RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Ochratoxin A induces behavioral and neurochemical changes in adult zebrafish JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2021.10.18.464868 DO 10.1101/2021.10.18.464868 A1 Jéssica Valadas A1 Adrieli Sachett A1 Matheus Marcon A1 Leonardo M. Bastos A1 Angelo Piato YR 2021 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/10/19/2021.10.18.464868.abstract AB Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by species of filamentous fungi widely found as a contaminant in food and with high toxic potential. Studies have shown that this toxin cause kidney and liver damage, however, data on the effects of exposure to OTA on the central nervous system are still scarce. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a teleost often used in translational research due to its physiological, genetic, and behavioral homology with mammals, in addition to being useful as an environmental bioindicator. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of exposure to OTA on behavioral and neurochemical parameters in adult zebrafish. The animals were treated with different doses of OTA (1.38, 2.77, and 5.53 mg/kg) and submitted to behavioral evaluations in the open tank and social interaction tests. Subsequently, they were euthanized, and the brains were used to assess markers associated with oxidative status. In the open tank test OTA induced changes in distance, absolute turn angle, mean speed, and time-freezing. However, no significant effects were observed in the social interaction test. Moreover, OTA also induced alterations in neurochemical parameters with changes in non-protein thiols (NPSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and glutathione reductase (GR). This study showed that OTA can affect neurobiological aspects in zebrafish even at low doses.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.