1
|
S de Abreu M, Parker MO, Kalueff AV. Standardizing zebrafish laboratory husbandry to ensure replicability and reproducibility of data in neurobehavioral research. Lab Anim (NY) 2024; 53:189-190. [PMID: 39060634 DOI: 10.1038/s41684-024-01411-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Murilo S de Abreu
- Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
| | - Matthew O Parker
- Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Allan V Kalueff
- Institute of Experimental Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia.
- Suzhou Key Laboratory on Neurobiology and Cell Signaling, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Schuster CJ, Murray KN, Sanders JL, Couch CE, Kent ML. Review of Pseudoloma neurophilia (Microsporidia): A common neural parasite of laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio). J Eukaryot Microbiol 2024:e13040. [PMID: 38961716 DOI: 10.1111/jeu.13040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Revised: 06/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is now the second most used animal model in biomedical research. As with other vertebrate models, underlying diseases and infections often impact research. Beyond mortality and morbidity, these conditions can compromise research end points by producing nonprotocol induced variation within experiments. Pseudoloma neurophilia, a microsporidium that targets the central nervous system, is the most frequently diagnosed pathogen in zebrafish facilities. The parasite undergoes direct, horizontal transmission within populations, and is also maternally transmitted with spores in ovarian fluid and occasionally within eggs. This transmission explains the wide distribution among research laboratories as new lines are generally introduced as embryos. The infection is chronic, and fish apparently never recover following the initial infection. However, most fish do not exhibit outward clinical signs. Histologically, the parasite occurs as aggregates of spores throughout the midbrain and spinal cord and extends to nerve roots. It often elicits meninxitis, myositis, and myodegeneration when it infects the muscle. There are currently no described therapies for the parasite, thus the infection is best avoided by screening with PCR-based tests and removal of infected fish from a facility. Examples of research impacts include reduced fecundity, behavioral changes, transcriptome alterations, and autofluorescent lesions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Corbin J Schuster
- Department of Natural Science, Heritage University, Toppenish, Washington, USA
| | - Katrina N Murray
- Zebrafish International Resource Center, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Justin L Sanders
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Claire E Couch
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Michael L Kent
- Zebrafish International Resource Center, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Abozaid A, Gerlai R. A search for effective reinforcers in appetitive conditioning for adult zebrafish: Ecologically relevant unconditioned stimuli. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2024; 131:110946. [PMID: 38237886 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.110946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Learning and memory related brain disorders represent a large unmet medical need. Laboratory studies with animals may model brain disorders and facilitate uncovering their mechanisms. The zebrafish has been proposed for such studies. However, numerous factors that influence performance in learning tasks have yet to be understood in zebrafish. One such factor is what motivates zebrafish. Here we introduce a novel reinforcer, an ecologically relevant unconditioned stimulus (US). We placed a photograph of gravel underneath quarter of the bottom of an experimental tank on one side and also positioned artificial plants there, the "natural" US. First, we showed that this stimulus was preferred by zebrafish. Next, we investigated whether this stimulus could serve as US for associative learning. We marked the walls of the tank on the side where the US was presented with red paper, the conditioned stimulus (CS+) we found neutral before, and we also marked the walls on the other side of the tank where no US was placed with blue paper (CS-). In addition to fish receiving this "paired" training, we also ran unpaired training with another group of zebrafish, in which the fish saw the US associated with blue and red in a random manner. After having trained the fish in this manner, we tested the performance of the paired and unpaired group of zebrafish in a memory probe trial during which no US was present, and only the CSs (blue and red walls) were shown. We found the paired group of zebrafish to show significant preference for the CS+, as they spent more time and swam closer to the red side compared to the unpaired group and compared to chance. We conclude that ecologically relevant stimuli can serve as efficient US in appetitive conditioning of zebrafish.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amira Abozaid
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord Street Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G5, Canada
| | - Robert Gerlai
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord Street Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G5, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L5L 1C6, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Antón-Galindo E, Adel MR, García-González J, Leggieri A, López-Blanch L, Irimia M, Norton WHJ, Brennan CH, Fernàndez-Castillo N, Cormand B. Pleiotropic contribution of rbfox1 to psychiatric and neurodevelopmental phenotypes in two zebrafish models. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:99. [PMID: 38374212 PMCID: PMC10876957 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02801-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
RBFOX1 is a highly pleiotropic gene that contributes to several psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Both rare and common variants in RBFOX1 have been associated with several psychiatric conditions, but the mechanisms underlying the pleiotropic effects of RBFOX1 are not yet understood. Here we found that, in zebrafish, rbfox1 is expressed in spinal cord, mid- and hindbrain during developmental stages. In adults, expression is restricted to specific areas of the brain, including telencephalic and diencephalic regions with an important role in receiving and processing sensory information and in directing behaviour. To investigate the contribution of rbfox1 to behaviour, we used rbfox1sa15940, a zebrafish mutant line with TL background. We found that rbfox1sa15940 mutants present hyperactivity, thigmotaxis, decreased freezing behaviour and altered social behaviour. We repeated these behavioural tests in a second rbfox1 mutant line with a different genetic background (TU), rbfox1del19, and found that rbfox1 deficiency affects behaviour similarly in this line, although there were some differences. rbfox1del19 mutants present similar thigmotaxis, but stronger alterations in social behaviour and lower levels of hyperactivity than rbfox1sa15940 fish. Taken together, these results suggest that mutations in rbfox1 lead to multiple behavioural changes in zebrafish that might be modulated by environmental, epigenetic and genetic background effects, and that resemble phenotypic alterations present in Rbfox1-deficient mice and in patients with different psychiatric conditions. Our study, thus, highlights the evolutionary conservation of rbfox1 function in behaviour and paves the way to further investigate the mechanisms underlying rbfox1 pleiotropy on the onset of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ester Antón-Galindo
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona (IBUB), Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), Esplugues de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Maja R Adel
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Judit García-González
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, NYC 10029, USA
| | - Adele Leggieri
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Laura López-Blanch
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Manuel Irimia
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
| | - William H J Norton
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Caroline H Brennan
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Noèlia Fernàndez-Castillo
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
- Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona (IBUB), Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), Esplugues de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain.
| | - Bru Cormand
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
- Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona (IBUB), Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), Esplugues de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Buatois A, Siddiqi Z, Naim S, Marawi T, Gerlai R. A simple semi-automated home-tank method and procedure to explore classical associative learning in adult zebrafish. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:736-749. [PMID: 36814006 PMCID: PMC10830691 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02076-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
The zebrafish is a laboratory species that gained increasing popularity the last decade in a variety of subfields of biology, including toxicology, ecology, medicine, and the neurosciences. An important phenotype often measured in these fields is behaviour. Consequently, numerous new behavioural apparati and paradigms have been developed for the zebrafish, including methods for the analysis of learning and memory in adult zebrafish. Perhaps the biggest obstacle in these methods is that zebrafish is particularly sensitive to human handling. To overcome this confound, automated learning paradigms have been developed with varying success. In this manuscript, we present a semi-automated home tank-based learning/memory test paradigm utilizing visual cues, and show that it is capable of quantifying classical associative learning performance in zebrafish. We demonstrate that in this task, zebrafish successfully acquire the association between coloured-light and food reward. The hardware and software components of the task are easy and cheap to obtain and simple to assemble and set up. The procedures of the paradigm allow the test fish to remain completely undisturbed by the experimenter for several days in their home (test) tank, eliminating human handling or human interference induced stress. We demonstrate that the development of cheap and simple automated home-tank-based learning paradigms for the zebrafish is feasible. We argue that such tasks will allow us to better characterize numerous cognitive and mnemonic features of the zebrafish, including elemental as well as configural learning and memory, which will, in turn, also enhance our ability to study neurobiological mechanisms underlying learning and memory using this model organism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Buatois
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Rm CCT4004, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L5L 1C6, Canada.
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Neurochemistry and Psychiatry, University of Gothenburg, Su Sahlgrenska, 41345, Göteborg, Sweden.
| | - Zahra Siddiqi
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Rm CCT4004, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L5L 1C6, Canada
| | - Sadia Naim
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Rm CCT4004, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L5L 1C6, Canada
| | - Tulip Marawi
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Rm CCT4004, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L5L 1C6, Canada
| | - Robert Gerlai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Rm CCT4004, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L5L 1C6, Canada.
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord St, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G5, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Paull GC, Lee CJ, Tyler CR. Beyond compliance: harmonising research and husbandry practices to improve experimental reproducibility using fish models. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:253-264. [PMID: 37817305 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
Reproducibility in animal research is impacted by the environment, by husbandry practices in the laboratory and by the animals' provenance. These factors, however, are often not adequately considered by researchers. A disconnect between researchers and animal care staff can result in inappropriate housing and husbandry decisions for scientific studies with those animals. This is especially the case for the research in neuro-behaviour, epigenetics, and the impact of climate change, as heritable phenotypic, behavioural or physiological changes are known to result from the animals' environmental housing, husbandry, provenance and prior experience. This can lead to greater variation (even major differences) in data outcomes among studies, driving scientific uncertainties. Herein, we illustrate some of the endpoints measured in fish studies known to be intrinsically linked to the environment and husbandry conditions and assess the significance of housing and husbandry practice decisions for research adopting these endpoints for different fish species. We highlight the different priorities and challenges faced by researchers and animal care staff and how harmonising their activities and building greater understanding of how husbandry practices affect the fish will improve reproducibility in research outcomes. We furthermore illustrate how improving engagement between stakeholders, including regulatory bodies, can better underpin fish husbandry decisions and where researchers could help to drive best husbandry practices through their own research with fish models.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory C Paull
- Biosciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Carole J Lee
- Biosciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Charles R Tyler
- Biosciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Gallas-Lopes M, Benvenutti R, Donzelli NIZ, Marcon M. A systematic review of the impact of environmental enrichment in zebrafish. Lab Anim (NY) 2023; 52:332-343. [PMID: 38017181 DOI: 10.1038/s41684-023-01288-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Environmental enrichment (EE) consists of a series of interventions carried out in the home environment to promote greater exposure to sensory stimuli and mimic the natural habitat of laboratory-housed animals, providing environments closer to those found in nature. Some studies have shown the positive effects of EE in zebrafish housed in a laboratory environment. However, this evidence is still recent and accompanied by contradictory results. Furthermore, there is great variability in the protocols applied and in the conditions of the tests, tanks and materials used to generate an enriched environment. This substantial variability can bring many uncertainties to the development of future studies and hinder the reproducibility and replicability of research. Here, in this context, we carried out a systematic review of the literature, aiming to provide an overview of the EE protocols used in zebrafish research. The literature search was performed in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science and the studies were selected on the basis of predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. A total of 901 articles were identified in the databases, and 27 of those studies were included in this review. We conducted data extraction and risk-of-bias analysis in the included studies. Among these studies, the effect of EE was evaluated in two different ways: (1) for animal welfare and (2) as an intervention to prevent behavioral, biochemical, molecular, developmental and breeding dysfunctions. Although the EE protocols in zebrafish presented a series of experimental differences, the results showed that the benefits of the EE for zebrafish were consistent. According to the results described here, the use of EE in the zebrafish home tank improves welfare and may reduce sources of bias in scientific research. However, it is still necessary to develop standardized protocols to improve the application of EE in scientific studies using zebrafish.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matheus Gallas-Lopes
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Radharani Benvenutti
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Nayne I Z Donzelli
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Farmacologia e Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil
- Laboratório de Zebrafish (ZebLab), Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil
| | - Matheus Marcon
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Farmacologia e Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil.
