1
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Dirks RP, Ordas A, Jong-Raadsen S, Brittijn SA, Haks MC, Henkel CV, Oravcova K, Racz PI, Tuinhof-Koelma N, Korzeniowska nee Wiweger MI, Gillespie SH, Meijer AH, Ottenhoff THM, Jansen HJ, Spaink HP. The Human Pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the Fish Pathogen Mycobacterium marinum Trigger a Core Set of Late Innate Immune Response Genes in Zebrafish Larvae. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:688. [PMID: 39336115 PMCID: PMC11429319 DOI: 10.3390/biology13090688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2024] [Revised: 08/26/2024] [Accepted: 08/29/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024]
Abstract
Zebrafish is a natural host of various Mycobacterium species and a surrogate model organism for tuberculosis research. Mycobacterium marinum is evolutionarily one of the closest non-tuberculous species related to M. tuberculosis and shares the majority of virulence genes. Although zebrafish is not a natural host of the human pathogen, we have previously demonstrated successful robotic infection of zebrafish embryos with M. tuberculosis and performed drug treatment of the infected larvae. In the present study, we examined for how long M. tuberculosis can be propagated in zebrafish larvae and tested a time series of infected larvae to study the transcriptional response via Illumina RNA deep sequencing (RNAseq). Bacterial aggregates carrying fluorescently labeled M. tuberculosis could be detected up to 9 days post-infection. The infected larvae showed a clear and specific transcriptional immune response with a high similarity to the inflammatory response of zebrafish larvae infected with the surrogate species M. marinum. We conclude that M. tuberculosis can be propagated in zebrafish larvae for at least one week after infection and provide further evidence that M. marinum is a good surrogate model for M. tuberculosis. The generated extensive transcriptome data sets will be of great use to add translational value to zebrafish as a model for infection of tuberculosis using the M. marinum infection system. In addition, we identify new marker genes such as dusp8 and CD180 that are induced by M. tuberculosis infection in zebrafish and in human macrophages at later stages of infection that can be further investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ron P. Dirks
- ZF-Screens B.V., J.H. Oortweg 19, 2333 CH Leiden, The Netherlands (S.A.B.); (C.V.H.); (P.I.R.); (N.T.-K.); (M.I.K.n.W.); (H.J.J.)
| | - Anita Ordas
- ZF-Screens B.V., J.H. Oortweg 19, 2333 CH Leiden, The Netherlands (S.A.B.); (C.V.H.); (P.I.R.); (N.T.-K.); (M.I.K.n.W.); (H.J.J.)
| | - Susanne Jong-Raadsen
- ZF-Screens B.V., J.H. Oortweg 19, 2333 CH Leiden, The Netherlands (S.A.B.); (C.V.H.); (P.I.R.); (N.T.-K.); (M.I.K.n.W.); (H.J.J.)
| | - Sebastiaan A. Brittijn
- ZF-Screens B.V., J.H. Oortweg 19, 2333 CH Leiden, The Netherlands (S.A.B.); (C.V.H.); (P.I.R.); (N.T.-K.); (M.I.K.n.W.); (H.J.J.)
| | - Mariëlle C. Haks
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands (T.H.M.O.)
| | - Christiaan V. Henkel
- ZF-Screens B.V., J.H. Oortweg 19, 2333 CH Leiden, The Netherlands (S.A.B.); (C.V.H.); (P.I.R.); (N.T.-K.); (M.I.K.n.W.); (H.J.J.)
| | - Katarina Oravcova
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Jarrett Building, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK;
| | - Peter I. Racz
- ZF-Screens B.V., J.H. Oortweg 19, 2333 CH Leiden, The Netherlands (S.A.B.); (C.V.H.); (P.I.R.); (N.T.-K.); (M.I.K.n.W.); (H.J.J.)
| | - Nynke Tuinhof-Koelma
- ZF-Screens B.V., J.H. Oortweg 19, 2333 CH Leiden, The Netherlands (S.A.B.); (C.V.H.); (P.I.R.); (N.T.-K.); (M.I.K.n.W.); (H.J.J.)
| | | | - Stephen H. Gillespie
- Medical and Biological Sciences Building, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TF, UK;
| | | | - Tom H. M. Ottenhoff
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands (T.H.M.O.)
| | - Hans J. Jansen
- ZF-Screens B.V., J.H. Oortweg 19, 2333 CH Leiden, The Netherlands (S.A.B.); (C.V.H.); (P.I.R.); (N.T.-K.); (M.I.K.n.W.); (H.J.J.)
| | - Herman P. Spaink
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands;
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2
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Habjan E, Lepioshkin A, Charitou V, Egorova A, Kazakova E, Ho VQT, Bitter W, Makarov V, Speer A. Modulating mycobacterial envelope integrity for antibiotic synergy with benzothiazoles. Life Sci Alliance 2024; 7:e202302509. [PMID: 38744470 PMCID: PMC11094368 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202302509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Developing effective tuberculosis drugs is hindered by mycobacteria's intrinsic antibiotic resistance because of their impermeable cell envelope. Using benzothiazole compounds, we aimed to increase mycobacterial cell envelope permeability and weaken the defenses of Mycobacterium marinum, serving as a model for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Initial hit, BT-08, significantly boosted ethidium bromide uptake, indicating enhanced membrane permeability. It also demonstrated efficacy in the M. marinum-zebrafish embryo infection model and M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages. Notably, BT-08 synergized with established antibiotics, including vancomycin and rifampicin. Subsequent medicinal chemistry optimization led to BT-37, a non-toxic and more potent derivative, also enhancing ethidium bromide uptake and maintaining synergy with rifampicin in infected zebrafish embryos. Mutants of M. marinum resistant to BT-37 revealed that MMAR_0407 (Rv0164) is the molecular target and that this target plays a role in the observed synergy and permeability. This study introduces novel compounds targeting a new mycobacterial vulnerability and highlights their cooperative and synergistic interactions with existing antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Habjan
- https://ror.org/00q6h8f30 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Alexander Lepioshkin
- Federal Research Centre "Fundamentals of Biotechnology" of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Research Centre of Biotechnology RAS), Moscow, Russia
| | - Vicky Charitou
- https://ror.org/00q6h8f30 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Anna Egorova
- Federal Research Centre "Fundamentals of Biotechnology" of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Research Centre of Biotechnology RAS), Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena Kazakova
- Federal Research Centre "Fundamentals of Biotechnology" of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Research Centre of Biotechnology RAS), Moscow, Russia
| | - Vien QT Ho
- https://ror.org/00q6h8f30 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Wilbert Bitter
- https://ror.org/00q6h8f30 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Vadim Makarov
- Federal Research Centre "Fundamentals of Biotechnology" of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Research Centre of Biotechnology RAS), Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexander Speer
- https://ror.org/00q6h8f30 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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3
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Habjan E, Schouten GK, Speer A, van Ulsen P, Bitter W. Diving into drug-screening: zebrafish embryos as an in vivo platform for antimicrobial drug discovery and assessment. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2024; 48:fuae011. [PMID: 38684467 PMCID: PMC11078164 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuae011] [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: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
The rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria underlines the need for innovative treatments, yet the introduction of new drugs has stagnated despite numerous antimicrobial discoveries. A major hurdle is a poor correlation between promising in vitro data and in vivo efficacy in animal models, which is essential for clinical development. Early in vivo testing is hindered by the expense and complexity of existing animal models. Therefore, there is a pressing need for cost-effective, rapid preclinical models with high translational value. To overcome these challenges, zebrafish embryos have emerged as an attractive model for infectious disease studies, offering advantages such as ethical alignment, rapid development, ease of maintenance, and genetic manipulability. The zebrafish embryo infection model, involving microinjection or immersion of pathogens and potential antibiotic hit compounds, provides a promising solution for early-stage drug screening. It offers a cost-effective and rapid means of assessing the efficacy, toxicity and mechanism of action of compounds in a whole-organism context. This review discusses the experimental design of this model, but also its benefits and challenges. Additionally, it highlights recently identified compounds in the zebrafish embryo infection model and discusses the relevance of the model in predicting the compound's clinical potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Habjan
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center,De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gina K Schouten
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center,De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander Speer
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center,De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter van Ulsen
- Section Molecular Microbiology of A-LIFE, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wilbert Bitter
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center,De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Section Molecular Microbiology of A-LIFE, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Del Prado JAN, Ding Y, Sonneville JD, der Kolk KJV, Moreno-Mateos MA, Málaga-Trillo E, Spaink HP. Comparing robotic and manual injection methods in zebrafish embryos for high-throughput RNA silencing using CRISPR-RfxCas13d. Biotechniques 2024; 76:183-191. [PMID: 38420933 DOI: 10.2144/btn-2023-0062] [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] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
In this study, the authors compared the efficiency of automated robotic and manual injection methods for the CRISPR-RfxCas13d (CasRx) system for mRNA knockdown and Cas9-mediated DNA targeting in zebrafish embryos. They targeted the no tail (TBXTA) gene as a proof-of-principle, evaluating the induced embryonic phenotypes. Both Cas9 and CasRx systems caused loss of function phenotypes for TBXTA. Cas9 protein exhibited a higher percentage of severe phenotypes compared with mRNA, while CasRx protein and mRNA showed similar efficiency. Both robotic and manual injections demonstrated comparable phenotype percentages and mortality rates. The findings highlight the potential of RNA-targeting CRISPR effectors for precise gene knockdown and endorse automated microinjection at a speed of 1.0 s per embryo as a high-throughput alternative to manual methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joaquin Abugattas-Nuñez Del Prado
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Animal Science & Health, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, Leiden, 2333CC, The Netherlands
- Department of Biology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Av. Honorio Delgado 430, Lima, 15102, Perú
| | - Yi Ding
- Life Science Methods BV, JH Oortweg 19, Leiden, 2333CH, The Netherlands
| | - Jan de Sonneville
- Life Science Methods BV, JH Oortweg 19, Leiden, 2333CH, The Netherlands
| | | | - Miguel A Moreno-Mateos
- Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology (CABD), Pablo de Olavide University/CSIC/Junta de Andalucía, Ctra. Utrera Km.1, Seville, 41013, Spain
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemical Engineering, Pablo de Olavide University, Ctra. Utrera Km.1, Seville, 41013, Spain
| | - Edward Málaga-Trillo
- Department of Biology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Av. Honorio Delgado 430, Lima, 15102, Perú
| | - Herman P Spaink
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Animal Science & Health, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, Leiden, 2333CC, The Netherlands
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Liu J, Yuan X, Fan C, Ma G. Application of the zebrafish model in human viral research. Virus Res 2024; 341:199327. [PMID: 38262567 PMCID: PMC10835014 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2024.199327] [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: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Viruses are a leading cause of infectious diseases. Well-developed animal models are valuable for understanding the immune responses to viral infections and the pathogenesis of viral diseases. Zebrafish is a commonly used small vertebrate model organism with strong reproductive ability, a short life cycle, and rapid embryonic development. Moreover, zebrafish and human genomes are highly similar; they have approximately 70 % homology in protein-coding genes, and 84 % of genes associated with human diseases have zebrafish counterparts. Recent years, different groups have developed zebrafish models for human viral infections and diseases, offering new insights into the molecular mechanisms of human viral pathogenesis as well as the development of antiviral strategies. The zebrafish model has become a simple and effective model system for understanding host-virus interaction. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the use of zebrafish models in human viral research, particularly in SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, China
| | - Xiaoyi Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, China.
| | - Chunxin Fan
- International Research Center for Marine Biosciences, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, China
| | - Guangyong Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, China.
