Hooked! Modeling human disease in zebrafish

J Clin Invest. 2012 Jul;122(7):2337-43. doi: 10.1172/JCI60434. Epub 2012 Jul 2.

Abstract

Zebrafish have been widely used as a model system for studying developmental processes, but in the last decade, they have also emerged as a valuable system for modeling human disease. The development and function of zebrafish organs are strikingly similar to those of humans, and the ease of creating mutant or transgenic fish has facilitated the generation of disease models. Here, we highlight the use of zebrafish for defining disease pathways and for discovering new therapies.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Central Nervous System Diseases / drug therapy
  • Central Nervous System Diseases / genetics
  • Disease Models, Animal*
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor*
  • Eye Diseases / genetics
  • Female
  • Genetic Engineering
  • Heart Diseases / genetics
  • Heart Diseases / pathology
  • Hematologic Diseases / genetics
  • Humans
  • Kidney Diseases / genetics
  • Kidney Diseases / pathology
  • Male
  • Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / drug therapy
  • Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / genetics
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Neoplasms / genetics
  • Zebrafish / anatomy & histology
  • Zebrafish / genetics*
  • Zebrafish / physiology