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Current Topics in Developmental Biology 2017As manufacturing processes and development of new synthetic compounds increase to keep pace with the expanding global demand, environmental health, and the effects of... (Review)
Review
As manufacturing processes and development of new synthetic compounds increase to keep pace with the expanding global demand, environmental health, and the effects of toxicant exposure are emerging as critical public health concerns. Additionally, chemicals that naturally occur in the environment, such as metals, have profound effects on human and animal health. Many of these compounds are in the news: lead, arsenic, and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A have all been widely publicized as causing disease or damage to humans and wildlife in recent years. Despite the widespread appreciation that environmental toxins can be harmful, there is limited understanding of how many toxins cause disease. Zebrafish are at the forefront of toxicology research; this system has been widely used as a tool to detect toxins in water samples and to investigate the mechanisms of action of environmental toxins and their related diseases. The benefits of zebrafish for studying vertebrate development are equally useful for studying teratogens. Here, we review how zebrafish are being used both to detect the presence of some toxins as well as to identify how environmental exposures affect human health and disease. We focus on areas where zebrafish have been most effectively used in ecotoxicology and in environmental health, including investigation of exposures to endocrine disruptors, industrial waste byproducts, and arsenic.
Topics: Animals; Environmental Health; High-Throughput Screening Assays; Humans; Social Control, Formal; Toxicology; Water Pollution; Zebrafish
PubMed: 28335863
DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2016.10.007 -
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in... Aug 2020Metastasis, the dispersal of cancer cells from a primary tumor to secondary sites within the body, is the leading cause of cancer-related death. Animal models have been... (Review)
Review
Metastasis, the dispersal of cancer cells from a primary tumor to secondary sites within the body, is the leading cause of cancer-related death. Animal models have been an indispensable tool to investigate the complex interactions between the cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment during the metastatic cascade. The zebrafish () has emerged as a powerful vertebrate model for studying metastatic events in vivo. The zebrafish has many attributes including ex-utero development, which facilitates embryonic manipulation, as well as optically transparent tissues, which enables in vivo imaging of fluorescently labeled cells in real time. Here, we summarize the techniques which have been used to study cancer biology and metastasis in the zebrafish model organism, including genetic manipulation and transgenesis, cell transplantation, live imaging, and high-throughput compound screening. Finally, we discuss studies using the zebrafish, which have complemented and benefited metastasis research.
Topics: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasms; Tumor Microenvironment; Zebrafish
PubMed: 31615862
DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a037077 -
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews.... May 2018Hematopoiesis is a complex process with a variety of different signaling pathways influencing every step of blood cell formation from the earliest precursors to final... (Review)
Review
Hematopoiesis is a complex process with a variety of different signaling pathways influencing every step of blood cell formation from the earliest precursors to final differentiated blood cell types. Formation of blood cells is crucial for survival. Blood cells carry oxygen, promote organ development and protect organs in different pathological conditions. Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) are responsible for generating all adult differentiated blood cells. Defects in HSPCs or their downstream lineages can lead to anemia and other hematological disorders including leukemia. The zebrafish has recently emerged as a powerful vertebrate model system to study hematopoiesis. The developmental processes and molecular mechanisms involved in zebrafish hematopoiesis are conserved with higher vertebrates, and the genetic and experimental accessibility of the fish and the optical transparency of its embryos and larvae make it ideal for in vivo analysis of hematopoietic development. Defects in zebrafish hematopoiesis reliably phenocopy human blood disorders, making it a highly attractive model system to screen small molecules to design therapeutic strategies. In this review, we summarize the key developmental processes and molecular mechanisms of zebrafish hematopoiesis. We also discuss recent findings highlighting the strengths of zebrafish as a model system for drug discovery against hematopoietic disorders. This article is categorized under: Adult Stem Cells, Tissue Renewal, and Regeneration > Stem Cell Differentiation and Reversion Vertebrate Organogenesis > Musculoskeletal and Vascular Nervous System Development > Vertebrates: Regional Development Comparative Development and Evolution > Organ System Comparisons Between Species.