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Hu W, Liu L, Forn-Cuní G, Ding Y, Alia A, Spaink HP. Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Studies Reveal That Toll-like Receptor 2 Has a Role in Glucose-Related Metabolism in Unchallenged Zebrafish Larvae ( Danio rerio). BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12020323. [PMID: 36829598 PMCID: PMC9952914 DOI: 10.3390/biology12020323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have been implicated in the regulation of various metabolism pathways, in addition to their function in innate immunity. Here, we investigate the metabolic function of TLR2 in a larval zebrafish system. We studied larvae from a tlr2 mutant and the wild type sibling controls in an unchallenged normal developmental condition using transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses methods. RNAseq was used to evaluate transcriptomic differences between the tlr2 mutant and wild-type control zebrafish larvae and found a signature set of 149 genes to be significantly altered in gene expression. The expression level of several genes was confirmed by qPCR analyses. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed differential enrichment of genes between the two genotypes related to valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation and glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. Using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics, we found that glucose and various metabolites related with glucose metabolism were present at higher levels in the tlr2 mutant. Furthermore, we confirmed that the glucose level is higher in tlr2 mutants by using a fluorometric assay. Therefore, we have shown that TLR2, in addition to its function in immunity, has a function in controlling metabolism during vertebrate development. The functions are associated with transcriptional regulation of various enzymes involved in glucose metabolism that could explain the different levels of glucose, lactate, succinate, and malate in larvae of a tlr2 mutant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanbin Hu
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Animal Science and Health, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Li Liu
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Animal Science and Health, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Gabriel Forn-Cuní
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Animal Science and Health, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Yi Ding
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Animal Science and Health, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Alia Alia
- Institute for Medical Physics and Biophysics, University of Leipzig, 04107 Leipzig, Germany
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Herman P. Spaink
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Animal Science and Health, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
- Correspondence:
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Al-Hamaly MA, Turner LT, Rivera-Martinez A, Rodriguez A, Blackburn JS. Zebrafish Cancer Avatars: A Translational Platform for Analyzing Tumor Heterogeneity and Predicting Patient Outcomes. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:2288. [PMID: 36768609 PMCID: PMC9916713 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The increasing number of available anti-cancer drugs presents a challenge for oncologists, who must choose the most effective treatment for the patient. Precision cancer medicine relies on matching a drug with a tumor's molecular profile to optimize the therapeutic benefit. However, current precision medicine approaches do not fully account for intra-tumoral heterogeneity. Different mutation profiles and cell behaviors within a single heterogeneous tumor can significantly impact therapy response and patient outcomes. Patient-derived avatar models recapitulate a patient's tumor in an animal or dish and provide the means to functionally assess heterogeneity's impact on drug response. Mouse xenograft and organoid avatars are well-established, but the time required to generate these models is not practical for clinical decision-making. Zebrafish are emerging as a time-efficient and cost-effective cancer avatar model. In this review, we highlight recent developments in zebrafish cancer avatar models and discuss the unique features of zebrafish that make them ideal for the interrogation of cancer heterogeneity and as part of precision cancer medicine pipelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Majd A. Al-Hamaly
- Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40356, USA
- Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Logan T. Turner
- Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40356, USA
| | | | - Analiz Rodriguez
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
| | - Jessica S. Blackburn
- Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40356, USA
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Basheer F, Dhar P, Samarasinghe RM. Zebrafish Models of Paediatric Brain Tumours. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:9920. [PMID: 36077320 PMCID: PMC9456103 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23179920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Paediatric brain cancer is the second most common childhood cancer and is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children. Despite significant advancements in the treatment modalities and improvements in the 5-year survival rate, it leaves long-term therapy-associated side effects in paediatric patients. Addressing these impairments demands further understanding of the molecularity and heterogeneity of these brain tumours, which can be demonstrated using different animal models of paediatric brain cancer. Here we review the use of zebrafish as potential in vivo models for paediatric brain tumour modelling, as well as catalogue the currently available zebrafish models used to study paediatric brain cancer pathophysiology, and discuss key findings, the unique attributes that these models add, current challenges and therapeutic significance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faiza Basheer
- School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
- Instiute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
| | - Poshmaal Dhar
- School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
- Instiute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
| | - Rasika M. Samarasinghe
- School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
- Instiute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
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Rosa JT, Tarasco M, Gavaia PJ, Cancela ML, Laizé V. Screening of Mineralogenic and Osteogenic Compounds in Zebrafish—Tools to Improve Assay Throughput and Data Accuracy. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15080983. [PMID: 36015130 PMCID: PMC9412667 DOI: 10.3390/ph15080983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Bone disorders affect millions of people worldwide and treatments currently available often produce undesirable secondary effects or have limited efficacy. It is therefore of the utmost interest for patients to develop more efficient drugs with reduced off-target activities. In the long process of drug development, screening and preclinical validation have recently gained momentum with the increased use of zebrafish as a model organism to study pathological processes related to human bone disorders, and the development of zebrafish high-throughput screening assays to identify bone anabolic compounds. In this review, we provided a comprehensive overview of the literature on zebrafish bone-related assays and evaluated their performance towards an integration into screening pipelines for the discovery of mineralogenic/osteogenic compounds. Tools available to standardize fish housing and feeding procedures, synchronize embryo production, and automatize specimen sorting and image acquisition/analysis toward faster and more accurate screening outputs were also presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana T. Rosa
- Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
- S2AQUA—Collaborative Laboratory, Association for a Sustainable and Smart Aquaculture, 8700-194 Olhão, Portugal
| | - Marco Tarasco
- Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Paulo J. Gavaia
- Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
- GreenColab—Associação Oceano Verde, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - M. Leonor Cancela
- Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
- Algarve Biomedical Center, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Vincent Laizé
- Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
- S2AQUA—Collaborative Laboratory, Association for a Sustainable and Smart Aquaculture, 8700-194 Olhão, Portugal
- Correspondence:
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Ding Y, Haks MC, van den Eeden SJF, Ottenhoff THM, Harms AC, Hankemeier T, Eeza MNH, Matysik J, Alia A, Spaink HP. Leptin mutation and mycobacterial infection lead non-synergistically to a similar metabolic syndrome. Metabolomics 2022; 18:67. [PMID: 35933481 PMCID: PMC9356939 DOI: 10.1007/s11306-022-01921-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The leptin signaling pathway plays an important role as a key regulator of glucose homeostasis, metabolism control and systemic inflammatory responses. However, the metabolic effects of leptin on infectious diseases, for example tuberculosis (TB), are still little known. OBJECTIVES In this study, we aim to investigate the role of leptin on metabolism in the absence and presence of mycobacterial infection in zebrafish larvae and mice. METHODS Metabolites in entire zebrafish larvae and the blood of mice were studied using high-resolution magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (HR-MAS NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, respectively. For transcriptome studies of zebrafish larvae, deep RNA sequencing was used. RESULTS The results show that leptin mutation leads to a similar metabolic syndrome as caused by mycobacterial infection in the two species, characterized by the decrease of 11 amine metabolites. In both species, this metabolic syndrome was not aggravated further when the leptin mutant was infected by mycobacteria. Therefore, we conclude that leptin and mycobacterial infection are both impacting metabolism non-synergistically. In addition, we studied the transcriptomes of lepbibl54 mutant zebrafish larvae and wild type (WT) siblings after mycobacterial infection. These studies showed that mycobacteria induced a very distinct transcriptome signature in the lepbibl54 mutant zebrafish compared to WT sibling control larvae. Furthermore, lepbibl55 Tg (pck1:luc1) zebrafish line was constructed and confirmed this difference in transcriptional responses. CONCLUSIONS Leptin mutation and TB lead non-synergistically to a similar metabolic syndrome. Moreover, different transcriptomic responses in the lepbibl54 mutant and TB can lead to the similar metabolic end states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Ding
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, 2333 BE, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Mariëlle C Haks
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Susan J F van den Eeden
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Tom H M Ottenhoff
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Amy C Harms
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas Hankemeier
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Muhamed N H Eeza
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Medical Physics and Biophysics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jörg Matysik
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - A Alia
- Institute for Medical Physics and Biophysics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Herman P Spaink
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, 2333 BE, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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11
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Otterstrom JJ, Lubin A, Payne EM, Paran Y. Technologies bringing young Zebrafish from a niche field to the limelight. SLAS Technol 2022; 27:109-120. [PMID: 35058207 DOI: 10.1016/j.slast.2021.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Fundamental life science and pharmaceutical research are continually striving to provide physiologically relevant context for their biological studies. Zebrafish present an opportunity for high-content screening (HCS) to bring a true in vivo model system to screening studies. Zebrafish embryos and young larvae are an economical, human-relevant model organism that are amenable to both genetic engineering and modification, and direct inspection via microscopy. The use of these organisms entails unique challenges that new technologies are overcoming, including artificial intelligence (AI). In this perspective article, we describe the state-of-the-art in terms of automated sample handling, imaging, and data analysis with zebrafish during early developmental stages. We highlight advances in orienting the embryos, including the use of robots, microfluidics, and creative multi-well plate solutions. Analyzing the micrographs in a fast, reliable fashion that maintains the anatomical context of the fluorescently labeled cells is a crucial step. Existing software solutions range from AI-driven commercial solutions to bespoke analysis algorithms. Deep learning appears to be a critical tool that researchers are only beginning to apply, but already facilitates many automated steps in the experimental workflow. Currently, such work has permitted the cellular quantification of multiple cell types in vivo, including stem cell responses to stress and drugs, neuronal myelination and macrophage behavior during inflammation and infection. We evaluate pro and cons of proprietary versus open-source methodologies for combining technologies into fully automated workflows of zebrafish studies. Zebrafish are poised to charge into HCS with ever-greater presence, bringing a new level of physiological context.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexandra Lubin
- Research Department of Hematology, Cancer Institute, University College London, London, UK
| | - Elspeth M Payne
- Research Department of Hematology, Cancer Institute, University College London, London, UK
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12
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Bowley G, Kugler E, Wilkinson R, Lawrie A, van Eeden F, Chico TJA, Evans PC, Noël ES, Serbanovic-Canic J. Zebrafish as a tractable model of human cardiovascular disease. Br J Pharmacol 2022; 179:900-917. [PMID: 33788282 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammalian models including non-human primates, pigs and rodents have been used extensively to study the mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. However, there is an increasing desire for alternative model systems that provide excellent scientific value while replacing or reducing the use of mammals. Here, we review the use of zebrafish, Danio rerio, to study cardiovascular development and disease. The anatomy and physiology of zebrafish and mammalian cardiovascular systems are compared, and we describe the use of zebrafish models in studying the mechanisms of cardiac (e.g. congenital heart defects, cardiomyopathy, conduction disorders and regeneration) and vascular (endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis, lipid metabolism, vascular ageing, neurovascular physiology and stroke) pathologies. We also review the use of zebrafish for studying pharmacological responses to cardiovascular drugs and describe several features of zebrafish that make them a compelling model for in vivo screening of compounds for the treatment cardiovascular disease. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue on Preclinical Models for Cardiovascular disease research (BJP 75th Anniversary). To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v179.5/issuetoc.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Bowley
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Bateson Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Elizabeth Kugler
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Bateson Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Institute of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Rob Wilkinson
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Allan Lawrie
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Freek van Eeden
- Bateson Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Tim J A Chico
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Bateson Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Paul C Evans
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Bateson Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Emily S Noël
- Bateson Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Jovana Serbanovic-Canic
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Bateson Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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13
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Bauer B, Mally A, Liedtke D. Zebrafish Embryos and Larvae as Alternative Animal Models for Toxicity Testing. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:13417. [PMID: 34948215 PMCID: PMC8707050 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222413417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Prerequisite to any biological laboratory assay employing living animals is consideration about its necessity, feasibility, ethics and the potential harm caused during an experiment. The imperative of these thoughts has led to the formulation of the 3R-principle, which today is a pivotal scientific standard of animal experimentation worldwide. The rising amount of laboratory investigations utilizing living animals throughout the last decades, either for regulatory concerns or for basic science, demands the development of alternative methods in accordance with 3R to help reduce experiments in mammals. This demand has resulted in investigation of additional vertebrate species displaying favourable biological properties. One prominent species among these is the zebrafish (Danio rerio), as these small laboratory ray-finned fish are well established in science today and feature outstanding biological characteristics. In this review, we highlight the advantages and general prerequisites of zebrafish embryos and larvae before free-feeding stages for toxicological testing, with a particular focus on cardio-, neuro, hepato- and nephrotoxicity. Furthermore, we discuss toxicokinetics, current advances in utilizing zebrafish for organ toxicity testing and highlight how advanced laboratory methods (such as automation, advanced imaging and genetic techniques) can refine future toxicological studies in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedikt Bauer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Julius-Maximilians-University, 97078 Würzburg, Germany; (B.B.); (A.M.)
