Dioxin disrupts cranial cartilage and dermal bone development in zebrafish larvae

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD or dioxin) disrupts craniofacial development in zebrafish larvae. However, the cellular changes responsible for the decreased jaw size remain poorly understood. We show that smaller jaw size is due to a decrease in both the size and number of chondrocytes in the developing craniofacial cartilages. TCDD was found to decrease ossification of osteoblasts in the perichondrium of craniofacial cartilages. We also discovered that TCDD caused clefting of the parasphenoid, an effect with similarity to TCDD-induced cleft palate in mice. Thus, dermal and perichondrial bone development of the craniofacial skeleton are clearly disrupted by TCDD exposure in the zebrafish larvae. This dysmorphic response of the zebrafish craniofacial skeleton after exposure to TCDD is consistent with findings demonstrating disruption of axial bone development in medaka and repression of sox9b in zebrafish.