Zebra-Sphinx: Modeling Sphingolipidoses in Zebrafish

Abstract

Sphingolipidoses are inborn errors of metabolism due to the pathogenic mutation of genes that encode for lysosomal enzymes, transporters, or enzyme cofactors that participate in the sphingolipid catabolism. They represent a subgroup of lysosomal storage diseases characterized by the gradual lysosomal accumulation of the substrate(s) of the defective proteins. The clinical presentation of patients affected by sphingolipid storage disorders ranges from a mild progression for some juvenile- or adult-onset forms to severe/fatal infantile forms. Despite significant therapeutic achievements, novel strategies are required at basic, clinical, and translational levels to improve patient outcomes. On these bases, the development of in vivo models is crucial for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of sphingolipidoses and for the development of efficacious therapeutic strategies. The teleost zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as a useful platform to model several human genetic diseases owing to the high grade of genome conservation between human and zebrafish, combined with precise genome editing and the ease of manipulation. In addition, lipidomic studies have allowed the identification in zebrafish of all of the main classes of lipids present in mammals, supporting the possibility to model diseases of the lipidic metabolism in this animal species with the advantage of using mammalian lipid databases for data processing. This review highlights the use of zebrafish as an innovative model system to gain novel insights into the pathogenesis of sphingolipidoses, with possible implications for the identification of more efficacious therapeutic approaches.

Impact of an irreversible β-galactosylceramidase inhibitor on the lipid profile of zebrafish embryos

“…The teleost zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) represents a useful platform to model human genetic diseases. In addition, lipidomic studies performed in zebrafish have identified all the main classes of lipids present in mammals, supporting the possibility to model diseases of the lipidic metabolism in this animal species, including sphingolipidoses [7] .…”

Progress in leukodystrophies with zebrafish

“…However, mechanistic explorations in most zebrafish models of leukodystrophies have shown similarity to human physiopathology. For example, the biochemical pathways associated with peroxisomal β-oxidation or sphingolipid metabolism, critically affected in several leukodystrophies, have been shown to be conserved in zebrafish (Kamoshita et al, 2022;Mignani et al, 2023;Strachan et al, 2017) (Figure 2a).…”