Arsenic is a prevalent environmental toxin and a Group one human carcinogenic agent. Chronic
arsenic exposure has been associated with many human diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate zebrafish as an animal model to assess
arsenic toxicity in elevated long-term
arsenic exposure. With prolonged exposure (6 months) to various concentrations of
arsenic from 50 ppb to 300 ppb, effects of
arsenic accumulation in zebrafish tissues, and phenotypes were investigated. Results showed that there are no significant changes of
arsenic retention in zebrafish tissues, and zebrafish did not exhibit any visible
tumor formation under
arsenic exposure conditions. However, the zebrafish demonstrate a dysfunction in their neurological system, which is reflected by a reduction of locomotive activity. Moreover, elevated levels of the
superoxide dismutase (
SOD2) protein were detected in the eye and liver, suggesting increased oxidative stress. In addition, the progenies of
arsenic-treated parents displayed a smaller biomass (four-fold reduction in
body weight) compared with those from their parental controls. This result indicates that
arsenic may induce genetic or epigenetic changes that are then passed on to the next generation. Overall, this study demonstrates that zebrafish is a convenient vertebrate model with advantages in the evaluation of
arsenic-associated
neurological disorders as well as its influences on the offspring.