| | - Angela Mally
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Julius-Maximilians-University, 97078 Würzburg, Germany; (B.B.); (A.M.)
| | - Daniel Liedtke
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius-Maximilians-University, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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14
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Di Paolo C, Hoffmann S, Witters H, Carrillo JC. Minimum reporting standards based on a comprehensive review of the zebrafish embryo teratogenicity assay. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2021; 127:105054. [PMID: 34653553 DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2021.105054] [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: 06/10/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Reproductive toxicity chemical safety assessment involves extensive use of vertebrate animals for regulatory testing purposes. Although alternative methods such as the zebrafish embryo teratogenicity assay (identified in the present manuscript by the acronym ZETA) are promising for replacing tests with mammals, challenges to regulatory application involve lack of standardization and incomplete validation. To identify key protocol aspects and ultimately support improving this situation, a comprehensive review of the literature on the level of harmonization/standardization and validation status of the ZETA has been conducted. The gaps and needed advances of the available ZETA protocols were evaluated and discussed with respect to its applicability as an alternative approach for teratogenicity assessment. Based on the review outcomes, a set of minimum reporting standards for the experimental protocol is proposed. Together with other initiatives towards implementation of alternative approaches at the screening and regulatory levels, the application of minimum reporting requirements is anticipated to support future method standardization and validation, as well as identifying potential improvement aspects. Present findings are expected to ultimately support advancing the ongoing validation initiatives towards the regulatory acceptance of the ZETA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Di Paolo
- Shell Health, Shell International, B.V. Carel van Bylandtlaan 16, 2596, HR, The Hague, the Netherlands.
| | | | - Hilda Witters
- Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Unit Health, Boeretang 200, B-2400, Mol, Belgium
| | - Juan-Carlos Carrillo
- Shell Health, Shell International, B.V. Carel van Bylandtlaan 16, 2596, HR, The Hague, the Netherlands
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15
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Habjan E, Ho VQT, Gallant J, Van Stempvoort G, Jim KK, Kuijl C, Geerke DP, Bitter W, Speer A. Anti-tuberculosis Compound Screen using a Zebrafish Infection Model identifies an Aspartyl-tRNA Synthetase Inhibitor. Dis Model Mech 2021; 14:273850. [PMID: 34643222 PMCID: PMC8713996 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.049145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Finding new anti-tuberculosis compounds with convincing in vivo activity is an ongoing global challenge to fight the emergence of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates. In this study, we exploited the medium-throughput capabilities of the zebrafish embryo infection model with Mycobacterium marinum as a surrogate for M. tuberculosis. Using a representative set of clinically established drugs, we demonstrate that this model could be predictive and selective for antibiotics that can be administered orally. We further used the zebrafish infection model to screen 240 compounds from an anti-tuberculosis hit library for their in vivo activity and identified 14 highly active compounds. One of the most active compounds was the tetracyclic compound TBA161, which was studied in more detail. Analysis of resistant mutants revealed point mutations in aspS (rv2572c), encoding an aspartyl-tRNA synthetase. The target was genetically confirmed, and molecular docking studies propose the possible binding of TBA161 in a pocket adjacent to the catalytic site. This study shows that the zebrafish infection model is suitable for rapidly identifying promising scaffolds with in vivo activity. Summary: Exploitation of the medium-throughput capabilities of a zebrafish embryo infection model of tuberculosis to screen compounds for their in vivo activity, one of which was characterized as an aspartyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Habjan
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Section Molecular Microbiology, Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences (AIMMS), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Vien Q T Ho
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - James Gallant
- Section Molecular Microbiology, Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences (AIMMS), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gunny Van Stempvoort
- Section Molecular Microbiology, Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences (AIMMS), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Kin Ki Jim
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Coen Kuijl
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Daan P Geerke
- Department of Molecular Toxicology, Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences (AIMMS), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wilbert Bitter
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Section Molecular Microbiology, Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences (AIMMS), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander Speer
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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16
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Pharkjaksu S, Boonmee N, Mitrpant C, Ngamskulrungroj P. Immunopathogenesis of Emerging Candida auris and Candida haemulonii Strains. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:725. [PMID: 34575763 PMCID: PMC8469599 DOI: 10.3390/jof7090725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of a multidrug-resistant Candida species, C. auris and C. haemulonii, has been reported worldwide. In Thailand, information on them is limited. We collected clinical isolates from Thai patients with invasive candidiasis. Both species were compared with a laboratory C. albicans strain. In vitro antifungal susceptibility and thermotolerance, and pathogenesis in the zebrafish model of infection were investigated. Both species demonstrated high minimal inhibitory concentrations to fluconazole and amphotericin B. Only C. auris tolerated high temperatures, like C. albicans. In a zebrafish swim-bladder-inoculation model, the C. auris-infected group had the highest mortality rate and infectivity, suggesting the highest virulence. The case fatality rates of C. auris, C. haemulonii, and C. albicans were 100%, 83.33%, and 51.52%, respectively. Further immunological studies revealed that both emerging Candida species stimulated genes involved in the proinflammatory cytokine group. Interestingly, the genes relating to leukocyte recruitment were downregulated only for C. auris infections. Almost all immune response genes to C. auris had a peak response at an early infection time, which contrasted with C. haemulonii. In conclusion, both emerging species were virulent in a zebrafish model of infection and could activate the inflammatory pathway. This study serves as a stepping stone for further pathogenesis studies of these important emerging species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujiraphong Pharkjaksu
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, 10700 Bangkok, Thailand;
| | - Nawarat Boonmee
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, 10700 Bangkok, Thailand; (N.B.); (C.M.)
| | - Chalermchai Mitrpant
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, 10700 Bangkok, Thailand; (N.B.); (C.M.)
| | - Popchai Ngamskulrungroj
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, 10700 Bangkok, Thailand;
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17
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Giacomello E, Toniolo L. The Potential of Calorie Restriction and Calorie Restriction Mimetics in Delaying Aging: Focus on Experimental Models. Nutrients 2021; 13:2346. [PMID: 34371855 PMCID: PMC8308705 DOI: 10.3390/nu13072346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Aging is a biological process determined by multiple cellular mechanisms, such as genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication, that ultimately concur in the functional decline of the individual. The evidence that the old population is steadily increasing and will triplicate in the next 50 years, together with the fact the elderlies are more prone to develop pathologies such as cancer, diabetes, and degenerative disorders, stimulates an important effort in finding specific countermeasures. Calorie restriction (CR) has been demonstrated to modulate nutrient sensing mechanisms, inducing a better metabolic profile, enhanced stress resistance, reduced oxidative stress, and improved inflammatory response. Therefore, CR and CR-mimetics have been suggested as powerful means to slow aging and extend healthy life-span in experimental models and humans. Taking into consideration the difficulties and ethical issues in performing aging research and testing anti-aging interventions in humans, researchers initially need to work with experimental models. The present review reports the major experimental models utilized in the study of CR and CR-mimetics, highlighting their application in the laboratory routine, and their translation to human research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emiliana Giacomello
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, 34149 Trieste, Italy
| | - Luana Toniolo
- Laboratory of Muscle Biophysics, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
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18
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Guarin M, Ny A, De Croze N, Maes J, Léonard M, Annaert P, de Witte PAM. Pharmacokinetics in Zebrafish Embryos (ZFE) Following Immersion and Intrayolk Administration: A Fluorescence-Based Analysis. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021; 14:ph14060576. [PMID: 34208572 PMCID: PMC8234359 DOI: 10.3390/ph14060576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Zebrafish embryos (ZFE) have increasingly gained in popularity as a model to perform safety screenings of compounds. Although immersion of ZFE is the main route of exposure used, evidence shows that not all small molecules are equally absorbed, possibly resulting in false-negative readouts and incorrect conclusions. In this study, we compared the pharmacokinetics of seven fluorescent compounds with known physicochemical properties that were administered to two-cell stage embryos by immersion or by IY microinjection. Absorption and distribution of the dyes were followed at various timepoints up to 120 hpf by spatiotemporal fluorescence imaging. The concentration (10 µM) and dose (2 mg/kg) used were selected as quantities typically applied in preclinical experiments and zebrafish studies. The data show that in the case of a lipophilic compound (log D: 1.73) the immersion procedure resulted in an intrabody exposure which is similar or higher than that seen after the IY microinjection. In contrast, zero to low intrabody exposure was reached after immersion of the embryos with less lipophilic compounds. In the latter case IY microinjection, a technical procedure that can be easily automated, is highly recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlly Guarin
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.G.); (A.N.); (J.M.)
| | - Annelii Ny
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.G.); (A.N.); (J.M.)
| | - Noémie De Croze
- L’Oréal Research & Innovation, 93600 Aulnay-sous-Bois, France; (N.D.C.); (M.L.)
| | - Jan Maes
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.G.); (A.N.); (J.M.)
| | - Marc Léonard
- L’Oréal Research & Innovation, 93600 Aulnay-sous-Bois, France; (N.D.C.); (M.L.)
| | - Pieter Annaert
- Drug Delivery and Disposition, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Correspondence: (P.A.); (P.A.M.d.W.)
| | - Peter A. M. de Witte
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.G.); (A.N.); (J.M.)
