Changes in Intestinal Gene Expression of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Related to Sterol Uptake and Excretion upon β-Sitosterol Administration

Abstract

Replacement of fishmeal with plant ingredients will introduce not only plant oil and protein but also phytosterol to the fish diet. Mammals strictly restrict the uptake of phytosterol at intestinal epithelial cells by regulating the gene expressions of sterol uptake and excretion proteins; however, phytosterol is found in the fish muscle and other organs. In order to assess the ability of phytosterol uptake by the intestinal epithelial cells of fish, no-sterol diet, cholesterol-, and β-sitosterol-containing diet was separately administered to zebrafish, and the relative mRNA expressions related to sterol uptake and excretion were evaluated. Gene expression of Niemann-Pick C1-like protein 1 in the sitosterol-fed group was significantly higher than that of the cholesterol-fed group (p < 0.05). The expression of apolipoprotein A-I gene was also higher in the sitosterol-fed group than that in the no-sterol and cholesterol-fed groups. The expressions of ATP-binding cassette, sub-family G, member 5 and 8, were significantly higher in the sitosterol-fed group, compared to the no-sterol group. Regarding the gene expression of ATP-binding cassette sub-family A, member 1, the sitosterol-fed group showed higher expression level compared to the other groups (p < 0.01). These results suggest that fish should be tolerant to phytosterols in contrast to mammals.

Management of Hypercholesterolemia Through Dietary ß-glucans–Insights From a Zebrafish Model

“…However, in our study npc1l1 gene did not respond to 5.1% dietary cholesterol treatment. Another study that employed 3% purified cholesterol also did not report any change in the expression of npc1l1 in the zebrafish intestine ( 58 ). This indicates that a homeostasis maintenance to regulate the absorption of cholesterol through the downregulation of npc1l1 gene expression is probably missing in zebrafish intestine.…”

Chronic Exposure to Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Tetracycline Perturbs Gut Homeostasis in Zebrafish

“…We grouped male and female fish per treatment for the comparative transcriptome analysis according to the description in previous studies. − In this study, the changes in the richness and diversity of gut microbiota communities were independent of sex (Figures S9–S11). Expectedly, data from the qPCR assay revealed that male and female zebrafish shared similar expression patterns in most selected DEGs, suggesting that the generalized signaling pathways induced by TC were unbiased in sex-specific selection.…”