Transgenic zebrafish models of neurodegenerative diseases

Since the introduction of the zebrafish as a model for the study of vertebrate developmental biology, an extensive array of techniques for its experimental manipulation and analysis has been developed. Recently it has become apparent that these powerful methodologies might be deployed in order to el...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain Structure and Function 2010-03, Vol.214 (2-3), p.285-302
Main Authors: Sager, Jonathan J., Bai, Qing, Burton, Edward A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Animals, Genetically Modified - genetics
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Brain research
Cell Biology
Danio rerio
Disease Models, Animal
Freshwater
Genetic Predisposition to Disease - genetics
Humans
Huntington Disease - genetics
Huntington Disease - metabolism
Huntington Disease - pathology
Molecular Biology - methods
Molecular Biology - trends
Motor Neuron Disease - genetics
Motor Neuron Disease - metabolism
Motor Neuron Disease - pathology
Neurodegeneration
Neurodegenerative Diseases - genetics
Neurodegenerative Diseases - metabolism
Neurodegenerative Diseases - physiopathology
Neurology
Neurosciences
Pathogenesis
Phenotype
Review
Tauopathies - genetics
Tauopathies - metabolism
Tauopathies - physiopathology
Transgenic animals
Zebrafish
Zebrafish - genetics
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Since the introduction of the zebrafish as a model for the study of vertebrate developmental biology, an extensive array of techniques for its experimental manipulation and analysis has been developed. Recently it has become apparent that these powerful methodologies might be deployed in order to elucidate the pathogenesis of human neurodegenerative diseases and to identify candidate therapeutic approaches. In this article, we consider evidence that the zebrafish central nervous system provides an appropriate setting in which to model human neurological disease and we review techniques and resources available for generating transgenic models. We then examine recent publications showing that appropriate phenotypes can be provoked in the zebrafish through transgenic manipulations analogous to genetic abnormalities known to cause human tauopathies, polyglutamine diseases or motor neuron degenerations. These studies show proof of concept that findings in zebrafish models can be applicable to the pathogenic mechanisms underlying human diseases. Consequently, the prospects for providing novel insights into neurodegenerative diseases by exploiting transgenic zebrafish models and discovery-driven approaches seem favorable.
ISSN:1863-2653
1863-2661
0340-2061
DOI:10.1007/s00429-009-0237-1