- Correspondence: (P.A.); (P.A.M.d.W.)
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19
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Guarin M, Faelens R, Giusti A, De Croze N, Léonard M, Cabooter D, Annaert P, de Witte P, Ny A. Spatiotemporal imaging and pharmacokinetics of fluorescent compounds in zebrafish eleuthero-embryos after different routes of administration. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12229. [PMID: 34108572 PMCID: PMC8190279 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91612-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is increasingly used to assess the pharmacological activity and toxicity of compounds. The spatiotemporal distribution of seven fluorescent alkyne compounds was examined during 48 h after immersion (10 µM) or microinjection (2 mg/kg) in the pericardial cavity (PC), intraperitoneally (IP) and yolk sac (IY) of 3 dpf zebrafish eleuthero-embryos. By modelling the fluorescence of whole-body contours present in fluorescence images, the main pharmacokinetic (PK) parameter values of the compounds were determined. It was demonstrated that especially in case of short incubations (1-3 h) immersion can result in limited intrabody exposure to compounds. In this case, PC and IP microinjections represent excellent alternatives. Significantly, IY microinjections did not result in a suitable intrabody distribution of the compounds. Performing a QSPkR (quantitative structure-pharmacokinetic relationship) analysis, LogD was identified as the only molecular descriptor that explains the final uptake of the selected compounds. It was also shown that combined administration of compounds (immersion and microinjection) provides a more stable intrabody exposure, at least in case of a prolonged immersion and compounds with LogD value > 1. These results will help reduce the risk of false negative results and can offer an invaluable input for future translational research and safety assessment applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlly Guarin
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ruben Faelens
- Drug Delivery and Disposition, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Arianna Giusti
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Marc Léonard
- L'Oréal, Research and Innovation, Aulnay-sous-Bois, France
| | - Deirdre Cabooter
- Pharmaceutical Analysis, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Pieter Annaert
- Drug Delivery and Disposition, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Peter de Witte
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Annelii Ny
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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20
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Subhash N, Sundaramurthy V. Advances in host-based screening for compounds with intracellular anti-mycobacterial activity. Cell Microbiol 2021; 23:e13337. [PMID: 33813790 DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Intracellular pathogens interact with host systems in intimate ways to sustain a pathogenic lifestyle. Consequently, these interactions can potentially be targets of host-directed interventions against infectious diseases. In case of tuberculosis (TB), caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), while effective anti-tubercular compounds are available, the long treatment duration and emerging drug resistance necessitate identification of new class of molecules with anti-TB activity, as well as new treatment strategies. A significant part of the effort in finding new anti-TB drugs is focused on bacterial targets in bacterial systems. However, the host environment plays a major role in pathogenesis mechanisms and must be considered actively in these efforts. On the one hand, the bacterial origin targets must be relevant and accessible in the host, while on the other hand, new host origin targets required for the bacterial survival can be targeted. Such targets are good candidates for host-directed therapeutics, a strategy gaining traction as an adjunct in TB treatment. In this review, we will summarise the screening platforms used to identify compounds with anti-tubercular activities inside different host environments and outline recent technical advances in these platforms. Finally, while the examples given are specific to mycobacteria, the methods and principles outlined are broadly applicable to most intracellular infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neeraja Subhash
- National Center for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru, India.,SASTRA University, Thanjavur, India
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21
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Heterologous Expression of ethA and katG in Mycobacterium marinum Enables the Rapid Identification of New Prodrugs Active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2021; 65:AAC.01445-20. [PMID: 33495223 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01445-20] [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] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Screening strategies for antituberculosis compounds using Mycobacterium tuberculosis are time consuming and require biosafety level 3 (BSL3) facilities, which makes the development of high-throughput assays difficult and expensive. Mycobacterium marinum, a close genetic relative of M. tuberculosis, possesses several advantages as a suitable model for tuberculosis drug screening. However, despite the high genetic similarity, there are some obvious differences in susceptibility to some tuberculosis drugs between these two species, especially for the prodrugs ethionamide and isoniazid. In this study, we aimed to improve M. marinum as a model for antituberculosis drug identification by heterologous expression of two common drug activators, EthA and KatG. These two activators were overexpressed in M. marinum, and the strains were tested against ethionamide, isoniazid, and a library of established antimycobacterial compounds from TB Alliance to compare drug susceptibility. Both in vitro and in vivo using zebrafish larvae, these genetically modified M. marinum strains showed significantly higher susceptibility against ethionamide and isoniazid, which require activation by EthA and KatG. More importantly, a strain overexpressing both ethA and katG was potentially more susceptible to approximately 20% of the antituberculosis hit compounds from the TB Alliance library. Most of these compounds were activated by EthA in M. marinum Four of these compounds were selected for further analysis, and three of them showed obvious EthA-dependent activity against M. tuberculosis Overall, our developed M. marinum strains are valuable tools for high-throughput discovery of potential novel antituberculosis prodrugs.
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22
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Chen X, Li Y, Yao T, Jia R. Benefits of Zebrafish Xenograft Models in Cancer Research. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:616551. [PMID: 33644052 PMCID: PMC7905065 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.616551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
As a promising in vivo tool for cancer research, zebrafish have been widely applied in various tumor studies. The zebrafish xenograft model is a low-cost, high-throughput tool for cancer research that can be established quickly and requires only a small sample size, which makes it favorite among researchers. Zebrafish patient-derived xenograft (zPDX) models provide promising evidence for short-term clinical treatment. In this review, we discuss the characteristics and advantages of zebrafish, such as their transparent and translucent features, the use of vascular fluorescence imaging, the establishment of metastatic and intracranial orthotopic models, individual pharmacokinetics measurements, and tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, we introduce how these characteristics and advantages are applied other in tumor studies. Finally, we discuss the future direction of the use of zebrafish in tumor studies and provide new ideas for the application of it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingyu Chen
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Yongyun Li
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Tengteng Yao
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Renbing Jia
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
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23
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Cabezas-Sainz P, Coppel C, Pensado-López A, Fernandez P, Muinelo-Romay L, López-López R, Rubiolo JA, Sánchez L. Morphological Abnormalities and Gene Expression Changes Caused by High Incubation Temperatures in Zebrafish Xenografts with Human Cancer Cells. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12010113. [PMID: 33477746 PMCID: PMC7832305 DOI: 10.3390/genes12010113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Published studies show that most of the human cancer xenograft studies in zebrafish embryos have used incubation temperatures in the range of 32–34 °C for 3–6 days post-injection, trying to find a compromise temperature between the zebrafish embryos (28 °C) and the human injected cells (37 °C). While this experimental setup is widely used, a question remains: is possible to overcome the drawbacks caused by a suboptimal temperature for the injected cells? To clarify the effect of temperature and injected cells on the host, in this study, we analyzed the development and health of the last in response to different temperatures in the presence or absence of injected human cancer cells. Comparing different incubation temperatures (28, 34 and 36 °C), we determined morphological abnormalities and developmental effects in injected and non-injected embryos at different time points. Besides this, the expression of selected genes was determined by qPCR to determine temperature affected metabolic processes in the embryos. The results indicate that an incubation temperature of 36 °C during a period of 48 h is suitable for xenotransplantation without morphological or metabolic changes that could be affecting the host or the injected cells, allowing them to proliferate near their optimal temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Cabezas-Sainz
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
| | - Carlos Coppel
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
| | - Alba Pensado-López
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
- Genomic Medicine Group, Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Pedro Fernandez
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
| | - Laura Muinelo-Romay
- Liquid Biopsy Analysis Unit, Oncomet, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), 29029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Rafael López-López
- Translational Laboratory, Medical Oncology Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela/SERGAS, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
| | - Juan A. Rubiolo
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
- Correspondence: (J.A.R.); (L.S.); Tel.: +34-982-822-429 (L.S.)
| | - Laura Sánchez
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
- Preclinical Animal Models Group, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Correspondence: (J.A.R.); (L.S.); Tel.: +34-982-822-429 (L.S.)
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24
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van Wijk RC, Hu W, Dijkema SM, van den Berg DJ, Liu J, Bahi R, Verbeek FJ, Simonsson USH, Spaink HP, van der Graaf PH, Krekels EHJ. Anti-tuberculosis effect of isoniazid scales accurately from zebrafish to humans. Br J Pharmacol 2020; 177:5518-5533. [PMID: 32860631 PMCID: PMC7707096 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and Purpose There is a clear need for innovation in anti‐tuberculosis drug development. The zebrafish larva is an attractive disease model in tuberculosis research. To translate pharmacological findings to higher vertebrates, including humans, the internal exposure of drugs needs to be quantified and linked to observed response. Experimental Approach In zebrafish studies, drugs are usually dissolved in the external water, posing a challenge to quantify internal exposure. We developed experimental methods to quantify internal exposure, including nanoscale blood sampling, and to quantify the bacterial burden, using automated fluorescence imaging analysis, with isoniazid as the test compound. We used pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic modelling to quantify the exposure–response relationship responsible for the antibiotic response. To translate isoniazid response to humans, quantitative exposure–response relationships in zebrafish were linked to simulated concentration–time profiles in humans, and two quantitative translational factors on sensitivity to isoniazid and stage of infection were included. Key Results Blood concentration was only 20% of the external drug concentration. The bacterial burden increased exponentially, and an isoniazid dose corresponding to 15 mg·L−1 internal concentration (minimum inhibitory concentration) leads to bacteriostasis of the mycobacterial infection in the zebrafish. The concentration–effect relationship was quantified, and based on that relationship and the translational factors, the isoniazid response was translated to humans, which correlated well with observed data. Conclusions and Implications This proof of concept study confirmed the potential of zebrafish larvae as tuberculosis disease models in translational pharmacology and contributes to innovative anti‐tuberculosis drug development, which is very clearly needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rob C van Wijk
- Division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Wanbin Hu
- Division of Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sharka M Dijkema
- Division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Dirk-Jan van den Berg
- Division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jeremy Liu
- Division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Rida Bahi
- Division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Fons J Verbeek
- Imaging and Bioinformatics Group, Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Herman P Spaink
- Division of Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Piet H van der Graaf
- Division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,QSP, Certara, Canterbury, UK
| | - Elke H J Krekels
- Division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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25
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Beattie SR, Krysan DJ. Antifungal drug screening: thinking outside the box to identify novel antifungal scaffolds. Curr Opin Microbiol 2020; 57:1-6. [PMID: 32339892 PMCID: PMC7652037 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2020.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Invasive fungal infections are responsible for a significant disease burden worldwide. Drugs to treat these infections are limited to only four unique classes, and despite these available treatments, mortality rates remain unacceptably high. In this review, we will discuss antifungal drug screening and how the approach to identifying novel compounds needs move away from traditional growth-based assays in order to meet the demand for new drugs. We highlight specific examples of creative screening strategies that increase the likelihood of identifying compounds with desired activities and provide perspective to inspire development of novel screens for the identification of first-in-class antifungals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah R Beattie
- Department of Pediatrics, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Damian J Krysan
- Department of Pediatrics, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States.
