Neurotoxic mechanisms of environmental chemicals and opioids on brain development

The main objective of this project is to describe neurotoxic mechanisms of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and opioids on signalling pathways in the developing brain. In vitro cell cultures will be used together with an in vivo chicken embryo model to study developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) during differentiation. This will be investigated by use of agonists and antagonists on signalling pathways, quantification of protein markers by western blotting and high content imaging (HCI), confocal microscopy, and quantification of gene expression by rt-qPCR and OMICs approaches. The project is a continuation of the completed projects Neurodevelopmental toxicity caused by environmental exposure to phtalates and bisphenol A (completed) and Safety Pharmacology: Chicken and zebrafish as models to assess changes in brain development and function (completed).