Methylene blue at recommended concentrations alters metabolism in early zebrafish development
Abstract Methylene blue (MB) is an antifungal agent widely used during critical stages of zebrafish development. Most guidelines recommend 0.00005% or 0.0001% of MB for embryo/larval rearing. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development zebrafish embryo toxicity test guideline omits MB...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Communications Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07471-8 |
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| author | Niepukolie Nipu Lai Wei Lauren Hamilton Hyojin Lee Jith Thomas Jan A. Mennigen |
| author_facet | Niepukolie Nipu Lai Wei Lauren Hamilton Hyojin Lee Jith Thomas Jan A. Mennigen |
| author_sort | Niepukolie Nipu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Methylene blue (MB) is an antifungal agent widely used during critical stages of zebrafish development. Most guidelines recommend 0.00005% or 0.0001% of MB for embryo/larval rearing. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development zebrafish embryo toxicity test guideline omits MB recommendations, leading to inconsistent MB use in zebrafish research. Because MB affects oxidative energy metabolism in vitro and in vivo, we investigate possible metabolic effects of recommended MB concentrations in developing zebrafish (1–5 days post-fertilization (dpf)). MB increases O2 consumption rate at 1 dpf, followed by an overall reduction in oxidative energy metabolism in post-hatch eleutheroembryos (4–5 dpf). Concomitantly, mitochondrial transcripts decrease in 1 and 4 dpf zebrafish. Our findings show that MB, at recommended husbandry concentrations, affects oxidative metabolism and can thus confound experiments. Since the zebrafish embryo/larval model is gaining traction as a high-throughput New Approach Methodology (NAM) for toxicity assessment, researchers should reconsider MB use. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c7c16ca6a00542b3918a7fc571e08393 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2399-3642 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-c7c16ca6a00542b3918a7fc571e083932025-01-26T12:48:17ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422025-01-018111110.1038/s42003-025-07471-8Methylene blue at recommended concentrations alters metabolism in early zebrafish developmentNiepukolie Nipu0Lai Wei1Lauren Hamilton2Hyojin Lee3Jith Thomas4Jan A. Mennigen5Department of Biology, University of OttawaDepartment of Biology, University of OttawaRegulatory Toxicology Research Division, Health Products and Food Branch, Health CanadaDepartment of Biology, University of OttawaRegulatory Toxicology Research Division, Health Products and Food Branch, Health CanadaDepartment of Biology, University of OttawaAbstract Methylene blue (MB) is an antifungal agent widely used during critical stages of zebrafish development. Most guidelines recommend 0.00005% or 0.0001% of MB for embryo/larval rearing. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development zebrafish embryo toxicity test guideline omits MB recommendations, leading to inconsistent MB use in zebrafish research. Because MB affects oxidative energy metabolism in vitro and in vivo, we investigate possible metabolic effects of recommended MB concentrations in developing zebrafish (1–5 days post-fertilization (dpf)). MB increases O2 consumption rate at 1 dpf, followed by an overall reduction in oxidative energy metabolism in post-hatch eleutheroembryos (4–5 dpf). Concomitantly, mitochondrial transcripts decrease in 1 and 4 dpf zebrafish. Our findings show that MB, at recommended husbandry concentrations, affects oxidative metabolism and can thus confound experiments. Since the zebrafish embryo/larval model is gaining traction as a high-throughput New Approach Methodology (NAM) for toxicity assessment, researchers should reconsider MB use.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07471-8 |
| spellingShingle | Niepukolie Nipu Lai Wei Lauren Hamilton Hyojin Lee Jith Thomas Jan A. Mennigen Methylene blue at recommended concentrations alters metabolism in early zebrafish development Communications Biology |
| title | Methylene blue at recommended concentrations alters metabolism in early zebrafish development |
| title_full | Methylene blue at recommended concentrations alters metabolism in early zebrafish development |
| title_fullStr | Methylene blue at recommended concentrations alters metabolism in early zebrafish development |
| title_full_unstemmed | Methylene blue at recommended concentrations alters metabolism in early zebrafish development |
| title_short | Methylene blue at recommended concentrations alters metabolism in early zebrafish development |
| title_sort | methylene blue at recommended concentrations alters metabolism in early zebrafish development |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07471-8 |
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