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26
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Cabezas-Sáinz P, Pensado-López A, Sáinz B, Sánchez L. Modeling Cancer Using Zebrafish Xenografts: Drawbacks for Mimicking the Human Microenvironment. Cells 2020; 9:E1978. [PMID: 32867288 PMCID: PMC7564051 DOI: 10.3390/cells9091978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The first steps towards establishing xenografts in zebrafish embryos were performed by Lee et al., 2005 and Haldi et al., 2006, paving the way for studying human cancers using this animal species. Since then, the xenograft technique has been improved in different ways, ranging from optimizing the best temperature for xenografted embryo incubation, testing different sites for injection of human tumor cells, and even developing tools to study how the host interacts with the injected cells. Nonetheless, a standard protocol for performing xenografts has not been adopted across laboratories, and further research on the temperature, microenvironment of the tumor or the cell-host interactions inside of the embryo during xenografting is still needed. As a consequence, current non-uniform conditions could be affecting experimental results in terms of cell proliferation, invasion, or metastasis; or even overestimating the effects of some chemotherapeutic drugs on xenografted cells. In this review, we highlight and raise awareness regarding the different aspects of xenografting that need to be improved in order to mimic, in a more efficient way, the human tumor microenvironment, resulting in more robust and accurate in vivo results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Cabezas-Sáinz
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (A.P.-L.)
| | - Alba Pensado-López
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (A.P.-L.)
- Genomic Medicine Group, Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Bruno Sáinz
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas “Alberto Sols” CSIC-UAM, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Arzobispo Morcillo 4, 28029 Madrid, Spain;
- Cancer Stem Cell and Fibroinflammatory Microenvironment Group, Chronic Diseases and Cancer Area 3-Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS), 28034 Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Sánchez
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (A.P.-L.)
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27
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Ye S, Liu Y, Fuller AM, Katti R, Ciotti GE, Chor S, Alam MZ, Devalaraja S, Lorent K, Weber K, Haldar M, Pack MA, Eisinger-Mathason TSK. TGFβ and Hippo Pathways Cooperate to Enhance Sarcomagenesis and Metastasis through the Hyaluronan-Mediated Motility Receptor (HMMR). Mol Cancer Res 2020; 18:560-573. [PMID: 31988250 DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-19-0877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Revised: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
High-grade sarcomas are metastatic and pose a serious threat to patient survival. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) is a particularly dangerous and relatively common sarcoma subtype diagnosed in adults. UPS contains large quantities of extracellular matrix (ECM) including hyaluronic acid (HA), which is linked to metastatic potential. Consistent with these observations, expression of the HA receptor, hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR/RHAMM), is tightly controlled in normal tissues and upregulated in UPS. Moreover, HMMR expression correlates with poor clinical outcome in these patients. Deregulation of the tumor-suppressive Hippo pathway is also linked to poor outcome in these patients. YAP1, the transcriptional regulator and central effector of Hippo pathway, is aberrantly stabilized in UPS and was recently shown to control RHAMM expression in breast cancer cells. Interestingly, both YAP1 and RHAMM are linked to TGFβ signaling. Therefore, we investigated crosstalk between YAP1 and TGFβ resulting in enhanced RHAMM-mediated cell migration and invasion. We observed that HMMR expression is under the control of both YAP1 and TGFβ and can be effectively targeted with small-molecule approaches that inhibit these pathways. Furthermore, we found that RHAMM expression promotes tumor cell proliferation and migration/invasion. To test these observations in a robust and quantifiable in vivo system, we developed a zebrafish xenograft assay of metastasis, which is complimentary to our murine studies. Importantly, pharmacologic inhibition of the TGFβ-YAP1-RHAMM axis prevents vascular migration of tumor cells to distant sites. IMPLICATIONS: These studies reveal key metastatic signaling mechanisms and highlight potential approaches to prevent metastatic dissemination in UPS.YAP1 and TGFβ cooperatively enhance proliferation and migration/invasion of UPS and fibrosarcomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Ye
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Ying Liu
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Ashley M Fuller
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Rohan Katti
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Gabrielle E Ciotti
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Susan Chor
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Md Zahidul Alam
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Samir Devalaraja
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Kristin Lorent
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Kristy Weber
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Malay Haldar
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Michael A Pack
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - T S Karin Eisinger-Mathason
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Penn Sarcoma Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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28
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Parish T. In vitro drug discovery models for Mycobacterium tuberculosis relevant for host infection. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2020; 15:349-358. [PMID: 31899974 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2020.1707801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death from infectious disease. Current drug therapy requires a combination of antibiotics taken over >6 months. An urgent need for new agents that can shorten therapy is required. In order to develop new drugs, simple in vitro assays are required that can identify efficacious compounds rapidly and predict in vivo activity in the human.Areas covered: This review focusses on the most relevant in vitro assays that can be utilized in a drug discovery program and which mimic different aspects of infection or disease. The focus is largely on assays used to test >1000s of compounds reliably and robustly. However, some assays used for 10s to 100s of compounds are included where the utility outweighs the low capacity. Literature searches for high throughput screening, models and in vitro assays were undertaken.Expert opinion: Drug discovery and development in tuberculosis is extremely challenging due to the requirement for predicting drug efficacy in a disease with complex pathology in which bacteria exist in heterogeneous states in inaccesible locations. A combination of assays can be used to determine profiles against replicating, non-replicating, intracellular and tolerant bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya Parish
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, USA
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29
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Animal Models of Tuberculosis Vaccine Research: An Important Component in the Fight against Tuberculosis. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2020; 2020:4263079. [PMID: 32025519 PMCID: PMC6984742 DOI: 10.1155/2020/4263079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the top ten infectious diseases worldwide, and is the leading cause of morbidity from a single infectious agent. M. tuberculosis can cause infection in several species of animals in addition to humans as the natural hosts. Although animal models of TB disease cannot completely simulate the occurrence and development of human TB, they play an important role in studying the pathogenesis, immune responses, and pathological changes as well as for vaccine research. This review summarizes the commonly employed animal models, including mouse, guinea pig, rabbit, rat, goat, cattle, and nonhuman primates, and their characteristics as used in TB vaccine research, and provides a basis for selecting appropriate animal models according to specific research needs. Furthermore, some of the newest animal models used for TB vaccine research (such as humanized animal models, zebrafish, Drosophila, and amoeba) are introduced, and their characteristics and research progress are discussed.
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30
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Van Wijk RC, Krekels EHJ, Kantae V, Ordas A, Kreling T, Harms AC, Hankemeier T, Spaink HP, van der Graaf PH. Mechanistic and Quantitative Understanding of Pharmacokinetics in Zebrafish Larvae through Nanoscale Blood Sampling and Metabolite Modeling of Paracetamol. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2019; 371:15-24. [PMID: 31371482 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.119.260299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Zebrafish larvae are increasingly used for pharmacological research, but internal drug exposure is often not measured. Understanding pharmacokinetics is necessary for reliable translation of pharmacological results to higher vertebrates, including humans. Quantification of drug clearance and distribution requires measurements of blood concentrations. Additionally, measuring drug metabolites is of importance to understand clearance in this model organism mechanistically. We therefore mechanistically studied and quantified pharmacokinetics in zebrafish larvae, and compared this to higher vertebrates, using paracetamol (acetaminophen) as a paradigm compound. A method was developed to sample blood from zebrafish larvae 5 days post fertilization. Blood concentrations of paracetamol and its major metabolites, paracetamol-glucuronide and paracetamol-sulfate, were measured. Blood concentration data were combined with measured amounts in larval homogenates and excreted amounts and simultaneously analyzed through nonlinear mixed-effects modeling, quantifying absolute clearance and distribution volume. Blood sampling from zebrafish larvae was most successful from the posterior cardinal vein, with a median volume (interquartile range) of 1.12 nl (0.676-1.66 nl) per blood sample. Samples were pooled (n = 15-35) to reach measurable levels. Paracetamol blood concentrations at steady state were only 10% of the external paracetamol concentration. Paracetamol-sulfate was the major metabolite, and its formation was quantified using a time-dependent metabolic formation rate. Absolute clearance and distribution volume correlated well with reported values in higher vertebrates, including humans. Based on blood concentrations and advanced data analysis, the mechanistic and quantitative understanding of paracetamol pharmacokinetics in zebrafish larvae has been established. This will improve the translational value of this vertebrate model organism in drug discovery and development. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: In early phases of drug development, new compounds are increasingly screened in zebrafish larvae, but the internal drug exposure is often not taken into consideration. We developed innovative experimental and computational methods, including a blood-sampling technique, to measure the paradigm drug paracetamol (acetaminophen) and its major metabolites and quantify pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, elimination) in zebrafish larvae of 5 days post fertilization with a total volume of only 300 nl. These parameter values were scaled to higher vertebrates, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rob C Van Wijk
- Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (R.C.v.W., E.H.J.K., V.K., T.K., A.C.H., T.H., P.H.v.d.G.) and Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden (A.O., H.P.S.), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; and Certara QSP, Canterbury, United Kingdom (P.H.v.d.G.)
| | - Elke H J Krekels
- Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (R.C.v.W., E.H.J.K., V.K., T.K., A.C.H., T.H., P.H.v.d.G.) and Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden (A.O., H.P.S.), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; and Certara QSP, Canterbury, United Kingdom (P.H.v.d.G.)
| | - Vasudev Kantae
- Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (R.C.v.W., E.H.J.K., V.K., T.K., A.C.H., T.H., P.H.v.d.G.) and Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden (A.O., H.P.S.), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; and Certara QSP, Canterbury, United Kingdom (P.H.v.d.G.)
| | - Anita Ordas
- Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (R.C.v.W., E.H.J.K., V.K., T.K., A.C.H., T.H., P.H.v.d.G.) and Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden (A.O., H.P.S.), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; and Certara QSP, Canterbury, United Kingdom (P.H.v.d.G.)
| | - Thijs Kreling
- Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (R.C.v.W., E.H.J.K., V.K., T.K., A.C.H., T.H., P.H.v.d.G.) and Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden (A.O., H.P.S.), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; and Certara QSP, Canterbury, United Kingdom (P.H.v.d.G.)
| | - Amy C Harms
- Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (R.C.v.W., E.H.J.K., V.K., T.K., A.C.H., T.H., P.H.v.d.G.) and Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden (A.O., H.P.S.), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; and Certara QSP, Canterbury, United Kingdom (P.H.v.d.G.)
| | - Thomas Hankemeier
- Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (R.C.v.W., E.H.J.K., V.K., T.K., A.C.H., T.H., P.H.v.d.G.) and Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden (A.O., H.P.S.), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; and Certara QSP, Canterbury, United Kingdom (P.H.v.d.G.)
| | - Herman P Spaink
- Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (R.C.v.W., E.H.J.K., V.K., T.K., A.C.H., T.H., P.H.v.d.G.) and Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden (A.O., H.P.S.), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; and Certara QSP, Canterbury, United Kingdom (P.H.v.d.G.)
| | - Piet H van der Graaf
- Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (R.C.v.W., E.H.J.K., V.K., T.K., A.C.H., T.H., P.H.v.d.G.) and Animal Sciences and Health, Institute of Biology Leiden (A.O., H.P.S.), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; and Certara QSP, Canterbury, United Kingdom (P.H.v.d.G.)