Topics: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Hematologic Diseases; Hematopoiesis; Leukemia; Zebrafish
PubMed: 29436122
DOI: 10.1002/wdev.312 -
Pediatric Nephrology (Berlin, Germany) May 2019Kidney disease is a global problem with around three million people diagnosed in the UK alone and the incidence is rising. Research is critical to develop better... (Review)
Review
Kidney disease is a global problem with around three million people diagnosed in the UK alone and the incidence is rising. Research is critical to develop better treatments. Animal models can help to better understand the pathophysiology behind the various kidney diseases and to screen for therapeutic compounds, but the use especially of mammalian models should be minimised in the interest of animal welfare. Zebrafish are increasingly used, as they are genetically tractable and have a basic renal anatomy comparable to mammalian kidneys with glomerular filtration and tubular filtration processing. Here, we discuss how zebrafish have advanced the study of nephrology and the mechanisms underlying kidney disease.
Topics: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Glomerular Filtration Rate; Humans; Kidney; Kidney Diseases; Regeneration; Zebrafish
PubMed: 29502161
DOI: 10.1007/s00467-018-3921-7 -
Gastroenterology Nov 2015As the incidence of hepatobiliary diseases increases, we must improve our understanding of the molecular, cellular, and physiological factors that contribute to the... (Review)
Review
As the incidence of hepatobiliary diseases increases, we must improve our understanding of the molecular, cellular, and physiological factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of liver disease. Animal models help us identify disease mechanisms that might be targeted therapeutically. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have traditionally been used to study embryonic development but are also important to the study of liver disease. Zebrafish embryos develop rapidly; all of their digestive organs are mature in larvae by 5 days of age. At this stage, they can develop hepatobiliary diseases caused by developmental defects or toxin- or ethanol-induced injury and manifest premalignant changes within weeks. Zebrafish are similar to humans in hepatic cellular composition, function, signaling, and response to injury as well as the cellular processes that mediate liver diseases. Genes are highly conserved between humans and zebrafish, making them a useful system to study the basic mechanisms of liver disease. We can perform genetic screens to identify novel genes involved in specific disease processes and chemical screens to identify pathways and compounds that act on specific processes. We review how studies of zebrafish have advanced our understanding of inherited and acquired liver diseases as well as liver cancer and regeneration.
Topics: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Humans; Liver; Liver Diseases; Zebrafish
PubMed: 26319012
DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2015.08.034 -
Journal of Orthopaedic Research :... May 2020Advances in next-generation sequencing have transformed our ability to identify genetic variants associated with clinical disorders of the musculoskeletal system.... (Review)
Review
Advances in next-generation sequencing have transformed our ability to identify genetic variants associated with clinical disorders of the musculoskeletal system. However, the means to functionally validate and analyze the physiological repercussions of genetic variation have lagged behind the rate of genetic discovery. The zebrafish provides an efficient model to leverage genetic analysis in an in vivo context. Its utility for orthopedic research is becoming evident in regard to both candidate gene validation as well as therapeutic discovery in tissues such as bone, tendon, muscle, and cartilage. With the development of new genetic and analytical tools to better assay aspects of skeletal tissue morphology, mineralization, composition, and biomechanics, researchers are emboldened to systematically approach how the skeleton develops and to identify the root causes, and potential treatments, of skeletal disease. © 2019 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 38:925-936, 2020.
