Using Acridine Orange to Measure Cell Death in Ethanol Treated Zebrafish Embryos

Ethanol exposure during development can have devastating effects on the fetus. In this application note, zebrafish are used, an excellent model to study both normal development and toxicity, in order to determine the effects of ethanol exposure during development. Zebrafish embryos were treated with ethanol during the first 24 hours of development and the effects of ethanol treatment on cell death was assessed using acridine orange staining. It was found that exposure of embryos to ethanol results in a dose-dependent increase in cell death overall in the embryo.