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White DT, Saxena MT, Mumm JS. Let's get small (and smaller): Combining zebrafish and nanomedicine to advance neuroregenerative therapeutics. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2019; 148:344-359. [PMID: 30769046 PMCID: PMC6937731 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2019.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Revised: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Several key attributes of zebrafish make them an ideal model system for the discovery and development of regeneration promoting therapeutics; most notably their robust capacity for self-repair which extends to the central nervous system. Further, by enabling large-scale drug discovery directly in living vertebrate disease models, zebrafish circumvent critical bottlenecks which have driven drug development costs up. This review summarizes currently available zebrafish phenotypic screening platforms, HTS-ready neurodegenerative disease modeling strategies, zebrafish small molecule screens which have succeeded in identifying regeneration promoting compounds and explores how intravital imaging in zebrafish can facilitate comprehensive analysis of nanocarrier biodistribution and pharmacokinetics. Finally, we discuss the benefits and challenges attending the combination of zebrafish and nanoparticle-based drug optimization, highlighting inspiring proof-of-concept studies and looking toward implementation across the drug development community.
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Affiliation(s)
- David T White
- Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Meera T Saxena
- Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA; Luminomics Inc., Baltimore, MD 21286, USA
| | - Jeff S Mumm
- Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
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32
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Pandey G, Westhoff JH, Schaefer F, Gehrig J. A Smart Imaging Workflow for Organ-Specific Screening in a Cystic Kidney Zebrafish Disease Model. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20061290. [PMID: 30875791 PMCID: PMC6471943 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20061290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The zebrafish is being increasingly used in biomedical research and drug discovery to conduct large-scale compound screening. However, there is a lack of accessible methodologies to enable automated imaging and scoring of tissue-specific phenotypes at enhanced resolution. Here, we present the development of an automated imaging pipeline to identify chemical modifiers of glomerular cyst formation in a zebrafish model for human cystic kidney disease. Morpholino-mediated knockdown of intraflagellar transport protein Ift172 in Tg(wt1b:EGFP) embryos was used to induce large glomerular cysts representing a robustly scorable phenotypic readout. Compound-treated embryos were consistently aligned within the cavities of agarose-filled microplates. By interfacing feature detection algorithms with automated microscopy, a smart imaging workflow for detection, centring and zooming in on regions of interests was established, which enabled the automated capturing of standardised higher resolution datasets of pronephric areas. High-content screening datasets were processed and analysed using custom-developed heuristic algorithms implemented in common open-source image analysis software. The workflow enables highly efficient profiling of entire compound libraries and scoring of kidney-specific morphological phenotypes in thousands of zebrafish embryos. The demonstrated toolset covers all the aspects of a complex whole organism screening assay and can be adapted to other organs, specimens or applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gunjan Pandey
- Acquifer is a division of Ditabis, Digital Biomedical Imaging Systems AG, 75179 Pforzheim, Germany.
- Department of Pediatrics I, University Children's Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Jens H Westhoff
- Department of Pediatrics I, University Children's Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Franz Schaefer
- Department of Pediatrics I, University Children's Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Jochen Gehrig
- Acquifer is a division of Ditabis, Digital Biomedical Imaging Systems AG, 75179 Pforzheim, Germany.
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Cordero-Maldonado ML, Perathoner S, van der Kolk KJ, Boland R, Heins-Marroquin U, Spaink HP, Meijer AH, Crawford AD, de Sonneville J. Deep learning image recognition enables efficient genome editing in zebrafish by automated injections. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0202377. [PMID: 30615627 PMCID: PMC6322765 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 12/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the most popular techniques in zebrafish research is microinjection. This is a rapid and efficient way to genetically manipulate early developing embryos, and to introduce microbes, chemical compounds, nanoparticles or tracers at larval stages. Here we demonstrate the development of a machine learning software that allows for microinjection at a trained target site in zebrafish eggs at unprecedented speed. The software is based on the open-source deep-learning library Inception v3. In a first step, the software distinguishes wells containing embryos at one-cell stage from wells to be skipped with an accuracy of 93%. A second step was developed to pinpoint the injection site. Deep learning allows to predict this location on average within 42 μm to manually annotated sites. Using a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), both steps together take less than 100 milliseconds. We first tested our system by injecting a morpholino into the middle of the yolk and found that the automated injection efficiency is as efficient as manual injection (~ 80%). Next, we tested both CRISPR/Cas9 and DNA construct injections into the zygote and obtained a comparable efficiency to that of an experienced experimentalist. Combined with a higher throughput, this results in a higher yield. Hence, the automated injection of CRISPR/Cas9 will allow high-throughput applications to knock out and knock in relevant genes to study their mechanisms or pathways of interest in diverse areas of biomedical research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Simon Perathoner
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | | | - Ralf Boland
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Ursula Heins-Marroquin
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Herman P. Spaink
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | - Alexander D. Crawford
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
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Rosowski EE, Knox BP, Archambault LS, Huttenlocher A, Keller NP, Wheeler RT, Davis JM. The Zebrafish as a Model Host for Invasive Fungal Infections. J Fungi (Basel) 2018; 4:jof4040136. [PMID: 30551557 PMCID: PMC6308935 DOI: 10.3390/jof4040136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The zebrafish has become a widely accepted model host for studies of infectious disease, including fungal infections. The species is genetically tractable, and the larvae are transparent and amenable to prolonged in vivo imaging and small molecule screening. The aim of this review is to provide a thorough introduction into the published studies of fungal infection in the zebrafish and the specific ways in which this model has benefited the field. In doing so, we hope to provide potential new zebrafish researchers with a snapshot of the current toolbox and prior results, while illustrating how the model has been used well and where the unfulfilled potential of this model can be found.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily E Rosowski
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53716, USA.
| | - Benjamin P Knox
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53716, USA.
| | - Linda S Archambault
- Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA.
| | - Anna Huttenlocher
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53716, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA.
| | - Nancy P Keller
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53716, USA.
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
| | - Robert T Wheeler
- Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA.
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA.
| | - J Muse Davis
- Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
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Lin QH, Qu W, Xu J, Feng F, He MF. 1-Methoxycarbony-β-carboline from Picrasma quassioides exerts anti-angiogenic properties in HUVECs in vitro and zebrafish embryos in vivo. Chin J Nat Med 2018; 16:599-609. [PMID: 30197125 DOI: 10.1016/s1875-5364(18)30097-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Angiogenesis is a crucial process in the development of inflammatory diseases, including cancer, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. Recently, several alkaloids from Picrasma quassioides had been screened for angiogenic activity in the zebrafish model, and the results indicated that 1-methoxycarbony-β-carboline (MCC) could effectively inhibit blood vessel formation. In this study, we further confirmed that MCC can inhibit, in a concentration-dependent manner, the viability, migration, invasion, and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro, as well as the regenerative vascular outgrowth of zebrafish caudal fin in vivo. In the zebrafish xenograft assay, MCC inhibited the growth of tumor masses and the metastatic transplanted DU145 tumor cells. The proteome profile array of the MCC-treated HUVECs showed that MCC could down-regulate several angiogenesis-related self-secreted proteins, including ANG, EGF, bFGF, GRO, IGF-1, PLG and MMP-1. In addition, the expression of two key membrane receptor proteins in angiogenesis, TIE-2 and uPAR, were also down-regulated after MCC treatment. Taken together, these results shed light on the potential therapeutic application of MCC as a potent natural angiogenesis inhibitor via multiple molecular targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing-Hua Lin
- Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Wei Qu
- Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Jian Xu
- Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Feng Feng
- Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China; Key Laboratory of Biomedical Functional Materials, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China.
| | - Ming-Fang He
- Institute of Translational Medicine, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211800, China.
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36
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Stuelten CH, Parent CA, Montell DJ. Cell motility in cancer invasion and metastasis: insights from simple model organisms. Nat Rev Cancer 2018; 18:296-312. [PMID: 29546880 PMCID: PMC6790333 DOI: 10.1038/nrc.2018.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 312] [Impact Index Per Article: 52.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Metastasis remains the greatest challenge in the clinical management of cancer. Cell motility is a fundamental and ancient cellular behaviour that contributes to metastasis and is conserved in simple organisms. In this Review, we evaluate insights relevant to human cancer that are derived from the study of cell motility in non-mammalian model organisms. Dictyostelium discoideum, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster and Danio rerio permit direct observation of cells moving in complex native environments and lend themselves to large-scale genetic and pharmacological screening. We highlight insights derived from each of these organisms, including the detailed signalling network that governs chemotaxis towards chemokines; a novel mechanism of basement membrane invasion; the positive role of E-cadherin in collective direction-sensing; the identification and optimization of kinase inhibitors for metastatic thyroid cancer on the basis of work in flies; and the value of zebrafish for live imaging, especially of vascular remodelling and interactions between tumour cells and host tissues. While the motility of tumour cells and certain host cells promotes metastatic spread, the motility of tumour-reactive T cells likely increases their antitumour effects. Therefore, it is important to elucidate the mechanisms underlying all types of cell motility, with the ultimate goal of identifying combination therapies that will increase the motility of beneficial cells and block the spread of harmful cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina H. Stuelten
- Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Carole A. Parent
- Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Michigan Medicine, Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- ;
| | - Denise J. Montell
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- ;
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Clatworthy AE, Romano KP, Hung DT. Whole-organism phenotypic screening for anti-infectives promoting host health. Nat Chem Biol 2018; 14:331-341. [PMID: 29556098 PMCID: PMC9843822 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-018-0018-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
To date, antibiotics have been identified on the basis of their ability to kill bacteria or inhibit their growth rather than directly for their capacity to improve clinical outcomes of infected patients. Although historically successful, this approach has led to the development of an antibiotic armamentarium that suffers from a number of shortcomings, including the inevitable emergence of resistance and, in certain infections, suboptimal efficacy leading to long treatment durations, infection recurrence, or high mortality and morbidity rates despite apparent bacterial sterilization. Conventional antibiotics fail to address the complexities of in vivo bacterial physiology and virulence, as well as the role of the host underlying the complex, dynamic interactions that cause disease. New interventions are needed, aimed at host outcome rather than microbiological cure. Here we review the role of screening models for cellular and whole-organism infection, including worms, flies, zebrafish, and mice, to identify novel therapeutic strategies and discuss their future implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne E. Clatworthy
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA,Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Keith P. Romano
- Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA,Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Deborah T. Hung
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA,Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA,Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to D.T.H.
