Abstract: Objective To investigate the influence of exposure to different concentrations of ethanol on neural progenitor cells
and the differentiation of neurons and glial cells in zebrafish embryos. Methods Zebrafish embryos were exposed to 1%, 2%,
and 2.5% (V/V) ethanol at 5 hpf by adding ethanol to the egg water. In situ hybridization and real-time PCR were used to detect
the changes in the mRNA expression profiles of the markers of different cells to examine the effects of alcohol on neural
development. Results The number of neural precursor cells, neurons and mature glial cells was significantly reduced in the
zebrafish embryos following ethanol exposure, and this reduction became more prominent as the ethanol concentration
increased. The expression of the early glial marker slc1a3a was down-regulated in the spinal cord but increased in the brain
after exposure to increased ethanol concentrations. The expression of the mature glial markers was significantly lowered in
response to exposure to increasing ethanol concentrations. Conclusion Ethanol can reduce neural precursor cells and inhibits
neuronal and glial differentiation in zebrafish embryos.