neuron, aggregation of ɑ-synuclein, and behavioral abnormalities, which are known features of PD pathology, by rotenone exposure at an environmentally relevant concentration (30 nM) in developing zebrafish embryos. Our results provide direct evidence for the association between PD and muscle degeneration by confirming rotenone-induced muscle atrophy. Therefore, we conclude that the rotenone-induced model presents non-motor and motor defects with extensive studies related to muscle atrophy. • Rotenone induced PD pathologies in the early developing zebrafish. • Rotenone induced human ɑ-synuclein aggregation in 3 days old zebrafish embryos. • Rotenone induced motor symptom in 3 days old zebrafish embryos. • The first evidence of a link between muscle degeneration and PD in zebrafish.