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Cabezas-Sainz P, Guerra-Varela J, Carreira MJ, Mariscal J, Roel M, Rubiolo JA, Sciara AA, Abal M, Botana LM, López R, Sánchez L. Improving zebrafish embryo xenotransplantation conditions by increasing incubation temperature and establishing a proliferation index with ZFtool. BMC Cancer 2018; 18:3. [PMID: 29291719 PMCID: PMC5748948 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-017-3919-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2016] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a model organism that has emerged as a tool for cancer research, cancer being the second most common cause of death after cardiovascular disease for humans in the developed world. Zebrafish is a useful model for xenotransplantation of human cancer cells and toxicity studies of different chemotherapeutic compounds in vivo. Compared to the murine model, the zebrafish model is faster, can be screened using high-throughput methods and has a lower maintenance cost, making it possible and affordable to create personalized therapies. While several methods for cell proliferation determination based on image acquisition and quantification have been developed, some drawbacks still remain. In the xenotransplantation technique, quantification of cellular proliferation in vivo is critical to standardize the process for future preclinical applications of the model. METHODS This study improved the conditions of the xenotransplantation technique - quantification of cellular proliferation in vivo was performed through image processing with our ZFtool software and optimization of temperature in order to standardize the process for a future preclinical applications. ZFtool was developed to establish a base threshold that eliminates embryo auto-fluorescence and measures the area of marked cells (GFP) and the intensity of those cells to define a 'proliferation index'. RESULTS The analysis of tumor cell proliferation at different temperatures (34 °C and 36 °C) in comparison to in vitro cell proliferation provides of a better proliferation rate, achieved as expected at 36°, a maintenance temperature not demonstrated up to now. The mortality of the embryos remained between 5% and 15%. 5- Fluorouracil was tested for 2 days, dissolved in the incubation medium, in order to quantify the reduction of the tumor mass injected. In almost all of the embryos incubated at 36 °C and incubated with 5-Fluorouracil, there was a significant tumor cell reduction compared with the control group. This was not the case at 34 °C. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that the proliferation of the injected cells is better at 36 °C and that this temperature is the most suitable for testing chemotherapeutic drugs like the 5-Fluorouracil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Cabezas-Sainz
- Departament of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Jorge Guerra-Varela
- Departament of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - María J Carreira
- Investigation Center of Information Technologies (CiTIUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Javier Mariscal
- Translational Laboratory, Medical Oncology Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela/SERGAS, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - María Roel
- Department of Pharmacology, Veterinary Faculty, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Juan A Rubiolo
- Departament of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Andrés A Sciara
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Institute of Rosario (IBR-COCINET) - Biochemistry and Pharmaceutics Science Faculty, National Rosario University, Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Miguel Abal
- Translational Laboratory, Medical Oncology Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela/SERGAS, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Luis M Botana
- Department of Pharmacology, Veterinary Faculty, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Rafael López
- Translational Laboratory, Medical Oncology Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela/SERGAS, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Laura Sánchez
- Departament of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain.
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Live Fluorescent Staining Platform for Drug-Screening and Mechanism-Analysis in Zebrafish for Bone Mineralization. Molecules 2017; 22:molecules22122068. [PMID: 29186901 PMCID: PMC6149919 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22122068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2017] [Revised: 11/10/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Currently, drug screening relies on cell-based experiments or on animal models to confirm biological effects. The mammalian system is considered too time-consuming, expensive and complex to perform high-throughput drug screening. There is a gap between in vitro cell-based models and the in vivo mammalian models. The zebrafish is an ideal model that could link preclinical toxicity screening with the drug development pipeline. Taking advantage of a highly conservative genomic, rapid development, large number of offspring, low cost and easy manipulation, zebrafish has been considered an excellent animal model for disease-based drug screening. In this study, zebrafish embryos were incubated with small molecular compounds that potentially affected bone mineralization in microplates. Two compounds of alendronate and dorsomorphin were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The level of osteogenic mineralization was measured and quantified by using ImageJ software with fluorescent calcein-staining images. Among twenty-four tested compounds from the kinase inhibitor library, we identified two compounds, pentamidine and BML-267, which showed increased embryonic mineralization; while six compounds, RWJ-60475, levamisole HCL, tetramisole HCL, fenvalerate, NSC-663284, and BML-267ester, were inhibitory to bone mineralization. In addition, real time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed to evaluate the biological pathways involved in bone metabolism at the molecular level. We confirmed that alendronate enhanced the level of bone mineralization by inhibiting osteoclast-related genes. In summary, our research established a simple method to screen potential bone metabolic drugs and to perform mechanism analysis for bone mineralization in vivo.
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Xu W, Foster BA, Richards M, Bondioli KR, Shah G, Green CC. Characterization of prostate cancer cell progression in zebrafish xenograft model. Int J Oncol 2017; 52:252-260. [PMID: 29115578 PMCID: PMC5743385 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2017.4189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Early diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) is critical for the application of efficient treatment to PCa patients. However, the majority of PCas remains indolent from several months to several years before malignancy. Current diagnosis methods have limitations in their reliability and are inefficient in time cost. Thus, an efficient in vivo PCa cell xenograft model is highly desired for diagnostic studies in PCas. In the present study we present a standardized procedure to create a PCa cell xenograft model using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as the host. PC3-CTR cells, a cell line from adenocarcinoma with stable expression of calcitonin receptor (CRT), were subcutaneously injected into zebrafish larvae at 48 h post fertilization. The nursing conditions for the larvae were optimized with stable survival rates of post hatch and post PC3-CTR cell injection. In this system, the progression of PC3-CTR cells in vivo was evaluated by migration and proliferation of the cells. Massive migrations of PC3 cells in vivo were observed at post injection day (PID)3. The injected PC3-CTR cells eventually invaded the whole larval zebrafish at PID5. Quantification of PC3-CTR cell proliferation was done using quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis targeting the expression profiles of two PCa housekeeping genes, TATA-binding protein (TBP) and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase 1 (HPRT1) encoding genes. The excessive proliferation of PC3 cells in vivo was detected with both qPCR assays. Expression levels of one non-coding gene, prostate cancer associated 3 gene (pca3), and two other genes encoding transient receptor potential ion channel Melastatin 8 (trpm8) and prostate-specific membrane antigen (psma), showed a significantly enhanced aggressiveness of PC3-CTR cells in vivo. The model established in the present study provides an improved in vivo model for the diagnosis of PCas efficiently. This PCa cell xenograft model can also serve as a tool for high throughput anti-PCa drug screening in therapeutic treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Xu
- Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Brittany A Foster
- Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | | | | | - Girish Shah
- School of Pharmacy, University of Louisiana, Monroe, LA 71201, USA
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Docosahexaenoic Acid Modulates Invasion and Metastasis of Human Ovarian Cancer via Multiple Molecular Pathways. Int J Gynecol Cancer 2017; 26:994-1003. [PMID: 27258728 PMCID: PMC4920273 DOI: 10.1097/igc.0000000000000746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We investigated the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells (A2780, HO8910, and SKOV-3). METHODS Cytotoxicity assay was performed to determine the optimal doses of DHA in this experiment. The effects of DHA on invasion ability were assessed by invasion assay. The expressions of messenger RNA and/or proteins associated with invasion or metastasis were detected by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction or Western blot. The effect of DHA on cell metastasis was assessed in xenograft model of zebrafish. RESULTS Docosahexaenoic acid and α-linolenic acid could reduce the cell vitalities in dose-dependent manner. However, DHA inhibited the invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells, but α-linolenic acid did not (**P < 0.01). Docosahexaenoic acid could downregulate the expressions of WAVE3, vascular endothelial cell growth factor, and MMP-9, and upregulate KISS-1, TIMP-1, and PPAR-γ, which negatively correlated with cell invasion and metastasis (*P < 0.05). Docosahexaenoic acid restrained the development of subintestinal vessels and cancer cell metastasis in xenograft model of zebrafish (**P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Docosahexaenoic acid inhibited the invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo through the modulation of NF-κB signaling pathway, suggesting that DHA is a promising candidate for ovarian cancer therapy.
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García-Caballero M, Quesada AR, Medina MA, Marí-Beffa M. Fishing anti(lymph)angiogenic drugs with zebrafish. Drug Discov Today 2017; 23:366-374. [PMID: 29081356 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2017.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2017] [Revised: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Zebrafish, an amenable small teleost fish with a complex mammal-like circulatory system, is being increasingly used for drug screening and toxicity studies. It combines the biological complexity of in vivo models with a higher-throughput screening capability compared with other available animal models. Externally growing, transparent embryos, displaying well-defined blood and lymphatic vessels, allow the inexpensive, rapid, and automatable evaluation of drug candidates that are able to inhibit neovascularisation. Here, we briefly review zebrafish as a model for the screening of anti(lymph)angiogenic drugs, with emphasis on the advantages and limitations of the different zebrafish-based in vivo assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa García-Caballero
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, and IBIMA (Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga), University of Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain; Unit 741 of CIBER de Enfermedades Raras, Málaga, Spain
| | - Ana R Quesada
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, and IBIMA (Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga), University of Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain; Unit 741 of CIBER de Enfermedades Raras, Málaga, Spain
| | - Miguel A Medina
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, and IBIMA (Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga), University of Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain; Unit 741 of CIBER de Enfermedades Raras, Málaga, Spain.
| | - Manuel Marí-Beffa
- Department of Cellular Biology, Genetics and Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Málaga, Málaga, Spain; CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Málaga, Spain.
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Veneman WJ, Spaink HP, Brun NR, Bosker T, Vijver MG. Pathway analysis of systemic transcriptome responses to injected polystyrene particles in zebrafish larvae. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2017; 190:112-120. [PMID: 28704660 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2017.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2017] [Revised: 06/15/2017] [Accepted: 06/16/2017] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics are a contaminant of emergent concern in the environment, however, to date there is a limited understanding on their movement within organisms and the response of organisms. In the current study zebrafish embryos at different development stages were exposed to 700nm fluorescent polystyrene (PS) particles and the response pathway after exposure was investigated using imaging and transcriptomics. Our results show limited spreading of particles within the larvae after injection during the blastula stage. This is in contrast to injection of PS particles in the yolk of 2-day old embryos, which resulted in redistribution of the PS particles throughout the bloodstream, and accumulation in the heart region. Although injection was local, the transcriptome profiling showed strong responses of zebrafish embryos exposed to PS particle, indicating a systemic response. We found several biological pathways activated which are related to an immune response in the PS exposed zebrafish larvae. Most notably the complement system was enriched as indicated by upregulation of genes in the alternative complement pathway (e.g. cfhl3, cfhl4, cfb and c9). The fact that complement pathway is activated indicates that plastic microparticles are integrated in immunological recognition processes. This was supported by fluorescence microscopy results, in which we observed co-localisation of neutrophils and macrophages around the PS particles. Identifying these key events can be a first building block to the development of an adverse outcome pathway (AOP). These data subsequently can be used within ecological and human risk assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter J Veneman
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Herman P Spaink
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Nadja R Brun
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Thijs Bosker
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden University College, Leiden University, P.O. Box 13228, 2501 EE, The Hague, The Netherlands.
