Key points• The anatomical structures and discrete nephric regions of the pronephric zebrafish kidney are similar to those of the mammalian nephron.• Renal blood supply and subsequent renal filtration rate are both key determinants of kidney function.• Our study developed classical functional assays for larval zebrafish that effectively model the effects of the nephrotoxin gentamicin and high salt loading.• The techniques demonstrate the disruption in ion and water balance resulting from reduced cardiovascular flow and renal filtration rate.• The ability to measure cardio-renal function in zebrafish offers advantages associated with the fish model to gain a wider understanding of kidney physiology.Abstract Zebrafish, a well-established vertebrate model, offer unique advantages for assessing renal function and physiology. Assays determining renal glomerular function based on cardiovascular erythrocyte flow and reduction of injected FITC-inulin were developed, each validated using the nephrotoxin gentamicin. Bland-Atlman analysis showed a strong association between measurements of the rate of inulin excretion and that of fluorescent reduction from the arterial vasculature. Reduced renal clearance of inulin, resulting from gentamicin or NaCl loading, was concurrent with reduced erythrocyte velocity, and yolk sac and pericardium oedema. These techniques, assessing pronephric function, highlight the potential for in vivo physiological study in this genetically tractable model.
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