- Laboratório de Zebrafish (ZebLab), Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil.
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Reis CG, Bastos LM, Chitolina R, Gallas-Lopes M, Zanona QK, Becker SZ, Herrmann AP, Piato A. Neurobehavioral effects of fungicides in zebrafish: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep 2023; 13:18142. [PMID: 37875532 PMCID: PMC10598008 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45350-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Pesticides are widely used in global agriculture to achieve high productivity levels. Among them, fungicides are specifically designed to inhibit fungal growth in crops and seeds. However, their application often results in environmental contamination, as these chemicals can persistently be detected in surface waters. This poses a potential threat to non-target organisms, including humans, that inhabit the affected ecosystems. In toxicologic research, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is the most commonly used fish species to assess the potential effects of fungicide exposure, and numerous and sometimes conflicting findings have been reported. To address this, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis focusing on the neurobehavioral effects of fungicides in zebrafish. Our search encompassed three databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science), and the screening process followed predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. We extracted qualitative and quantitative data, as well as assessed reporting quality, from 60 included studies. Meta-analyses were performed for the outcomes of distance traveled in larvae and adults and spontaneous movements in embryos. The results revealed a significant overall effect of fungicide exposure on distance, with a lower distance traveled in the exposed versus control group. No significant effect was observed for spontaneous movements. The overall heterogeneity was high for distance and moderate for spontaneous movements. The poor reporting practices in the field hindered a critical evaluation of the studies. Nevertheless, a sensitivity analysis did not identify any studies skewing the meta-analyses. This review underscores the necessity for better-designed and reported experiments in this field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos G Reis
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Laboratório de Psicofarmacologia e Comportamento (LAPCOM), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Leonardo M Bastos
- Laboratório de Psicofarmacologia e Comportamento (LAPCOM), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Rafael Chitolina
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Laboratório de Psicofarmacologia e Comportamento (LAPCOM), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Matheus Gallas-Lopes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Laboratório de Neurobiologia e Psicofarmacologia Experimental (PsychoLab), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative in Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (BRISA) Collaboration, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Querusche K Zanona
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia e Neuroquímica da Excitabilidade Neuronal e Plasticidade Sináptica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Sofia Z Becker
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Laboratório de Neurobiologia e Psicofarmacologia Experimental (PsychoLab), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Ana P Herrmann
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Laboratório de Neurobiologia e Psicofarmacologia Experimental (PsychoLab), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative in Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (BRISA) Collaboration, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Angelo Piato
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
- Laboratório de Psicofarmacologia e Comportamento (LAPCOM), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Antón-Galindo E, Adel M, García-Gonzalez J, Leggieri A, López-Blanch L, Irimia M, Norton WHJ, Brennan CH, Fernàndez-Castillo N, Cormand B. Pleiotropic contribution of rbfox1 to psychiatric and neurodevelopmental phenotypes in a zebrafish model. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.23.529711. [PMID: 36865197 PMCID: PMC9980121 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.23.529711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
RBFOX1 is a highly pleiotropic gene that contributes to several psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Both rare and common variants in RBFOX1 have been associated with several psychiatric conditions, but the mechanisms underlying the pleiotropic effects of RBFOX1 are not yet understood. Here we found that, in zebrafish, rbfox1 is expressed in spinal cord, mid- and hindbrain during developmental stages. In adults, expression is restricted to specific areas of the brain, including telencephalic and diencephalic regions with an important role in receiving and processing sensory information and in directing behaviour. To investigate the effect of rbfox1 deficiency on behaviour, we used rbfox1sa15940, a rbfox1 loss-of-function line. We found that rbfox1sa15940 mutants present hyperactivity, thigmotaxis, decreased freezing behaviour and altered social behaviour. We repeated these behavioural tests in a second rbfox1 loss-of-function line with a different genetic background, rbfox1del19, and found that rbfox1 deficiency affects behaviour similarly in this line, although there were some differences. rbfox1del19 mutants present similar thigmotaxis, but stronger alterations in social behaviour and lower levels of hyperactivity than rbfox1sa15940 fish. Taken together, these results suggest that rbfox1 deficiency leads to multiple behavioural changes in zebrafish that might be modulated by environmental, epigenetic and genetic background effects, and that resemble phenotypic alterations present in Rbfox1-deficient mice and in patients with different psychiatric conditions. Our study thus highlights the evolutionary conservation of rbfox1 function in behaviour and paves the way to further investigate the mechanisms underlying rbfox1 pleiotropy on the onset of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ester Antón-Galindo
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, 08028, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades raras (CIBERER), Spain
- Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, 08028, Spain
- Institut de recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Espluges de Llobregat, Catalunya, 08950, Spain
| | - Maja Adel
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, 08028, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Judit García-Gonzalez
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, NYC 10029, USA
| | - Adele Leggieri
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Laura López-Blanch
- Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manuel Irimia
- Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
| | - William HJ Norton
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline H Brennan
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Noèlia Fernàndez-Castillo
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, 08028, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades raras (CIBERER), Spain
- Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, 08028, Spain
- Institut de recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Espluges de Llobregat, Catalunya, 08950, Spain
| | - Bru Cormand
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, 08028, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades raras (CIBERER), Spain
- Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, 08028, Spain
- Institut de recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Espluges de Llobregat, Catalunya, 08950, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Gallas-Lopes M, Bastos LM, Benvenutti R, Panzenhagen AC, Piato A, Herrmann AP. Systematic review and meta-analysis of 10 years of unpredictable chronic stress in zebrafish. Lab Anim (NY) 2023; 52:229-246. [PMID: 37709998 DOI: 10.1038/s41684-023-01239-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a model animal that is being increasingly used in neuroscience research. A decade ago, the first study on unpredictable chronic stress (UCS) in zebrafish was published, inspired by protocols established for rodents in the early 1980s. Since then, several studies have been published by different groups, in some cases with conflicting results. Here we conducted a systematic review to identify studies evaluating the effects of UCS in zebrafish and meta-analytically synthetized the data of neurobehavioral outcomes and relevant biomarkers. Literature searches were performed in three databases (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science) with a two-step screening process based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. The included studies underwent extraction of qualitative and quantitative data, as well as risk-of-bias assessment. Outcomes of included studies (n = 38) were grouped into anxiety/fear-related behavior, locomotor function, social behavior or cortisol level domains. UCS increased anxiety/fear-related behavior and cortisol levels while decreasing locomotor function, but a significant summary effect was not observed for social behavior. Despite including a substantial number of studies, the high heterogeneity and the methodological and reporting problems evidenced in the risk-of-bias analysis made it difficult to assess the internal validity of most studies and the overall validity of the model. Our review thus evidences the need to conduct well-designed experiments to better evaluate the effects of UCS on diverse behavioral patterns displayed by zebrafish.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matheus Gallas-Lopes
- Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative in Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (BRISA) Collaboration, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Laboratório de Neurobiologia e Psicofarmacologia Experimental (PsychoLab), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Laboratório de Psicofarmacologia e Comportamento (LAPCOM), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Leonardo M Bastos
- Laboratório de Neurobiologia e Psicofarmacologia Experimental (PsychoLab), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Laboratório de Psicofarmacologia e Comportamento (LAPCOM), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Radharani Benvenutti
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Alana C Panzenhagen
- Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative in Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (BRISA) Collaboration, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas: Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Angelo Piato
- Laboratório de Psicofarmacologia e Comportamento (LAPCOM), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Ana P Herrmann
- Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative in Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (BRISA) Collaboration, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Laboratório de Neurobiologia e Psicofarmacologia Experimental (PsychoLab), Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Silva PF, de Leaniz CG, Freire FAM, Silveira VAM, Luchiari AC. Different housing conditions for zebrafish: what are the effects? Behav Processes 2023; 209:104886. [PMID: 37150333 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2023.104886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Zebrafish is a popular experimental model in several research areas but little is known about the effects of using different strains or housing conditions. Poor control of genetic background and housing conditions could affect experimental results and data reproducibility. Here we investigated the effects of two possible sources of variation on zebrafish behaviour: fish origin and environmental parameters (light intensity, water temperature and noise). Zebrafish behaviour was then examined using the 'novel tank test', one of the most common paradigms used to assess anxiety-like behaviours in zebrafish. Our results show that an increase in light intensity alters fish behaviour, particularly freezing duration and distance from the bottom of the tank, indicating increased anxiety. Swimming activity increased at the lowest temperature (25°C). However, different levels of background noise did not cause any significant changes in behaviour. Differences were also found between zebrafish strains and populations: while the AB strain from laboratory 1 was minimally influenced by variation in holding conditions, the AB strain from laboratory 2 was highly affected by changes in temperature, light, and background noise. Our study shows that variation in strains and holding conditions can significantly influence the results of behavioural testing and should be carefully considered in the experimental design and properly reported to improve data interpretation and reproducibility.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Priscila F Silva
- Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR), Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, U.K
| | - Carlos Garcia de Leaniz
- Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR), Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, U.K
| | - Fulvio A M Freire
- Aquatic Fauna Lab, Department of Botany and Zoology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Vanessa A M Silveira
- Fish Lab, Department of Physiology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Ana C Luchiari
- Fish Lab, Department of Physiology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Porto VA, da Rocha Júnior ER, Ursulino JS, Porto RS, da Silva M, de Jesus LWO, Oliveira JMD, Crispim AC, Santos JCC, Aquino TMD. NMR-based metabolomics applied to ecotoxicology with zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a prominent model for metabolic profiling and biomarker discovery: Overviewing the most recent approaches. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 868:161737. [PMID: 36693575 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Metabolomics is an innovative approach used in the medical, toxicological, and biological sciences. As an interdisciplinary topic, metabolomics and its relation with the environment and toxicological research are extensive. The use of substances, such as drugs and pesticides, contributes to the continuous releasing of xenobiotics into the environment, harming organisms and their habitats. In this context, fish are important bioindicators of the environmental condition and have often been used as model species. Among them, zebrafish (Danio rerio) presents itself as a versatile and straightforward option due to its unique attributes for research. Zebrafish proves to be a valuable model for toxicity assays and also for metabolomics profiling by analytical tools. Thus, NMR-based metabolomics associated with statistical analysis can reasonably assist researchers in critical factors related to discovering and validating biomarkers through accurate diagnosis. Therefore, this review aimed to report the studies that applied zebrafish as a model for (eco)toxicological assays and essentially utilized NMR-based metabolomics analysis to assess the biochemical profile and thus suggest the potential biological marker.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Viviane Amaral Porto
- Research Group on Therapeutic Strategies, Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, AL, Brazil.
