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Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000) Nov 2021Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) describes a wide range of structural deficits and cognitive impairments. FASD impacts up to 5% of children born in the United... (Review)
Review
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) describes a wide range of structural deficits and cognitive impairments. FASD impacts up to 5% of children born in the United States each year, making ethanol one of the most common teratogens. Due to limitations and ethical concerns, studies in humans are limited in their ability to study FASD. Animal models have proven critical in identifying and characterizing the mechanisms underlying FASD. In this review, we will focus on the attributes of zebrafish that make it a strong model in which to study ethanol-induced developmental defects. Zebrafish have several attributes that make it an ideal model in which to study FASD. Zebrafish produced large numbers of externally fertilized, translucent embryos. With a high degree of genetic amenability, zebrafish are at the forefront of identifying and characterizing the gene-ethanol interactions that underlie FASD. Work from multiple labs has shown that embryonic ethanol exposures result in defects in craniofacial, cardiac, ocular, and neural development. In addition to structural defects, ethanol-induced cognitive and behavioral impairments have been studied in zebrafish. Building upon these studies, work has identified ethanol-sensitive loci that underlie the developmental defects. However, analyses show there is still much to be learned of these gene-ethanol interactions. The zebrafish is ideally suited to expand our understanding of gene-ethanol interactions and their impact on FASD. Because of the conservation of gene function between zebrafish and humans, these studies will directly translate to studies of candidate genes in human populations and allow for better diagnosis and treatment of FASD.
Topics: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders; Zebrafish
PubMed: 34739740
DOI: 10.1002/dvg.23460 -
Developmental Biology Jan 2020
Topics: Animals; Biomedical Research; Developmental Biology; Disease Models, Animal; Poland; Zebrafish
PubMed: 31705847
DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.11.003 -
Bone Feb 2023Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are aquatic vertebrates with significant homology to their terrestrial counterparts. While zebrafish have a centuries-long track record in... (Review)
Review
Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are aquatic vertebrates with significant homology to their terrestrial counterparts. While zebrafish have a centuries-long track record in developmental and regenerative biology, their utility has grown exponentially with the onset of modern genetics. This is exemplified in studies focused on skeletal development and repair. Herein, the numerous contributions of zebrafish to our understanding of the basic science of cartilage, bone, tendon/ligament, and other skeletal tissues are described, with a particular focus on applications to development and regeneration. We summarize the genetic strengths that have made the zebrafish a powerful model to understand skeletal biology. We also highlight the large body of existing tools and techniques available to understand skeletal development and repair in the zebrafish and introduce emerging methods that will aid in novel discoveries in skeletal biology. Finally, we review the unique contributions of zebrafish to our understanding of regeneration and highlight diverse routes of repair in different contexts of injury. We conclude that zebrafish will continue to fill a niche of increasing breadth and depth in the study of basic cellular mechanisms of skeletal biology.
Topics: Animals; Zebrafish; Tendons; Bone and Bones; Cartilage
PubMed: 36395960
DOI: 10.1016/j.bone.2022.116611 -
Computers in Biology and Medicine Mar 2022Zebrafish is an essential model organism for studying cardiovascular diseases, given its advantages of fast proliferation and high gene homology with humans. Zebrafish... (Review)
Review
Zebrafish is an essential model organism for studying cardiovascular diseases, given its advantages of fast proliferation and high gene homology with humans. Zebrafish embryos/larvae are valuable experimental models used in toxicology studies to analyze drug toxicity, including hepatoxicity, nephrotoxicity and cardiotoxicity, as well as for drug discovery and drug safety screening in the preclinical stage. Heart rate (HR) serves as a functional endpoint in studies of cardiotoxicity, while heart rate variability (HRV) serves as an indicator of cardiac arrhythmia. Cardiotoxicity is a major cause of early and late termination of drug trials, so a more comprehensive understanding of zebrafish HR and HRV is important. This review summarized HR and HRV in a specific range of applications and fields, focusing on zebrafish heartbeat detection procedures, signal analysis technology and well-established commercial software, such as LabVIEW, Rvlpulse, and ZebraLab. We also compared HR detection algorithms and electrocardiography (ECG)-based methods of heart signal extraction. The relationship between HR and HRV was also systematically analyzed; HR was shown to have an inverse correlation with HRV. Applications to drug testing are also highlighted in this review. Furthermore, HR and HRV were shown to be regulated by the automatic nervous system; their connections with ECG measurements are also summarized herein.
Topics: Animals; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Electrocardiography; Heart; Heart Rate; Zebrafish
PubMed: 34995954
DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.105045 -
Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000) Feb 2021Craniofacial and limb defects are two of the most common congenital anomalies in the general population. Interestingly, these defects are not mutually exclusive. Many... (Review)
Review
Craniofacial and limb defects are two of the most common congenital anomalies in the general population. Interestingly, these defects are not mutually exclusive. Many patients with craniofacial phenotypes, such as orofacial clefting and craniosynostosis, also present with limb defects, including polydactyly, syndactyly, brachydactyly, or ectrodactyly. The gene regulatory networks governing craniofacial and limb development initially seem distinct from one another, and yet these birth defects frequently occur together. Both developmental processes are highly conserved among vertebrates, and zebrafish have emerged as an advantageous model due to their high fecundity, relative ease of genetic manipulation, and transparency during development. Here we summarize studies that have used zebrafish models to study human syndromes that present with both craniofacial and limb phenotypes. We discuss the highly conserved processes of craniofacial and limb/fin development and describe recent zebrafish studies that have explored the function of genes associated with human syndromes with phenotypes in both structures. We attempt to identify commonalities between the two to help explain why craniofacial and limb anomalies often occur together.
