The use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) as biomedical models

作者：Tsegay Teame, Zhen Zhang, Chao Ran, Hongling Zhang, Yalin Yang, Qianwen Ding, Minxu Xie, Chenchen Gao, Yongan Ye, Ming Duan, Zhigang Zhou · 发表于：Animal Frontiers · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1093/af/vfz020 · 被引用次数：296 · 研究领域：Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications、Birth, Development, and Health、Congenital heart defects research

Because of its fully sequenced genome, easy genetic manipulation, high fecundity, external fertilization and rapid development, and nearly transparent embryo, zebrafish are a unique model animal for biomedical research, including studies of biological processes and human diseases. Zebrafish have all the main organs involved in the process of metabolism and can be used to study several human metabolic disorders such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and other hepatic diseases. With innovation and improvement of molecular techniques, zebrafish will continue to be an important biomedical model in the future. Various animal species have important roles as experimental models to advance biomedical research. Animal models provide consistency and validity of research results from in vitro studies or studies with rodents. Zebrafish has become a popular animal model for biomedical research. As shown in Figure 1, the number of publications per year on zebrafish as a model for biomedical research has been significantly increasing in recent years. One reason that zebrafish are an important biomedical model is because zebrafish embryos are transparent and they develop outside of the uterus. This unique developmental process allows scientists to study the details of development starting from fertilization and continuing throughout development. Innovation and development of molecular techniques in the later 20th century allowed zebrafish to be used...