| | | | - Jeferson Santana Ursulino
- Research Group on Therapeutic Strategies, Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, AL, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Silva Porto
- Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, AL, Brazil
| | - Marciliano da Silva
- Laboratory of Applied Animal Morphophysiology, Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, AL, Brazil
| | - Lázaro Wender Oliveira de Jesus
- Laboratory of Applied Animal Morphophysiology, Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, AL, Brazil
| | | | - Alessandre Carmo Crispim
- Research Group on Therapeutic Strategies, Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, AL, Brazil
| | | | - Thiago Mendonça de Aquino
- Research Group on Therapeutic Strategies, Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, AL, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Shishis S, Tsang B, Ren GJ, Gerlai R. Effects of different handling methods on the behavior of adult zebrafish. Physiol Behav 2023; 262:114106. [PMID: 36758848 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
The zebrafish is an important biomedical research organism. In most research, zebrafish are removed from their home tank and subsequently their phenotype is measured. The method of handling the fish, however, may significantly affect a variety of phenotypes. This is particularly problematic for studies of brain function that measure behavioral or neuronal responses. Nevertheless, the potential effects of handling have not been analyzed, and in fact are usually ignored. Here, we explore the effects of two usual and two rarely or never-before employed handling methods on the behavior of adult zebrafish. We exposed each fish to one of four handling methods, a between subject experimental design: (1) net chasing followed by air-suspension, (2) gentle net catching (without chasing) followed by air-suspension, (3) gentle net catching followed by being placed in a beaker (no chasing and very short air-suspension), (4) transportation in home tank and pouring the fish directly into the test tank (no chasing, netting or air-suspension). With these handling methods, the fish were placed in a test tank and their swim path was videorecorded and analyzed. Handling significantly affected swim path parameters, duration and frequency of immobility, absolute turn angle and its temporal variance and velocity, but not the distance to bottom. The behavioral effects confirmed that chasing and netting induce robust behavioral changes, and that pouring the fish from its home to its test tank is least aversive for zebrafish. We recommend using this latter method to reduce experimental error variation and increase reproducibility of results.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Benjamin Tsang
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada; Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Canada
| | - Gary J Ren
- Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, Canada
| | - Robert Gerlai
- Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Hill BN, Britton KN, Hunter DL, Olin JK, Lowery M, Hedge JM, Knapp BR, Jarema KA, Rowson Z, Padilla S. Inconsistencies in variable reporting and methods in larval zebrafish behavioral assays. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2023; 96:107163. [PMID: 36758822 PMCID: PMC10337341 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2023.107163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
New approaches in developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) screening are needed due to the tens of thousands of chemicals requiring hazard assessments. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are an alternative vertebrate model for DNT testing, but without a standardized protocol for larval behavioral assays, comparison of results among laboratories is challenging. To evaluate the congruence of protocols across laboratories, we conducted a literature review of DNT studies focusing on larval zebrafish behavior assays and cataloged experimental design consistencies. Our review focused on 51 unique method variables in publications where chemical exposure occurred in early development and subsequent larval locomotor evaluation focused on assays that included a light/dark photoperiod transition. We initially identified 94 publications, but only 31 exclusively met our inclusion criteria which focused on parameters that are important to an assay employed by our laboratory. No publication reported 100% of the targeted variables; only 51 to 86% of those variables were reported in the reviewed publications, with some aspects of the experimental design consistent among laboratories. However, no protocol was exactly the same for any two publications. Many of these variables had more than one parameter/design reported, highlighting the inconsistencies among methods. Overall, there is not only a strong need for the development of a standardized testing protocol for larval zebrafish locomotor assays, but there is also a need for a standardized protocol for reporting experimental variables in the literature. Here we include an extensive guideline checklist for conducting larval zebrafish developmental behavior assays.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bridgett N Hill
- ORISE Research Participation Program hosted by EPA, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Katy N Britton
- ORAU Research Participation Program hosted by EPA, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Deborah L Hunter
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Jeanene K Olin
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Morgan Lowery
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Joan M Hedge
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Advanced Experimental Toxicology Models Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Bridget R Knapp
- ORISE Research Participation Program hosted by EPA, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Kimberly A Jarema
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Immediate Office, Program Operations Staff, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Zachary Rowson
- ORISE Research Participation Program hosted by EPA, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Stephanie Padilla
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
d'Isa R, Gerlai R. Designing animal-friendly behavioral tests for neuroscience research: The importance of an ethological approach. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 16:1090248. [PMID: 36703720 PMCID: PMC9871504 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1090248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele d'Isa
- Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE), Division of Neuroscience (DNS), IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Robert Gerlai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Gerlai R. Zebrafish (Danio rerio): A newcomer with great promise in behavioral neuroscience. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 144:104978. [PMID: 36442644 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field aimed at understanding the neurobiology of behavior. Numerous investigators turn to animals to model and understand the mechanisms underlying vertebrate brain function including human brain disorders, species that share evolutionary history with us. The zebrafish is a relatively new study species for such purposes. However, as this review attempts to demonstrate, it will likely have a good future in behavioral neuroscience. It is a simple vertebrate that is small and cheap to keep and study in the laboratory. Yet, it is similar enough to our own species, thus, we are able to use it for both translational as well as basic research. In this invited review, I will discuss its advantages and some of its disadvantages, the reasons and counterarguments why it should or should not be employed in research. I will focus on its utility in behavioral neuroscience, and will also provide a brief historical account of the evolution between zebrafish research and the science represented by the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert Gerlai
- Department of Psychology, Rm CCT4004, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Tsang B, Gerlai RT. Common Aquarium Plants as an Enrichment Strategy in Zebrafish Facilities. Zebrafish 2022; 19:218-223. [PMID: 36322902 DOI: 10.1089/zeb.2022.0036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
An increasing number of laboratories utilize zebrafish as this species is now represented in practically every subfield of biology research. Environmental enrichment has been shown to improve welfare and health of a large number of species of animals studied in laboratories, kept in zoos, or used in agriculture. However, most laboratories keep zebrafish in barren tanks. Artificial and live aquatic plants have been used in a variety of contexts for aquarium fish, and they have also been suggested as a potential enrichment strategy for the zebrafish. However, no systematic studies have been conducted to investigate their beneficial effects in zebrafish husbandry and biology research. In this study, we review some of the potential benefits of using live plants, and argue that systematic analyses for proper choice and use of live plants in zebrafish husbandry are sorely needed. We provide a few examples of aquatic plant species out of the large variety produced for the aquarium hobby that could be adopted to the zebrafish laboratory setting as environmental enrichment. We speculate that once systematic analyses have been conducted, they will show benefits of this ethologically/ecologically relevant enrichment method, one of which will be healthier and less stressed fish leading to increased reproducibility of results in zebrafish research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Tsang
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada.,Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
| | - Robert T Gerlai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada.,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Acute Administration of Ethanol and of a D1-Receptor Antagonist Affects the Behavior and Neurochemistry of Adult Zebrafish. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10112878. [DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10112878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Alcohol abuse represents major societal problems, an unmet medical need resulting from our incomplete understanding of the mechanisms underlying alcohol’s actions in the brain. To uncover these mechanisms, animal models have been proposed. Here, we explore the effects of acute alcohol administration in zebrafish, a promising animal model in alcohol research. One mechanism via which alcohol may influence behavior is the dopaminergic neurotransmitter system. As a proof-of-concept analysis, we study how D1 dopamine-receptor antagonism may alter the effects of acute alcohol on the behavior of adult zebrafish and on whole brain levels of neurochemicals. We conduct these analyses using a quasi-inbred strain, AB, and a genetically heterogeneous population SFWT. Our results uncover significant alcohol x D1-R antagonist interaction and main effects of these factors in shoaling, but only additive effects of these factors in measures of exploratory behavior. We also find interacting and main effects of alcohol and the D1-R antagonist on dopamine and DOPAC levels, but only alcohol effects on serotonin. We also uncover several strain dependent effects. These results demonstrate that acute alcohol may act through dopaminergic mechanisms for some but not all behavioral phenotypes, a novel discovery, and also suggest that strain differences may, in the future, help us identify molecular mechanisms underlying acute alcohol effects.
