The zebrafish model system in cardiovascular research: A tiny fish with mighty prospects

Abstract

The zebrafish Danio rerio, a tropical freshwater fish, belongs to the family of cyprinidae, which in the last 30 years has developed into a very popular model organism for studies of embryonic development and human diseases. Initially the zebrafish species has been selected on the basis of its small size of approximately 3-5 cm, its transparency during development and its high fertility, qualities first identified by George Stresinger, the founding father of zebrafish research [1]. The ability to house thousands of small fishes and the ease of screening mutations in the translucent embryos made it feasible to perform large-scale forward genetic screens in a vertebrate model organism. The abundance of eggs obtained, approximately 200 eggs per female per week, is ideal for genetic and statistical analysis. The mutagenesis screens performed in the early 1990s have led to the identification of genes important in vertebrate organogenesis in an unbiased fashion [2-3]. Many of the isolated mutants have now been fully characterized and the mutated genes mapped, as the zebrafish genome sequencing completes. The knowledge derived has led to a better understanding of the underlying genetic networks governing vertebrate development. More sophisticated phenotype-based screens have since been developed to screen for mutations in defined biological processes [4]

Cell-accurate optical mapping across the entire developing heart

“…We found that, at 52 hpf, less than 10 cells per heart serve as activation origins. They are located in the sinus venosus at the heart's inflow, which is a homologue of the cardiac pacemaker region in adult heart 12 . Our data further shows that the ring-like arrangement of pacemaker cells ( Supplementary Fig.…”

Zebrafish an emerging model for Preclinical Drug Discovery

“…For study of various heart models such as heart development, heart muscle growth, endocardium and valves development, cardiac conduction system, cardiac electro-physiology, heart regeneration zebra ish models haves been used (Poon and Brand, 2013) . They are used for study of a wide variety of cardiovascular disease processes which includes congenital heart defects, arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, aortic coarctation.…”

Use of Coronary Ultrasound Imaging to Evaluate Ventricular Function in Adult Zebrafish

“…PHZ was used at a concentration of 1.25 lg/mL the first week followed by 2.5 lg/mL for the rest of the protocol. Treatment phases were followed by 1 30 min rinsing and washing in fish water. The control group followed the same process without the addition of PHZ in the fish water.…”

“…1 The transparency of zebrafish embryos allows observation of the heart and vasculature so that heart morphology and function can be easily analyzed. In addition, the ease of genetic manipulation makes them an incredible tool to identify novel cardiovascular disease genes and decipher pathways leading to congenital heart disease.…”