Topics: Animals; Craniofacial Abnormalities; Disease Models, Animal; Limb Deformities, Congenital; Zebrafish
PubMed: 33393730
DOI: 10.1002/dvg.23407 -
Developmental Biology Jan 2020
Topics: Animals; Biomedical Research; Developmental Biology; History, 21st Century; Poland; Zebrafish
PubMed: 31705848
DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.11.004 -
Current Opinion in Genetics &... Oct 2020In humans, myocardial infarction results in ventricular remodeling, progressing ultimately to cardiac failure, one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In contrast... (Review)
Review
In humans, myocardial infarction results in ventricular remodeling, progressing ultimately to cardiac failure, one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In contrast to the adult mammalian heart, the zebrafish model organism has a remarkable regenerative capacity, offering the possibility to research the bases of natural regeneration. Here, we summarize recent insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern cardiac regeneration in the zebrafish.
Topics: Animals; Heart; Myocytes, Cardiac; Regeneration; Zebrafish
PubMed: 32599303
DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2020.05.020 -
International Journal of Molecular... Apr 2023The adhesion G-protein-coupled receptor is a seven-transmembrane receptor protein with a complex structure. Impaired has been found to cause developmental damage to the...
The adhesion G-protein-coupled receptor is a seven-transmembrane receptor protein with a complex structure. Impaired has been found to cause developmental damage to the human brain, resulting in intellectual disability and motor dysfunction. To date, studies on deficiency in zebrafish have been limited to the nervous system, and there have been no reports of its systemic effects on juvenile fish at developmental stages. In order to explore the function of in zebrafish, the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system was used to construct a -knockout zebrafish. Subsequently, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at the transcriptional level between the 3 days post fertilization (dpf) homozygotes of the mutation and the wildtype zebrafish were analyzed via RNA-seq. The results of the clustering analysis, quantitative PCR (qPCR), and in situ hybridization demonstrated that the expression of innate immunity-related genes in the mutant was disordered, and multiple genes encoding digestive enzymes of the pancreatic exocrine glands were significantly downregulated in the mutant. Motor ability tests demonstrated that the zebrafish were more active, and this change was more pronounced in the presence of cold and additional stimuli. In conclusion, our results revealed the effect of deletion on the gene expression of juvenile zebrafish and found that the mutant was extremely active, providing an important clue for studying the mechanism of in the development of juvenile zebrafish.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Mutation; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; Transcriptome; Zebrafish; Zebrafish Proteins
PubMed: 37175447
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24097740 -
Current Topics in Developmental Biology 2020Gastrulation is the period of development when the three germ layers, mesoderm, endoderm and ectoderm, are not only formed, but also shaped into a rudimentary body plan.... (Review)
Review
Gastrulation is the period of development when the three germ layers, mesoderm, endoderm and ectoderm, are not only formed, but also shaped into a rudimentary body plan. An elongated anteroposterior (AP) axis is a key feature of all vertebrate body plans, and it forms during gastrulation through the highly conserved morphogenetic mechanism of convergence & extension (C&E). As the name suggests, this process requires that cells within each germ layer converge toward the dorsal midline to narrow the tissue in the mediolateral (ML) dimension and concomitantly extend it in the AP dimension. In a number of vertebrate species, C&E is driven primarily by mediolateral intercalation behavior (MIB), during which cells elongate, align, and extend protrusions in the ML direction and interdigitate between their neighbors. MIB is only one of many complex cellular mechanisms that contributes to C&E in zebrafish embryos, however, where a combination of individual cell migration, collective migration, random walk, radial intercalation, epiboly movements, and MIB all act together to shape the nascent germ layers. Each of these diverse cell movements is driven by a distinct suite of dynamic cellular properties/activities, such as actin-rich protrusions, myosin contractility, and blebbing. Here, we discuss the spatiotemporal patterns of cellular behaviors underlying C&E gastrulation movements within each germ layer of zebrafish embryos. These behaviors must be coordinated with the embryonic axes, and we highlight the roles of Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) in orienting and BMP signaling in patterning C&E cell behaviors with respect to the AP and dorsoventral axes. Finally, we address the role of GPCR signaling, extracellular matrix, and mechanical signals in coordination of C&E movements between adjacent germ layers.
Topics: Animals; Body Patterning; Embryo, Nonmammalian; Gastrulation; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Germ Layers; Morphogenesis; Signal Transduction; Zebrafish; Zebrafish Proteins
PubMed: 31959296
DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2019.08.001 -
Epigenetics Dec 2023The CRISPR/dCas9-based epigenome editing technique has driven much attention. Fused with a catalytic domain from Dnmt or Tet protein, the CRISPR/dCas9-DnmtCD or -TetCD...
The CRISPR/dCas9-based epigenome editing technique has driven much attention. Fused with a catalytic domain from Dnmt or Tet protein, the CRISPR/dCas9-DnmtCD or -TetCD systems possess the targeted DNA methylation editing ability and have established a series of and disease models. However, no publication has been reported on zebrafish (), an important animal model in biomedicine. The present study demonstrated that CRISPR/dCas9-Dnmt7 and -Tet2 catalytic domain fusions could site-specifically edit genomic DNA methylation in zebrafish and may serve as an efficient toolkit for DNA methylation editing in the zebrafish model.
Topics: Animals; DNA Methylation; CRISPR-Cas Systems; Gene Editing; Zebrafish; Epigenome
PubMed: 36945831
DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2023.2192326