Collapse
|
19
|
de Abreu MS, Parker MO, Kalueff AV. The critical impact of sex on preclinical alcohol research - Insights from zebrafish. Front Neuroendocrinol 2022; 67:101014. [PMID: 35810841 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Sex is an important biological variable that is widely recognized in studies of alcohol-related effects. Complementing clinical and preclinical rodent research, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is the second most used laboratory species, and a powerful model organism in biomedicine. Like clinical and rodent models, zebrafish demonstrate overt sex differences in alcohol-related responses. Collectively, this evidence shows that the zebrafish becomes a sensitive model species to further probe in-depth sex differences commonly reported in alcohol research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Murilo S de Abreu
- Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology and Neurobiology, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia.
| | - Matthew O Parker
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science, University of Portsmouth, UK
| | - Allan V Kalueff
- Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology and Neurobiology, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia; Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia; Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia; Neuroscience Program, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, Russia; Granov Scientific Research Center of Radiology and Surgical Technologies, St. Petersburg, Russia; Almazov National Medical Research Center, St. Petersburg, Russia; COBRAIN Center - Brain Research Excellence Center, M Heratsi Yerevan State Medical University, Yerevan, Armenia; Scientific Research Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Novosibirsk, Russia.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Marcon M, Benvenutti R, Gallas-Lopes M, Herrmann AP, Piato A. What do male and female zebrafish prefer? Directional and color preference in maze tasks. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 56:4546-4557. [PMID: 35831240 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Studies regarding the animals' innate preferences help elucidate and avoid probable sources of bias and serve as a reference to improve and develop new behavioral tasks. In zebrafish research, data obtained in behavioral assessments are often not replicated between research groups or even inside the same laboratory raising huge concerns about replicability and reproducibility. Among the potential causes that are not well considered, sexual differences can be a probable source of bias. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the male and female zebrafish directional and color preferences in the plus-maze and T-maze behavioral tasks. Experiment 1 evaluated directional preference and experiment 2 evaluated color preference in a plus-maze task; experiment 3 evaluated preference between black or white in a T-maze task. Individual preferences were expressed as the percentage of time spent in each zone. Our results showed that male and female zebrafish demonstrated no difference in directional preference in the plus-maze task. Surprisingly, male and female zebrafish showed color preference differences in the plus-maze task; males did not show any color preference, while female zebrafish demonstrated a red preference compared to white, blue, and yellow colors. Moreover, both male and female zebrafish demonstrated a strong black color preference compared to the white color in the T-maze task. Our findings characterized the spontaneous preference of male and female zebrafish for direction and color, identifying possible biases, and providing insights that contribute to the standardization of future protocols.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matheus Marcon
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Farmacologia e Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro (UFTM), Uberaba, MG, Brazil
| | - Radharani Benvenutti
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Matheus Gallas-Lopes
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Herrmann
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Angelo Piato
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.,Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Dougnon G, Matsui H. Modelling Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Using Mice and Zebrafish. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23147550. [PMID: 35886894 PMCID: PMC9319972 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23147550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are two debilitating neurodevelopmental disorders. The former is associated with social impairments whereas the latter is associated with inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. There is recent evidence that both disorders are somehow related and that genes may play a large role in these disorders. Despite mounting human and animal research, the neurological pathways underlying ASD and ADHD are still not well understood. Scientists investigate neurodevelopmental disorders by using animal models that have high similarities in genetics and behaviours with humans. Mice have been utilized in neuroscience research as an excellent animal model for a long time; however, the zebrafish has attracted much attention recently, with an increasingly large number of studies using this model. In this review, we first discuss ASD and ADHD aetiology from a general point of view to their characteristics and treatments. We also compare mice and zebrafish for their similarities and discuss their advantages and limitations in neuroscience. Finally, we summarize the most recent and existing research on zebrafish and mouse models of ASD and ADHD. We believe that this review will serve as a unique document providing interesting information to date about these models, thus facilitating research on ASD and ADHD.
Collapse
|
22
|
Mocho JP, Collymore C, Farmer SC, Leguay E, Murray KN, Pereira N. FELASA-AALAS Recommendations for Biosecurity in an Aquatic Facility, Including Prevention of Zoonosis, Introduction of New Fish Colonies, and Quarantine. Comp Med 2022; 72:149-168. [PMID: 35688609 PMCID: PMC9334003 DOI: 10.30802/aalas-cm-22-000042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
FELASA and AALAS established a joint working group to advise on good practices for the exchange of fish for research. In a first manuscript, the working group made recommendations for health monitoring and reporting of monitoring results. The focus of this second related manuscript is biosecurity in fish facilities. First, we define the risk of contamination of personnel by zoonotic pathogens from fish or from system water, including human mycobacteriosis. Preventive measures are recommended, such as wearing task-specific personal protective equipment. Then we discuss biosecurity, highlighting the establishment of biosecurity barriers to preserve the health status of a facility. A functional biosecurity program relies on integration of the entire animal facility organization, including the flow of staff and animals, water treatments, and equipment sanitation. Finally, we propose 4 steps for introducing new fish colonies: consideration of international trade and national restrictions; assessing risk according to fish source and developmental stage; establishing quarantine barriers; and the triage, screening, and treatment of newly imported fish. We then provide 3 realistic sample scenarios to illustrate practical biosecurity risk assessments and mitigation measures based on considerations of health status and quarantine conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Chereen Collymore
- Veterinary Care and Services, Charles River Laboratories, Senneville, Quebec, Canada
| | - Susan C Farmer
- Zebrafish Research Facility, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | | | - Katrina N Murray
- Zebrafish International Resource Center, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Nuno Pereira
- Chronic Diseases Research Center (CEDOC), Nova Medical School, Lisbon; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Lusophone University of Humanities and Technologies, Lisbon, Portugal; Gulbenkian Institute of Science, Oeiras, Portugal; ISPA - University Institute of Psychological, Social and Life Sciences, Lisbon, Portugal; Lisbon Oceanarium, Lisbon, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Lee CJ, Paull GC, Tyler CR. Improving zebrafish laboratory welfare and scientific research through understanding their natural history. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:1038-1056. [PMID: 34983085 PMCID: PMC9303617 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Globally, millions of zebrafish (Danio rerio) are used for scientific laboratory experiments for which researchers have a duty of care, with legal obligations to consider their welfare. Considering the growing use of the zebrafish as a vertebrate model for addressing a diverse range of scientific questions, optimising their laboratory conditions is of major importance for both welfare and improving scientific research. However, most guidelines for the care and breeding of zebrafish for research are concerned primarily with maximising production and minimising costs and pay little attention to the effects on welfare of the environments in which the fish are maintained, or how those conditions affect their scientific research. Here we review the physical and social conditions in which laboratory zebrafish are kept, identifying and drawing attention to factors likely to affect their welfare and experimental science. We also identify a fundamental lack knowledge of how zebrafish interact with many biotic and abiotic features in their natural environment to support ways to optimise zebrafish health and well-being in the laboratory, and in turn the quality of scientific data produced. We advocate that the conditions under which zebrafish are maintained need to become a more integral part of research and that we understand more fully how they influence experimental outcome and in turn interpretations of the data generated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carole J. Lee
- Biosciences, Geoffrey Pope BuildingUniversity of ExeterStocker RoadExeterEX4 4QDU.K.
| | - Gregory C. Paull
- Biosciences, Geoffrey Pope BuildingUniversity of ExeterStocker RoadExeterEX4 4QDU.K.
| | - Charles R. Tyler
- Biosciences, Geoffrey Pope BuildingUniversity of ExeterStocker RoadExeterEX4 4QDU.K.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Mocho JP, Lang F, Valentin G, Bedu S, McKimm R, Ramos J, Saavedra Torres Y, Wheatley SE, Higgins J, Millington ME, Lundegaard PR, Chamorro Valverde R, Jenčič V, von Krogh K. A Multi-Site Assessment of Anesthetic Overdose, Hypothermic Shock, and Electrical Stunning as Methods of Euthanasia for Zebrafish ( Danio rerio) Embryos and Larvae. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11040546. [PMID: 35453745 PMCID: PMC9027676 DOI: 10.3390/biology11040546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Euthanasia in zebrafish (Danio rerio) younger than 5 days post fertilization (dpf) is poorly described in the literature, and standardized protocols are lacking, most likely because larvae not capable of independent feeding are often not protected under national legislations. We assessed the euthanasia efficacy in laboratories in different countries of a one hour anesthetic overdose immersion with buffered lidocaine hydrochloride (1 g/L, with or without 50 mL/L of ethanol), buffered tricaine (1 g/L), clove oil (0.1%), benzocaine (1 g/L), or 2-phenoxyethanol (3 mL/L), as well as the efficacy of hypothermic shock (one hour immersion) and electrical stunning (for one minute), on zebrafish at <12 h post fertilization (hpf), 24 hpf, and 4 dpf. Based on the survival/recovery rates 24 h after treatment, the most effective methods were clove oil, lidocaine with ethanol, and electrical stunning. For 4 dpf larvae, signs of aversion during treatment demonstrated that all anesthetics, except lidocaine, induced aversive behavior. Therefore, the most suited euthanasic treatment was lidocaine hydrochloride 1 g/L, buffered with 2 g/L of sodium bicarbonate and mixed with 50 mL/L of ethanol, which euthanized both embryos and larvae in an efficient and stress-free manner. Electrical stunning also euthanized embryos and larvae efficiently and without signs of aversion; this method needs further assessment in other laboratories to draw firm conclusions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Florian Lang
- Center of PhenoGenomics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; (F.L.); (G.V.)
| | - Guillaume Valentin
- Center of PhenoGenomics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; (F.L.); (G.V.)
| | - Sébastien Bedu
- Zebrafish Neurogenetics Unit, Institut Pasteur, UMR3738, CNRS, 75015 Paris, France;
| | - Robin McKimm
- Electro Fishing Services Ltd., Donaghadee BT21 0LN, UK;
| | - Juan Ramos
- Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain;
| | | | - Sarah E. Wheatley
- The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; (Y.S.T.); (S.E.W.); (J.H.); (M.E.M.)
| | - Joseph Higgins
- The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; (Y.S.T.); (S.E.W.); (J.H.); (M.E.M.)
| | - Mollie E. Millington
- The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; (Y.S.T.); (S.E.W.); (J.H.); (M.E.M.)