Topics: Animals; Models, Animal; Musculoskeletal Development; Zebrafish
PubMed: 31773769
DOI: 10.1002/jor.24539 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jun 2022To discover new molecules or review the biological activity and toxicity of therapeutic substances, drug development, and research relies on robust biological systems to... (Review)
Review
To discover new molecules or review the biological activity and toxicity of therapeutic substances, drug development, and research relies on robust biological systems to obtain reliable results. Phenotype-based screenings can transpose the organism's compensatory pathways by adopting multi-target strategies for treating complex diseases, and zebrafish emerged as an important model for biomedical research and drug screenings. Zebrafish's clear correlation between neuro-anatomical and physiological features and behavior is very similar to that verified in mammals, enabling the construction of reliable and relevant experimental models for neurological disorders research. Zebrafish presents highly conserved physiological pathways that are found in higher vertebrates, including mammals, along with a robust behavioral repertoire. Moreover, it is very sensitive to pharmacological/environmental manipulations, and these behavioral phenotypes are detected in both larvae and adults. These advantages align with the 3Rs concept and qualify the zebrafish as a powerful tool for drug screenings and pre-clinical trials. This review highlights important behavioral domains studied in zebrafish larvae and their neurotransmitter systems and summarizes currently used techniques to evaluate and quantify zebrafish larvae behavior in laboratory studies.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Larva; Mammals; Neurotransmitter Agents; Phenotype; Zebrafish
PubMed: 35743088
DOI: 10.3390/ijms23126647 -
Toxicological Sciences : An Official... May 2018The laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio) is now an accepted model in toxicologic research. The zebrafish model fills a niche between in vitro models and mammalian... (Review)
Review
The laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio) is now an accepted model in toxicologic research. The zebrafish model fills a niche between in vitro models and mammalian biomedical models. The developmental characteristics of the small fish are strategically being used by scientists to study topics ranging from high-throughput toxicity screens to toxicity in multi- and transgenerational studies. High-throughput technology has increased the utility of zebrafish embryonic toxicity assays in screening of chemicals and drugs for toxicity or effect. Additionally, advances in behavioral characterization and experimental methodology allow for observation of recognizable phenotypic changes after xenobiotic exposure. Future directions in zebrafish research are predicted to take advantage of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing methods in creating models of disease and interrogating mechanisms of action with fluorescent reporters or tagged proteins. Zebrafish can also model developmental origins of health and disease and multi- and transgenerational toxicity. The zebrafish has many advantages as a toxicologic model and new methodologies and areas of study continue to expand the usefulness and application of the zebrafish.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Embryo, Nonmammalian; Embryonic Development; High-Throughput Screening Assays; Larva; Models, Animal; Toxicology; Xenobiotics; Zebrafish
PubMed: 29471431
DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfy044 -
Methods in Cell Biology 2017All animals are ecosystems with resident microbial communities, referred to as microbiota, which play profound roles in host development, physiology, and evolution.... (Review)
Review
All animals are ecosystems with resident microbial communities, referred to as microbiota, which play profound roles in host development, physiology, and evolution. Enabled by new DNA sequencing technologies, there is a burgeoning interest in animal-microbiota interactions, but dissecting the specific impacts of microbes on their hosts is experimentally challenging. Gnotobiology, the study of biological systems in which all members are known, enables precise experimental analysis of the necessity and sufficiency of microbes in animal biology by deriving animals germ-free (GF) and inoculating them with defined microbial lineages. Mammalian host models have long dominated gnotobiology, but we have recently adapted gnotobiotic approaches to the zebrafish (Danio rerio), an important aquatic model. Zebrafish offer several experimental attributes that enable rapid, large-scale gnotobiotic experimentation with high replication rates and exquisite optical resolution. Here we describe detailed protocols for three procedures that form the foundation of zebrafish gnotobiology: derivation of GF embryos, microbial association of GF animals, and long-term, GF husbandry. Our aim is to provide sufficient guidance in zebrafish gnotobiotic methodology to expand and enrich this exciting field of research.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Germ-Free Life; Mammals; Microbiota; Zebrafish
PubMed: 28129860
DOI: 10.1016/bs.mcb.2016.11.005 -
Zhongguo Yi Xue Ke Xue Yuan Xue Bao.... Aug 2022Circular RNAs (circRNAs),a group of highly conserved small RNAs,are characterized by a closed circular structure from precursor linear RNA through reverse splicing.They...
Circular RNAs (circRNAs),a group of highly conserved small RNAs,are characterized by a closed circular structure from precursor linear RNA through reverse splicing.They are powerful regulators of the physiological and pathological processes in organisms at different development stages.Zebrafish can be used for the high-throughput drug screening with low cost.Thus,the circRNAs associated with development and inflammation can be mined from zebrafish.Recently,a variety of circRNAs in zebrafish have been identified and characterized.Studies have proved that circRNAs play a vital role in the development and inflammation of zebrafish.The paper summarizes the classification,characteristics,and biological functions of circRNAs,and reviews the research progress in zebrafish's circRNAs.
Topics: Animals; Inflammation; RNA; RNA, Circular; Zebrafish
PubMed: 36065704
DOI: 10.3881/j.issn.1000-503X.13975