CNIC: U.S.-Netherlands Project Development for Research on the Zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a Toxicological Model Using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Imaging Techniques

这次研究访问将启动佛罗里达国际大学的P.I.约翰·贝里博士与荷兰和德国实验室的同行之间的新合作。他们的目标是开发尖端技术--基于磁共振原理，并将斑马鱼作为水生动物模型--以调查环境毒物，特别是来自海洋和淡水“有害藻华”(HAB)物种的有毒代谢物。水生动物作为“模型系统”，是理解环境毒物的基本工具。其中，斑马鱼(Danio Rerio)已成为一种重要的毒理学模型，可用于环境中的各种相关有毒化合物，包括与赤潮有关的化合物。磁共振(MR)利用原子核固有的“磁自旋”来选择性地区分感兴趣的分子。当应用于生命系统时，磁共振能够进行高分辨率成像，以及探测分子的摄取、命运和新陈代谢。国际合作伙伴A.Alia博士的实验室设在荷兰莱顿大学和德国莱比锡大学，最近开发出能够可视化/成像和量化斑马鱼包括胚胎、幼体和成体阶段代谢物的磁共振成像和光谱技术。因此，启动这项研究的计划将需要获得初步数据，证明使用MR来调查斑马鱼模型中几种相关HAB毒素的吸收、定位和新陈代谢。最后，尽管P.I.和一名美国研究生的这次研究计划访问将专门专注于斑马鱼系统中的HAB毒素的调查，但未来联合开发的技术可能会在环境毒理学领域产生变革，如果成功，拟议的方法可能会应用于广泛的环境污染物，如工业污染物、石油泄漏或有毒金属。

This research visit will initiate a new collaboration between the P.I., Dr. John Berry, at Florida International University, and counterparts at laboratories in the Netherlands and Germany. Their goal is to develop cutting-edge techniques - based on principles of magnetic resonance, and the zebrafish as an aquatic animal model - for investigation of environmental toxicants, and specifically toxic metabolites derived from marine and freshwater "harmful algal bloom" (HAB) species. Aquatic animals, as "model systems," are fundamental tools to understanding environmental toxicants. Of these, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as an important toxicological model for use in a wide range of relevant toxic compounds in the environment, including those associated with HABs. Magnetic resonance (MR) utilizes the inherent "magnetic spin" of atomic nuclei to selectively distinguish molecules of interest. When applied to living systems, MR is capable of high-resolution imaging as well as probing the uptake, fate and metabolism of molecules. The laboratory of the international partner, Dr. A. Alia, jointly housed at the University of Leiden, in the Netherlands, and at Leipzig University, in Germany, has recently developed MR imaging and spectroscopy techniques that are capable of visualization/imaging and quantifying metabolites in the zebrafish, including embryo, larval and adult stages. Accordingly, the plans for initiating this research will require obtaining initial data demonstrating the use of MR to investigate uptake, localization, and metabolism of several relevant HAB toxins in the zebrafish model. Finally, although this research planning visit by the P.I. and one U.S. graduate student will focus specifically on investigation of HAB toxins in the zebrafish system, the techniques to be jointly developed in the future have the potential to be transformative in the field of environmental toxicology, and if successful, the proposed approach may be applied to a wide range of environmental contaminants, such as industrial pollutants, oil spills, or toxic metals.