| | - Pia Rengtved Lundegaard
- Department of Biomedical sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1017 Copenhagen, Denmark;
| | - Rubén Chamorro Valverde
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 36208 Vigo, Spain;
| | - Vlasta Jenčič
- Institute of Pathology, Wild Animals, Fish and Bees, University of Ljubljana-Veterinary Faculty, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
| | | |
Collapse
|
25
|
Agues-Barbosa T, da Silva Junior FC, Gomes-de-Lima JN, Batistuzzo de Medeiros SR, Luchiari AC. Behavioral genetics of alcohol's effects in three zebrafish (Danio rerio) populations. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2022; 114:110495. [PMID: 34915060 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol abuse is one of the most dangerous and serious problems for patients and society. Interpopulation studies are important in understanding how genetic background contributes to the effects of alcohol. In this study, we applied a chronic alcohol exposure protocol in three zebrafish populations (Danio rerio; both sexes; AB, TU, and outbred fish - OB). We analyzed the behavioral responses and mRNA expression involved in neurotransmitter metabolism - th1, tph1, ache, ada1, gaba1, gad1b, and bdnf. Locomotion patterns were similar between populations (increased speed after acute alcohol and unaltered locomotion after chronic and withdrawal treatments). All populations exhibited increased expression of genes associated with locomotion (th1, gad1b, and gaba1) after acute alcohol exposure. Anxiety-like responses increased in AB and TU fish during withdrawal and decreased in AB fish after acute alcohol exposure. Genes related to anxiety-like behavior (tph1 and ada1) were overexpressed in AB and TU fish after acute and withdrawal treatments, while OB fish exhibited unaltered responses. Bdnf levels decreased during withdrawal in AB and OB fish, while TU showed upregulated levels in both chronic and withdrawal treatments. Our results suggest that zebrafish populations respond differently to alcohol exposure, which may contribute to understanding the mechanisms underlying alcohol use and dependence. Moreover, we found that a more diverse genetic background (OB) was related to higher variability in behavioral and mRNA expression, demonstrating that inbred populations (AB and TU) may be useful tools in identifying alcohol use and abuse mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thais Agues-Barbosa
- Department of Physiology & Behavior, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Ana Carolina Luchiari
- Department of Physiology & Behavior, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Hammer J, Röppenack P, Yousuf S, Schnabel C, Weber A, Zöller D, Koch E, Hans S, Brand M. Visual Function is Gradually Restored During Retina Regeneration in Adult Zebrafish. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 9:831322. [PMID: 35178408 PMCID: PMC8844564 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.831322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In comparison to mammals, zebrafish are able to regenerate many organs and tissues, including the central nervous system (CNS). Within the CNS-derived neural retina, light lesions result in a loss of photoreceptors and the subsequent activation of Müller glia, the retinal stem cells. Müller glia-derived progenitors differentiate and eventually restore the anatomical tissue architecture within 4 weeks. However, little is known about how light lesions impair vision functionally, as well as how and to what extent visual function is restored during the course of regeneration, in particular in adult animals. Here, we applied quantitative behavioral assays to assess restoration of visual function during homeostasis and regeneration in adult zebrafish. We developed a novel vision-dependent social preference test, and show that vision is massively impaired early after lesion, but is restored to pre-lesion levels within 7 days after lesion. Furthermore, we employed a quantitative optokinetic response assay with different degrees of difficulty, similar to vision tests in humans. We found that vision for easy conditions with high contrast and low level of detail, as well as color vision, was restored around 7–10 days post lesion. Vision under more demanding conditions, with low contrast and high level of detail, was regained only later from 14 days post lesion onwards. Taken together, we conclude that vision based on contrast sensitivity, spatial resolution and the perception of colors is restored after light lesion in adult zebrafish in a gradual manner.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Hammer
- CRTD-Center for Regenerative Therapies at TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Paul Röppenack
- CRTD-Center for Regenerative Therapies at TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Sarah Yousuf
- CRTD-Center for Regenerative Therapies at TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Schnabel
- Clinical Sensoring and Monitoring, Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Anke Weber
- CRTD-Center for Regenerative Therapies at TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Daniela Zöller
- CRTD-Center for Regenerative Therapies at TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Edmund Koch
- Clinical Sensoring and Monitoring, Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Hans
- CRTD-Center for Regenerative Therapies at TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael Brand
- CRTD-Center for Regenerative Therapies at TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Canedo A, Saiki P, Santos AL, Carneiro KDS, Souza AMD, Qualhato G, Brito RDS, Mello-Andrade F, Rocha TL. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) meets bioethics: the 10Rs ethical principles in research. CIÊNCIA ANIMAL BRASILEIRA 2022. [DOI: 10.1590/1809-6891v22e-70884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a tropical fish species widely used in research, worldwide. The development of genetically modified animals and the increasing number of zebrafish breeding facilities due to their emerging use in several research fields, opened room for new ethical challenges for research carried out with this species. It is necessary to raise the scientific community’s awareness of the ethical standards and laws in force, on animal research. Thus, the aim of the current study is to describe 10 Rs ethical principles by using zebrafish as model system in research. The classical 3 Rs concerning animal welfare, namely replacement, reduction and refinement; and the added 7 Rs related to scientific (registration, reporting, robustness, reproducibility and relevance) and conduct principles (responsibility, and respect) in zebrafish research are herein presented and critically discussed. The use of these 10 Rs by researchers, institutions and the Animal Ethics Committee is recommended to support regulations, decision-making about and the promotion of zebrafish health and welfare in research.
Collapse
|
28
|
Schuster CJ, Sanders JL, Couch C, Kent ML. Recent Advances with Fish Microsporidia. EXPERIENTIA SUPPLEMENTUM (2012) 2022; 114:285-317. [PMID: 35544007 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-93306-7_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
There have been several significant new findings regarding Microsporidia of fishes over the last decade. Here we provide an update on new taxa, new hosts and new diseases in captive and wild fishes since 2013. The importance of microsporidiosis continues to increase with the rapid growth of finfish aquaculture and the dramatic increase in the use of zebrafish as a model in biomedical research. In addition to reviewing new taxa and microsporidian diseases, we include discussions on advances with diagnostic methods, impacts of microsporidia on fish beyond morbidity and mortality, novel findings with transmission and invertebrate hosts, and a summary of the phylogenetics of fish microsporidia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Corbin J Schuster
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Justin L Sanders
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Claire Couch
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Michael L Kent
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Video playback versus live stimuli to assess quantity discrimination in angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare). Behav Res Methods 2021; 54:2433-2444. [PMID: 34918227 PMCID: PMC9579089 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01738-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Video playback is a widely used technique for presentation of visual stimuli in animal behavior research. In the analysis of behavioral responses to social cues, presentation of video recordings of live conspecifics represents a consistently reproducible stimulus. However, video-recordings do not interact with the experimental subject, and thus this stimulus may be inferior in the social context. Here, we evaluated how angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) respond to a video playback of conspecifics versus a live shoal of conspecifics. Using binary choice tests, subjects were presented different stimuli. Time spent close to one versus the other stimulus was considered an index of preference. We found angelfish to prefer a live shoal of conspecifics to an empty tank, and also the video playback of a shoal of conspecifics to a blank screen, although the level of preference in the latter was lower than in the former. These results indicate that video-playback of live conspecifics may be appropriate in angelfish, thus allowing manipulation of specific cues that angelfish may use in quantity discrimination. However, when we directly contrasted a live and a video recorded shoal, both having the same number of members, experimental fish preferred the live shoal. When the choice consisted of a live shoal of four conspecifics versus a video playback of a shoal of nine conspecifics no clear preference emerged. These results imply that video-playback has disadvantages in quantity discrimination studies with angelfish. Exploring procedural and/or technological parameters will verify the suitability of video-recording-based stimulus presentation for future use in angelfish.
Collapse
|
30
|
Buenhombre J, Daza-Cardona EA, Sousa P, Gouveia A. Different influences of anxiety models, environmental enrichment, standard conditions and intraspecies variation (sex, personality and strain) on stress and quality of life in adult and juvenile zebrafish: A systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:765-791. [PMID: 34592257 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 08/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Antagonist and long-lasting environmental manipulations (EM) have successfully induced or reduced the stress responses and quality of life of zebrafish. For instance, environmental enrichment (EE) generally reduces anxiety-related behaviours and improves immunity, while unpredictable chronic stress (UCS) and aquarium-related stressors generate the opposite effects. However, there is an absence of consistency in outcomes for some EM, such as acute exposure to stressors, social enrichment and some items of structural enrichment. Therefore, considering intraspecies variation (sex, personality, and strain), increasing intervention complexity while improving standardisation of protocols and contemplating the possibility that EE may act as a mild stressor on a spectrum between too much (UCS) and too little (standard conditions) stress intensity or stimulation, would reduce the inconsistencies of these outcomes. It would also help explore the mechanism behind stress resilience and to standardise EM protocols. Thus, this review critically analyses and compares knowledge existing over the last decade concerning environmental manipulations for zebrafish and the influences that sex, strain, and personality may have on behavioural, physiological, and fitness-related responses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jhon Buenhombre
- ICB Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Rua Augusto Correa 01, Belém, PA, Brazil.
| | | | - Pêssi Sousa
- ICB Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Rua Augusto Correa 01, Belém, PA, Brazil
| | - Amauri Gouveia
- ICB Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Rua Augusto Correa 01, Belém, PA, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Benvenutti R, Gallas-Lopes M, Sachett A, Marcon M, Strogulski NR, Reis CG, Chitolina R, Piato A, Herrmann AP. How do zebrafish (Danio rerio) respond to MK-801 and amphetamine? Relevance for assessing schizophrenia-related endophenotypes in alternative model organisms. J Neurosci Res 2021; 99:2844-2859. [PMID: 34496062 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia pathophysiology has been associated with dopaminergic hyperactivity, NMDA receptor hypofunction, and redox dysregulation. Most behavioral assays and animal models to study this condition were developed in rodents, leaving room for species-specific biases that could be avoided by cross-species approaches. As MK-801 and amphetamine are largely used in mice and rats to mimic schizophrenia features, this study aimed to compare the effects of these drugs in several zebrafish (Danio rerio) behavioral assays. Male and female adult zebrafish were exposed to MK-801 (1, 5, and 10 μM) or amphetamine (0.625, 2.5, and 10 mg/L) and observed in paradigms of locomotor activity and social behavior. Oxidative parameters were quantified in brain tissue. Our results demonstrate that MK-801 disrupted social interaction, an effect that resembles the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. It also altered locomotion in a context-dependent manner, with hyperactivity when fish were tested in the presence of social cues and hypoactivity when tested alone. On the other hand, exposure to amphetamine was devoid of effects on locomotion and social behavior, while it increased lipid peroxidation in the brain. Key outcomes induced by MK-801 in rodents, such as social interaction deficit and locomotor alterations, were replicated in zebrafish, corroborating previous studies and reinforcing the use of zebrafish to study schizophrenia-related endophenotypes. More studies are necessary to assess the predictive validity of preclinical paradigms with this species and ultimately optimize the screening of potential novel treatments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Radharani Benvenutti
- Departmento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Matheus Gallas-Lopes
- Departmento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Adrieli Sachett
- Departmento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Matheus Marcon
- Departmento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Nathan Ryzewski Strogulski
- Departmento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Carlos Guilherme Reis
- Departmento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Rafael Chitolina
- Departmento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Angelo Piato
- Departmento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Herrmann
- Departmento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Modulation of behavioral and neurochemical responses of adult zebrafish by fluoxetine, eicosapentaenoic acid and lipopolysaccharide in the prolonged chronic unpredictable stress model. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14289. [PMID: 34253753 PMCID: PMC8275758 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-92422-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Long-term recurrent stress is a common cause of neuropsychiatric disorders. Animal models are widely used to study the pathogenesis of stress-related psychiatric disorders. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is emerging as a powerful tool to study chronic stress and its mechanisms. Here, we developed a prolonged 11-week chronic unpredictable stress (PCUS) model in zebrafish to more fully mimic chronic stress in human populations. We also examined behavioral and neurochemical alterations in zebrafish, and attempted to modulate these states by 3-week treatment with an antidepressant fluoxetine, a neuroprotective omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a pro-inflammatory endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and their combinations. Overall, PCUS induced severe anxiety and elevated norepinephrine levels, whereas fluoxetine (alone or combined with other agents) corrected most of these behavioral deficits. While EPA and LPS alone had little effects on the zebrafish PCUS-induced anxiety behavior, both fluoxetine (alone or in combination) and EPA restored norepinephrine levels, whereas LPS + EPA increased dopamine levels. As these data support the validity of PCUS as an effective tool to study stress-related pathologies in zebrafish, further research is needed into the ability of various conventional and novel treatments to modulate behavioral and neurochemical biomarkers of chronic stress in this model organism.
Collapse
|
33
|
Buatois A, Nguyen S, Bailleul C, Gerlai R. Colored-Light Preference in Zebrafish ( Danio rerio). Zebrafish 2021; 18:243-251. [PMID: 34101511 DOI: 10.1089/zeb.2020.1977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the past decade, the zebrafish has been increasingly employed in biomedical neuroscience research due to its numerous evolutionarily conserved features with mammals. Its simple brain and the several molecular tools available for this species make the zebrafish an appealing model to study mechanisms of complex brain functions, including learning and memory. Most learning paradigms developed for the zebrafish have employed visual stimuli as the associative cue. Spontaneous color preference is a potential confound in such studies. It has been analyzed in zebrafish using colored objects, but with conflicting results. It has rarely been explored with colored light, despite the increasing use of computer-generated visual stimuli. Here, we employ a light emitting diode (RGB-system) light-based color preference task in the plus-maze. In two independent experiments, zebrafish were tested in a four-choice or dual-choice condition by using four different-colored lights (red, green, blue and yellow). Our results suggest a light preference hierarchy that depends on context, since yellow was preferred over green in the four-choice condition whereas blue was preferred over all other colors in the two-choice condition. These results are useful for future color-light-based learning experiments in zebrafish.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Buatois
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Samuel Nguyen
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Celine Bailleul
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Robert Gerlai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada.,Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Benvenutti R, Marcon M, Gallas-Lopes M, de Mello AJ, Herrmann AP, Piato A. Swimming in the maze: An overview of maze apparatuses and protocols to assess zebrafish behavior. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 127:761-778. [PMID: 34087275 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/09/2022]
Abstract
Most preclinical behavioral assays use rodents as model animals, leaving room for species-specific biases that could be avoided by an expanded cross-species approach. In this context, zebrafish emerges as an alternative model organism to study neurobiological mechanisms of anxiety, preference, learning, and memory, as well as other phenotypes with relevance to neuropsychiatric disorders. In recent years, several zebrafish studies using different types of mazes have been published. However, the protocols and apparatuses' shapes and dimensions vary widely in the literature. This variation may puzzle researchers attempting to implement maze behavioral assays and challenges the reproducibility across institutions. This review aims to provide an overview of the behavioral paradigms assessed in different types of mazes in zebrafish reported in the last couple of decades. Also, this review aims to contribute to a better characterization of multi-behavioral assessment in zebrafish.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Radharani Benvenutti
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/305, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/209, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil
| | - Matheus Marcon
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/305, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/209, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil
| | - Matheus Gallas-Lopes
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/305, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil
| | - Anna Julie de Mello
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/305, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Herrmann
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/305, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/305, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil
| | - Angelo Piato
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/305, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/209, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Sarmento Leite, 500/305, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Sex differences shape zebrafish performance in a battery of anxiety tests and in response to acute scopolamine treatment. Neurosci Lett 2021; 759:135993. [PMID: 34058290 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.135993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Sex differences influence human and animal behavioral and pharmacological responses. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a powerful, popular model system in neuroscience and drug screening. However, the impact of zebrafish sex differences on their behavior and drug responses remains poorly understood. Here, we evaluate baseline anxiety-like behavior in adult male and female zebrafish, and its changes following an acute 30-min exposure to 800-μM scopolamine, a common psychoactive anticholinergic drug. Overall, we report high baseline anxiety-like behavior and more individual variability in locomotion in female zebrafish, as well as distinct, sex-specific (anxiolytic-like in females and anxiogenic-like in males) effects of scopolamine. Collectively, these findings reinforce the growing importance of zebrafish models for studying how both individual and sex differences shape behavioral and pharmacological responses.
Collapse
|
36
|
Palmer D, Dumont JR, Dexter TD, Prado MAM, Finger E, Bussey TJ, Saksida LM. Touchscreen cognitive testing: Cross-species translation and co-clinical trials in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 182:107443. [PMID: 33895351 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2020] [Revised: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Translating results from pre-clinical animal studies to successful human clinical trials in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease presents a significant challenge. While this issue is clearly multifaceted, the lack of reproducibility and poor translational validity of many paradigms used to assess cognition in animal models are central contributors to this challenge. Computer-automated cognitive test batteries have the potential to substantially improve translation between pre-clinical studies and clinical trials by increasing both reproducibility and translational validity. Given the structured nature of data output, computer-automated tests also lend themselves to increased data sharing and other open science good practices. Over the past two decades, computer automated, touchscreen-based cognitive testing methods have been developed for non-human primate and rodent models. These automated methods lend themselves to increased standardization, hence reproducibility, and have become increasingly important for the elucidation of the neurobiological basis of cognition in animal models. More recently, there have been increased efforts to use these methods to enhance translational validity by developing task batteries that are nearly identical across different species via forward (i.e., translating animal tasks to humans) and reverse (i.e., translating human tasks to animals) translation. An additional benefit of the touchscreen approach is that a cross-species cognitive test battery makes it possible to implement co-clinical trials-an approach developed initially in cancer research-for novel treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Co-clinical trials bring together pre-clinical and early clinical studies, which facilitates testing of novel treatments in mouse models with underlying genetic or other changes, and can help to stratify patients on the basis of genetic, molecular, or cognitive criteria. This approach can help to determine which patients should be enrolled in specific clinical trials and can facilitate repositioning and/or repurposing of previously approved drugs. This has the potential to mitigate the resources required to study treatment responses in large numbers of human patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Palmer
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Julie R Dumont
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tyler D Dexter
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marco A M Prado
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Finger
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, Ontario, Canada; Parkwood Institute, St. Josephs Health Care, Ontario, Canada
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Silveira T, Kütter MT, Martins CMG, Marins LF, Boyle RT, Campos VF, Remião MH. First Record of Clinostomum sp. (Digenea: Clinostomidae) in Danio rerio (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) and the Implication of Using Zebrafish from Pet Stores on Research. Zebrafish 2021; 18:139-148. [PMID: 33656385 DOI: 10.1089/zeb.2020.1950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Many scientific studies still use zebrafish from pet stores as animal models, even cutting-edge researches. However, these animals differ genotypically and phenotypically between them. The importance of the use of standardized models is widely recognized. Besides that, another consequence of using zebrafish from unknown origins is the acquisition of parasitized animals. This study aimed to relate the infection by Clinostomum sp. in zebrafish. Animals sold as "high standard" were acquired from a commercial company. Swimming alterations and superficial yellow dots were observed in five zebrafish with clinical signs, which were isolated, euthanized, and necropsied. Muscular yellow cysts with metacercaria associated with lesions were observed. The muscular cysts were responsible for the superficial yellow dots as well as the swimming alterations. The prevalence was 2.5%, and the mean infection intensity was 7 digeneans/host. The cysts measured a mean of 1251.43 μm long × 784.28 μm wide. Metacercariae measured a mean of 4847 μm long × 1353 μm wide. This first report about infection by Clinostomum sp. in zebrafish is globally relevant since the host and the parasite genus currently overlap worldwide. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the importance of the specific pathogen-free commercial creations or laboratory-reared zebrafish for research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tony Silveira
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande-FURG, Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - Mateus T Kütter
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande-FURG, Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - Camila M G Martins
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande-FURG, Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - Luis Fernando Marins
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande-FURG, Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - Robert T Boyle
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande-FURG, Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - Vinicius F Campos
- Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico, Universidade Federal de Pelotas-UFPEL, Capão do Leão, Brazil
| | - Mariana H Remião
- Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico, Universidade Federal de Pelotas-UFPEL, Capão do Leão, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Benvenutti R, Gallas-Lopes M, Marcon M, Reschke CR, Herrmann AP, Piato A. Glutamate Nmda Receptor Antagonists With Relevance To Schizophrenia: A Review Of Zebrafish Behavioral Studies. Curr Neuropharmacol 2021; 20:494-509. [PMID: 33588731 PMCID: PMC9608229 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x19666210215121428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia pathophysiology is associated with hypofunction of glutamate NMDA receptors (NMDAR) in GABAergic interneurons and dopaminergic hyperactivation in subcortical brain areas. The administration of NMDAR antagonists is used as an animal model that replicates behavioral phenotypes relevant to the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Such models overwhelmingly rely on rodents, which may lead to species-specific biases and poor translatability. Zebrafish, however, is increasingly used as a model organism to study evolutionarily conserved aspects of behavior. We thus aimed to review and integrate the major findings reported in the zebrafish literature regarding the behavioral effects of NMDAR antagonists with relevance to schizophrenia. We identified 44 research articles that met our inclusion criteria from 590 studies retrieved from MEDLINE (PubMed) and Web of Science databases. Dizocilpine (MK-801) and ketamine were employed in 29 and 10 studies, respectively. The use of other NMDAR antagonists, such as phencyclidine (PCP), APV, memantine, and tiletamine, was described in 6 studies. Frequently reported findings are the social interaction and memory deficits induced by MK-801 and circling behavior induced by ketamine. However, mixed results were described for several locomotor and exploratory parameters in the novel tank and open tank tests. The present review integrates the most relevant results while discussing variation in experimental design and methodological procedures. We conclude that zebrafish is a suitable model organism to study drug-induced behavioral phenotypes relevant to schizophrenia. However, more studies are necessary to further characterize the major differences in behavior as compared to mammals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Radharani Benvenutti
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS. Brazil
| | - Matheus Gallas-Lopes
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS. Brazil
| | - Matheus Marcon
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS. Brazil
| | - Cristina R Reschke
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin. Ireland
| | - Ana Paula Herrmann
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS. Brazil
| | - Angelo Piato
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS. Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Taffe MA, Creehan KM, Vandewater SA, Kerr TM, Cole M. Effects of Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) vapor inhalation in Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2021; 29:1-13. [PMID: 32297788 PMCID: PMC8376092 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
An inhalation system based on e-cigarette technology produces hypothermic and antinociceptive effects of Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in rats. Indirect comparison of some prior investigations suggested differential impact of inhaled THC between Wistar (WI) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats; thus, this study was conducted to directly compare the strains across inhaled and injected routes of administration. Groups (N = 8 per strain) of age-matched male SD and WI rats were prepared with radiotelemetry devices to measure temperature and then exposed to vapor from the propylene glycol (PG) vehicle or THC (25-200 mg/mL of PG) for 30 or 40 min. Additional studies evaluated effects of THC inhalation on plasma THC (50-200 mg/mL) and nociception (100-200 mg/mL) as well as the thermoregulatory effect of intraperitoneal injection of THC (5-30 mg/kg). Hypothermic effects of THC were more pronounced in SD rats, where plasma levels of THC were identical across strains, under either fixed inhalation conditions or injection of a mg/kg equivalent dose. Strain differences in hypothermia were largest after i.p. injection of THC, with SD rats exhibiting dose-dependent temperature reduction after 5 or 10 mg/kg, i.p. and the WI rats only exhibiting significant hypothermia after 20 mg/kg, i.p. The antinociceptive effects of inhaled THC (100, 200 mg/mL) did not differ significantly across the strains. These studies confirm an insensitivity of WI rats, compared with SD rats, to hypothermia induced by THC following inhalation conditions that produced identical plasma THC and antinociception. Thus, quantitative, albeit not qualitative, strain differences may be obtained when studying thermoregulatory effects of THC. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael A. Taffe
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA,Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to Dr. Michael A. Taffe, Department of Psychiatry; 9500 Gilman Dr. MC 0714; University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093; USA; Phone: +1.858.246.5638;
| | - Kevin M. Creehan
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA
| | | | - Tony M. Kerr
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA USA
| | - Maury Cole
- La Jolla Alcohol Research, Inc, La Jolla, CA USA
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
A model-based quantification of startle reflex habituation in larval zebrafish. Sci Rep 2021; 11:846. [PMID: 33436805 PMCID: PMC7804396 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79923-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Zebrafish is an established animal model for the reproduction and study of neurobiological pathogenesis of human neurological conditions. The 'startle reflex' in zebrafish larvae is an evolutionarily preserved defence response, manifesting as a quick body-bend in reaction to sudden sensory stimuli. Changes in startle reflex habituation characterise several neuropsychiatric disorders and hence represent an informative index of neurophysiological health. This study aimed at establishing a simple and reliable experimental protocol for the quantification of startle reflex response and habituation. The fish were stimulated with 20 repeated pulses of specific vibratory frequency, acoustic intensity/power, light-intensity and interstimulus-interval, in three separate studies. The cumulative distance travelled, namely the sum of the distance travelled (mm) during all 20 stimuli, was computed as a group-level description for all the experimental conditions in each study. Additionally, by the use of bootstrapping, the data was fitted to a model of habituation with a first-order exponential representing the decay of locomotor distance travelled over repeated stimulation. Our results suggest that startle habituation is a stereotypic first-order process with a decay constant ranging from 1 to 2 stimuli. Habituation memory lasts no more than 5 min, as manifested by the locomotor activity recovering to baseline levels. We further observed significant effects of vibratory frequency, acoustic intensity/power and interstimulus-interval on the amplitude, offset, decay constant and cumulative distance travelled. Instead, the intensity of the flashed light did not contribute to significant behavioural variations. The findings provide novel insights as to the influence of different stimuli parameters on the startle reflex habituation and constitute a helpful reference framework for further investigation.
Collapse
|
41
|
Demin KA, Taranov AS, Ilyin NP, Lakstygal AM, Volgin AD, de Abreu MS, Strekalova T, Kalueff AV. Understanding neurobehavioral effects of acute and chronic stress in zebrafish. Stress 2021; 24:1-18. [PMID: 32036720 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2020.1724948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress is a common cause of neuropsychiatric disorders, evoking multiple behavioral, endocrine and neuro-immune deficits. Animal models have been extensively used to understand the mechanisms of stress-related disorders and to develop novel strategies for their treatment. Complementing rodent and clinical studies, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is one of the most important model organisms in biomedicine. Rapidly becoming a popular model species in stress neuroscience research, zebrafish are highly sensitive to both acute and chronic stress, and show robust, well-defined behavioral and physiological stress responses. Here, we critically evaluate the utility of zebrafish-based models for studying acute and chronic stress-related CNS pathogenesis, assess the advantages and limitations of these aquatic models, and emphasize their relevance for the development of novel anti-stress therapies. Overall, the zebrafish emerges as a powerful and sensitive model organism for stress research. Although these fish generally display evolutionarily conserved behavioral and physiological responses to stress, zebrafish-specific aspects of neurogenesis, neuroprotection and neuro-immune responses may be particularly interesting to explore further, as they may offer additional insights into stress pathogenesis that complement (rather than merely replicate) rodent findings. Compared to mammals, zebrafish models are also characterized by increased availability of gene-editing tools and higher throughput of drug screening, thus being able to uniquely empower translational research of genetic determinants of stress and resilience, as well as to foster innovative CNS drug discovery and the development of novel anti-stress therapies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin A Demin
- Institute of Experimental Biomedicine, Almazov National Medical Research Center, Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry, Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Alexander S Taranov
- Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry, Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Laboratory of Preclinical Bioscreening, Granov Russian Research Center of Radiology and Surgical Technologies, Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation, Pesochny, Russia
| | - Nikita P Ilyin
- Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry, Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Laboratory of Preclinical Bioscreening, Granov Russian Research Center of Radiology and Surgical Technologies, Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation, Pesochny, Russia
| | - Anton M Lakstygal
- Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry, Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Laboratory of Preclinical Bioscreening, Granov Russian Research Center of Radiology and Surgical Technologies, Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation, Pesochny, Russia
| | - Andrey D Volgin
- Laboratory of Preclinical Bioscreening, Granov Russian Research Center of Radiology and Surgical Technologies, Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation, Pesochny, Russia
| | - Murilo S de Abreu
- Bioscience Institute, University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, Brazil
- The International Zebrafish Neuroscience Research Consortium (ZNRC), Slidell, LA, USA
| | - Tatyana Strekalova
- I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
- Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Research Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Allan V Kalueff
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Color as an important biological variable in zebrafish models: Implications for translational neurobehavioral research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 124:1-15. [PMID: 33359096 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 07/05/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Color is an important environmental factor that in multiple ways affects human and animal behavior and physiology. Widely used in neuroscience research, various experimental (animal) models may help improve our understanding of how different colors impact brain and behavioral processes. Complementing laboratory rodents, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is rapidly emerging as an important novel model species to explore complex neurobehavioral processes. The growing utility of zebrafish in biomedicine makes it timely to consider the role of colors in their behavioral and physiological responses. Here, we summarize mounting evidence implicating colors as a critical variable in zebrafish models and neurobehavioral traits, with a particular relevance to CNS disease modeling, genetic and pharmacological modulation, as well as environmental enrichment and animal welfare. We also discuss the growing value of zebrafish models to study color neurobiology and color-related neurobehavioral phenomics, and outline future directions of research in this field.
Collapse
|
43
|
Abozaid A, Tsang B, Gerlai R. The effects of small but abrupt change in temperature on the behavior of larval zebrafish. Physiol Behav 2020; 227:113169. [PMID: 32918940 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The zebrafish has become increasingly utilized in behavioral neuroscience, psychopharmacology, and behavior genetics research. However, little attention has been paid to the potential effects of environmental conditions fish are exposed to before and during behavioral testing. One such important factor is temperature, more specifically, the difference in temperature between holding and test tanks. In the current study, we bred and raised zebrafish of the AB strain in 28 °C water for 7 days until they were free swimming. On the 7th day we placed each experimental subject singly into the testing well with water set to 24 °C, 28 °C or 30 °C for 15 min and recorded the behavior of the subjects. We found significant and behavior-specific idiosyncratic effects of the employed temperature changes. For example, lowering the temperature decreased speed, but increasing the temperature did not alter it. Increased temperature reduced duration of immobility and reduced absolute turn angle, but lowered temperature did not alter these behaviors. While lowered temperature, and to a lesser degree also increased temperature, reduced intra-individual temporal variance of absolute turn angle. Furthermore, we found no change in thigmotaxis and frequency of immobility by either temperature change. Our results demonstrate the importance of temperature in behavioral studies with zebrafish and suggest that equating water temperature between holding and testing tanks is required to enhance reproducibility and replicability of results with this species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amira Abozaid
- Department of Cell & System Biology, University of Toronto
| | - Benjamin Tsang
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga
| | - Robert Gerlai
- Department of Cell & System Biology, University of Toronto; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Understanding complex dynamics of behavioral, neurochemical and transcriptomic changes induced by prolonged chronic unpredictable stress in zebrafish. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19981. [PMID: 33203921 PMCID: PMC7673038 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-75855-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders are widespread, debilitating and often treatment-resistant illnesses that represent an urgent unmet biomedical problem. Animal models of these disorders are widely used to study stress pathogenesis. A more recent and historically less utilized model organism, the zebrafish (Danio rerio), is a valuable tool in stress neuroscience research. Utilizing the 5-week chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) model, here we examined brain transcriptomic profiles and complex dynamic behavioral stress responses, as well as neurochemical alterations in adult zebrafish and their correction by chronic antidepressant, fluoxetine, treatment. Overall, CUS induced complex neurochemical and behavioral alterations in zebrafish, including stable anxiety-like behaviors and serotonin metabolism deficits. Chronic fluoxetine (0.1 mg/L for 11 days) rescued most of the observed behavioral and neurochemical responses. Finally, whole-genome brain transcriptomic analyses revealed altered expression of various CNS genes (partially rescued by chronic fluoxetine), including inflammation-, ubiquitin- and arrestin-related genes. Collectively, this supports zebrafish as a valuable translational tool to study stress-related pathogenesis, whose anxiety and serotonergic deficits parallel rodent and clinical studies, and genomic analyses implicate neuroinflammation, structural neuronal remodeling and arrestin/ubiquitin pathways in both stress pathogenesis and its potential therapy.
Collapse
|
45
|
Rea V, Van Raay TJ. Using Zebrafish to Model Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comparison of ASD Risk Genes Between Zebrafish and Their Mammalian Counterparts. Front Mol Neurosci 2020; 13:575575. [PMID: 33262688 PMCID: PMC7686559 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2020.575575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a highly variable and complex set of neurological disorders that alter neurodevelopment and cognitive function, which usually presents with social and learning impairments accompanied with other comorbid symptoms like hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity, or repetitive behaviors. Autism can be caused by genetic and/or environmental factors and unraveling the etiology of ASD has proven challenging, especially given that different genetic mutations can cause both similar and different phenotypes that all fall within the autism spectrum. Furthermore, the list of ASD risk genes is ever increasing making it difficult to synthesize a common theme. The use of rodent models to enhance ASD research is invaluable and is beginning to unravel the underlying molecular mechanisms of this disease. Recently, zebrafish have been recognized as a useful model of neurodevelopmental disorders with regards to genetics, pharmacology and behavior and one of the main foundations supporting autism research (SFARI) recently identified 12 ASD risk genes with validated zebrafish mutant models. Here, we describe what is known about those 12 ASD risk genes in human, mice and zebrafish to better facilitate this research. We also describe several non-genetic models including pharmacological and gnotobiotic models that are used in zebrafish to study ASD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Terence J. Van Raay
- Dept of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Lieggi C, Kalueff AV, Lawrence C, Collymore C. The Influence of Behavioral, Social, and Environmental Factors on Reproducibility and Replicability in Aquatic Animal Models. ILAR J 2020; 60:270-288. [PMID: 32400880 PMCID: PMC7743897 DOI: 10.1093/ilar/ilz019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Revised: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The publication of reproducible, replicable, and translatable data in studies utilizing animal models is a scientific, practical, and ethical necessity. This requires careful planning and execution of experiments and accurate reporting of results. Recognition that numerous developmental, environmental, and test-related factors can affect experimental outcomes is essential for a quality study design. Factors commonly considered when designing studies utilizing aquatic animal species include strain, sex, or age of the animal; water quality; temperature; and acoustic and light conditions. However, in the aquatic environment, it is equally important to consider normal species behavior, group dynamics, stocking density, and environmental complexity, including tank design and structural enrichment. Here, we will outline normal species and social behavior of 2 commonly used aquatic species: zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Xenopus (X. laevis and X. tropicalis). We also provide examples as to how these behaviors and the complexity of the tank environment can influence research results and provide general recommendations to assist with improvement of reproducibility and replicability, particularly as it pertains to behavior and environmental complexity, when utilizing these popular aquatic models.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christine Lieggi
- Center of Comparative Medicine and Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York
| | - Allan V Kalueff
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, and Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
47
|
Gerlai R. Evolutionary conservation, translational relevance and cognitive function: The future of zebrafish in behavioral neuroscience. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 116:426-435. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
|
48
|
Soares SM, Kirsten K, Pompermaier A, Maffi VC, Koakoski G, Woloszyn M, Barreto RE, Barcellos LJG. Sex segregation affects exploratory and social behaviors of zebrafish according to controlled housing conditions. Physiol Behav 2020; 222:112944. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
|
49
|
Thomson JS, Deakin AG, Cossins AR, Spencer JW, Young IS, Sneddon LU. Acute and chronic stress prevents responses to pain in zebrafish: evidence for stress-induced analgesia. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:223/14/jeb224527. [PMID: 32699156 PMCID: PMC7391404 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.224527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The state of an animal prior to the application of a noxious stimulus can have a profound effect on their nociceptive threshold and subsequent behaviour. In mammals, the presence of acute stress preceding a painful event can have an analgesic effect whereas the presence of chronic stress can result in hyperalgesia. While considerable research has been conducted on the ability of stress to modulate mammalian responses to pain, relatively little is known about fish. This is of particular concern given that zebrafish (Danio rerio) are an extensively used model organism subject to a wide array of invasive procedures where the level of stress prior to experimentation could pose a major confounding factor. This study, therefore, investigated the impact of both acute and chronic stress on the behaviour of zebrafish subjected to a potentially painful laboratory procedure, the fin clip. In stress-free individuals, those subjected to the fin clip spent more time in the bottom of the tank, had reduced swimming speeds and less complex swimming trajectories; however, these behavioural changes were absent in fin-clipped fish that were first subject to either chronic or acute stress, suggesting the possibility of stress-induced analgesia (SIA). To test this, the opioid antagonist naloxone was administered to fish prior to the application of both the stress and fin-clip procedure. After naloxone, acutely stressed fin-clipped zebrafish exhibited the same behaviours as stress-free fin-clipped fish. This indicates the presence of SIA and the importance of opioid signalling in this mechanism. As stress reduced nociceptive responses in zebrafish, this demonstrates the potential for an endogenous analgesic system akin to the mammalian system. Future studies should delineate the neurobiological basis of stress-induced analgesia in fish. Summary: Exposure of zebrafish to acute or chronic stress prior to fin clipping prevents behavioural changes normally seen after fin clip; naloxone treatment prevented this effect, demonstrating stress-induced analgesia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jack S Thomson
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK
| | - Anthony G Deakin
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GJ, UK.,Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Andrew R Cossins
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Joseph W Spencer
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GJ, UK
| | - Iain S Young
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Lynne U Sneddon
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Müller TE, Fontana BD, Bertoncello KT, Franscescon F, Mezzomo NJ, Canzian J, Stefanello FV, Parker MO, Gerlai R, Rosemberg DB. Understanding the neurobiological effects of drug abuse: Lessons from zebrafish models. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2020; 100:109873. [PMID: 31981718 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Revised: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Drug abuse and brain disorders related to drug comsumption are public health problems with harmful individual and social consequences. The identification of therapeutic targets and precise pharmacological treatments to these neuropsychiatric conditions associated with drug abuse are urgently needed. Understanding the link between neurobiological mechanisms and behavior is a key aspect of elucidating drug abuse-related targets. Due to various molecular, biochemical, pharmacological, and physiological features, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been considered a suitable vertebrate for modeling complex processes involved in drug abuse responses. In this review, we discuss how the zebrafish has been successfully used for modeling neurobehavioral phenotypes related to drug abuse and review the effects of opioids, cannabinoids, alcohol, nicotine, and psychedelic drugs on the central nervous system (CNS). Moreover, we summarize recent advances in zebrafish-based studies and outline potential advantages and limitations of the existing zebrafish models to explore the neurochemical bases of drug abuse and addiction. Finally, we discuss how the use of zebrafish models may present fruitful approaches to provide valuable clinically translatable data.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Talise E Müller
- Laboratory of Experimental Neuropsychobiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center of Natural and Exact Sciences, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil; Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Toxicological Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil.
| | - Barbara D Fontana
- Brain and Behaviour Laboratory, School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Old St Michael's Building, Portsmouth PO1 2DT, UK
| | - Kanandra T Bertoncello
- Laboratory of Experimental Neuropsychobiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center of Natural and Exact Sciences, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil; Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Toxicological Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil
| | - Francini Franscescon
- Laboratory of Experimental Neuropsychobiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center of Natural and Exact Sciences, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil; Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Toxicological Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil
| | - Nathana J Mezzomo
- Laboratory of Experimental Neuropsychobiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center of Natural and Exact Sciences, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil; Graduate Program in Pharmacology, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil
| | - Julia Canzian
- Laboratory of Experimental Neuropsychobiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center of Natural and Exact Sciences, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil; Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Toxicological Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil
| | - Flavia V Stefanello
- Laboratory of Experimental Neuropsychobiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center of Natural and Exact Sciences, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil; Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Toxicological Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil
| | - Matthew O Parker
- Brain and Behaviour Laboratory, School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Old St Michael's Building, Portsmouth PO1 2DT, UK
| | - Robert Gerlai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada; Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Denis B Rosemberg
- Laboratory of Experimental Neuropsychobiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center of Natural and Exact Sciences, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil; Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Toxicological Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000 Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil; The International Zebrafish Neuroscience Research Consortium (ZNRC), 309 Palmer Court, Slidell, LA 70458, USA.
| |
Collapse
|