| | - Martina G Vijver
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Zhang X, Stockhammer OW, de Boer L, Vischer NOE, Spaink HP, Grijpma DW, Zaat SAJ. The zebrafish embryo as a model to quantify early inflammatory cell responses to biomaterials. J Biomed Mater Res A 2017; 105:2522-2532. [PMID: 28509403 DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.36110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2017] [Revised: 05/04/2017] [Accepted: 05/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
To rapidly assess early inflammatory cell responses provoked by biomaterials in the full complexity of the living organism, we developed a zebrafish embryo model which allows real time analysis of these responses to biomaterial microspheres. Fluorescently labeled microspheres with different properties were injected into embryos of selected transgenic zebrafish lines expressing distinct fluorescent proteins in their neutrophils and macrophages. Recruitment of leukocytes and their interactions with microspheres were monitored using fluorescence microscopy. We developed a novel method using ImageJ and the plugin ObjectJ project file "Zebrafish-Immunotest" for rapid and semi-automated fluorescence quantification of the cellular responses. In the embryo model we observed an ordered inflammatory cell response to polystyrene and poly (ε-caprolactone) microspheres, similar to that described for mammalian animal models. The responses were characterized by an early infiltration of neutrophils followed by macrophages, and subsequent differentially timed migration of these cells away from the microspheres. The size of microspheres (10 and 15 µm) did not influence the cellular responses. Poly (ε-caprolactone) microspheres provoked a stronger infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages than polystyrene microspheres did. Our study shows the potential usefulness of zebrafish embryos for in vivo evaluation of biomaterial-associated inflammatory cell responses. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 2522-2532, 2017.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolin Zhang
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, Amsterdam, 1105AZ, The Netherlands.,MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, Department of Biomaterials Science and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, AE, 7500, The Netherlands
| | - Oliver W Stockhammer
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, Amsterdam, 1105AZ, The Netherlands
| | - Leonie de Boer
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, Amsterdam, 1105AZ, The Netherlands
| | - Norbert O E Vischer
- Bacterial Cell Biology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Herman P Spaink
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, PO Box 9502, Leiden, RA, 2300, The Netherlands
| | - Dirk W Grijpma
- MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, Department of Biomaterials Science and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, AE, 7500, The Netherlands.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, W.J.Kolff Institute, Groningen, AD, 7600, The Netherlands
| | - Sebastian A J Zaat
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, Amsterdam, 1105AZ, The Netherlands
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Zhuang S, Lin W, Zhong J, Zhang G, Li L, Qiu J, Gao H. Visual Servoed Three-Dimensional Rotation Control in Zebrafish Larva Heart Microinjection System. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2017; 65:64-73. [PMID: 28422649 DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2017.2688375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Zebrafish larva heart microinjection is a widely used technique in cardiac disease study. Compared with intensively researched rotation control of spherical or nearly spherical targets with clear structures, such as cells and embryos, 3-D rotation control of zebrafish larva demands new techniques due to its nontransparent structures and irregular outlines. METHODS In this paper, we present a vision-servo system to automate the rotation process of zebrafish larva body. A switched control strategy is adopted to rotate zebrafish larva about the optical axis by using two micropipettes. Precisely rolling about larva body is performed, which involves a custom-designed rotational micromanipulator. A vision detection and online tracking algorithm is also developed to meet the requirement of visual servoing. With designed rotation control strategy, zebrafish larva heart can be adjusted to a desired orientation, which is often towards the injection pipette tip. RESULTS Experimental results show that the designed system is capable of achieving high success rate of 94% about -axis rotation and 100% about -axis with 50 trails. The system also performs an average speed of 44 s/larva with a satisfied rotation accuracy of 0.5 in the horizontal plane and 2.5 about its roll axis. CONCLUSION The proposed strategy is effective in flexibly manipulating larvae in 3-D. SIGNIFICANCE The developed 3-D rotation control scheme is able to be applied to injection of various organs in zebrafish larva body for different experimental requirements.
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46
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Modelling viral infections using zebrafish: Innate immune response and antiviral research. Antiviral Res 2017; 139:59-68. [DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2016.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Nguyen XB, Kislyuk S, Pham DH, Kecskés A, Maes J, Cabooter D, Annaert P, De Witte P, Ny A. Cell Imaging Counting as a Novel Ex Vivo Approach for Investigating Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Zebrafish Larvae. Int J Mol Sci 2017; 18:E356. [PMID: 28208716 PMCID: PMC5343891 DOI: 10.3390/ijms18020356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2016] [Revised: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 02/03/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is the most common reason for failures during the drug development process and for safety-related withdrawal of drugs from the pharmaceutical market. Therefore, having tools and techniques that can detect hepatotoxic properties in drug candidates at an early discovery stage is highly desirable. In this study, cell imaging counting was used to measure in a fast, straightforward, and unbiased way the effect of paracetamol and tetracycline, (compounds known to cause hepatotoxicity in humans) on the amount of DsRed-labeled hepatocytes recovered by protease digestion from Tg(fabp10a:DsRed) transgenic zebrafish. The outcome was in general comparable with the results obtained using two reference methods, i.e., visual analysis of liver morphology by fluorescence microscopy and size analysis of fluorescent 2D liver images. In addition, our study shows that administering compounds into the yolk is relevant in the framework of hepatotoxicity testing. Taken together, cell imaging counting provides a novel and rapid tool for screening hepatotoxicants in early stages of drug development. This method is also suitable for testing of other organ-related toxicities subject to the organs and tissues expressing fluorescent proteins in transgenic zebrafish lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan-Bac Nguyen
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, O & N II Herestraat 49-box 824, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Stanislav Kislyuk
- Division Pharmaceutical Analysis, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, O & N II Herestraat 49-box 923, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Duc-Hung Pham
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, O & N II Herestraat 49-box 824, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Angela Kecskés
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, O & N II Herestraat 49-box 824, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Jan Maes
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, O & N II Herestraat 49-box 824, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Deirdre Cabooter
- Division Pharmaceutical Analysis, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, O & N II Herestraat 49-box 923, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Pieter Annaert
- Drug Delivery and Disposition, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, O & N II Herestraat 49-box 921, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Peter De Witte
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, O & N II Herestraat 49-box 824, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Annelii Ny
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, O & N II Herestraat 49-box 824, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
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Zhang Y, Liu H, Yao J, Huang Y, Qin S, Sun Z, Xu Y, Wan S, Cheng H, Li C, Zhang X, Ke Y. Manipulating the air-filled zebrafish swim bladder as a neutrophilic inflammation model for acute lung injury. Cell Death Dis 2016; 7:e2470. [PMID: 27831560 PMCID: PMC5260887 DOI: 10.1038/cddis.2016.365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2016] [Revised: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Acute lung injury (ALI) and its more severe form, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), are life-threatening diseases that are associated with high mortality rates due to treatment limitations. Neutrophils play key roles in the pathogenesis of ALI/ARDS by promoting the inflammation and injury of the alveolar microenvironment. To date, in vivo functional approaches have been limited by the inaccessibility to the alveolar sacs, which are located at the anatomical terminal of the respiratory duct in mammals. We are the first to characterize the swim bladder of the zebrafish larva, which is similar to the mammalian lung, as a real-time in vivo model for examining pulmonary neutrophil infiltration during ALI. We observed that the delivery of exogenous materials, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Poly IC and silica nanoparticles, by microinjection triggered significant time- and dose-dependent neutrophil recruitment into the swim bladder. Neutrophils infiltrated the LPS-injected swim bladder through the blood capillaries around the pneumatic duct or a site near the pronephric duct. An increase in the post-LPS inflammatory cytokine mRNA levels coincided with the in vivo neutrophil aggregation in the swim bladder. Microscopic examinations of the LPS-injected swim bladders further revealed in situ injuries, including epithelial distortion, endoplasmic reticulum swelling and mitochondrial injuries. Inhibitor screening assays with this model showed a reduction in neutrophil migration into the LPS-injected swim bladder in response to Shp2 inhibition. Moreover, the pharmacological suppression and targeted disruption of Shp2 in myeloid cells alleviated pulmonary inflammation in the LPS-induced ALI mouse model. Additionally, we used this model to assess pneumonia-induced neutrophil recruitment by microinjecting bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients into swim bladders; this injection enhanced neutrophil aggregation relative to the control. In conclusion, our findings highlight the swim bladder as a promising and powerful model for mechanistic and drug screening studies of alveolar injuries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuefei Zhang
- Research Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Program in Molecular Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Hongcui Liu
- Hunter Biotechnology Corporation, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Junlin Yao
- Research Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Program in Molecular Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yanfeng Huang
- Hunter Biotechnology Corporation, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Shenlu Qin
- Research Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Program in Molecular Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Zheng Sun
- Research Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Program in Molecular Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yingchun Xu
- Department of Pulmonology, Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, China
| | - Shu Wan
- Department of Neurosurgery, The 1st Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, China
| | - Hongqiang Cheng
- Research Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Program in Molecular Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Chunqi Li
- Hunter Biotechnology Corporation, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Xue Zhang
- Research Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Program in Molecular Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Yuehai Ke
- Research Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Program in Molecular Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou 310003, China
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Gabrieli P, Scolari F. Delivery of Nucleic Acids through Embryo Microinjection in the Worldwide Agricultural Pest Insect, Ceratitis capitata. J Vis Exp 2016. [PMID: 27768087 DOI: 10.3791/54528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a pest species with extremely high agricultural relevance. This is due to its reproductive behavior: females damage the external surface of fruits and vegetables when they lay eggs and the hatched larvae feed on their pulp. Wild C. capitata populations are traditionally controlled through insecticide spraying and/or eco-friendly approaches, the most successful being the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). The SIT relies on mass-rearing, radiation-based sterilization and field release of males that retain their capacity to mate but are not able to generate fertile progeny. The advent and the subsequent rapid development of biotechnological tools, together with the availability of the medfly genome sequence, has greatly boosted our understanding of the biology of this species. This favored the proliferation of new strategies for genome manipulation, which can be applied to population control. In this context, embryo microinjection plays a dual role in expanding the toolbox for medfly control. The ability to interfere with the function of genes that regulate key biological processes, indeed, expands our understanding of the molecular machinery underlying medfly invasiveness. Furthermore, the ability to achieve germ-line transformation facilitates the production of multiple transgenic strains that can be tested for future field applications in novel SIT settings. Indeed, genetic manipulation can be used to confer desirable traits that can, for example, be used to monitor sterile male performance in the field, or that can result in early life-stage lethality. Here we describe a method to microinject nucleic acids into medfly embryos to achieve these two main goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Gabrieli
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia
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Zebrafish Models of Human Leukemia: Technological Advances and Mechanistic Insights. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2016; 916:335-69. [PMID: 27165361 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-30654-4_15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Insights concerning leukemic pathophysiology have been acquired in various animal models and further efforts to understand the mechanisms underlying leukemic treatment resistance and disease relapse promise to improve therapeutic strategies. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a vertebrate organism with a conserved hematopoietic program and unique experimental strengths suiting it for the investigation of human leukemia. Recent technological advances in zebrafish research including efficient transgenesis, precise genome editing, and straightforward transplantation techniques have led to the generation of a number of leukemia models. The transparency of the zebrafish when coupled with improved lineage-tracing and imaging techniques has revealed exquisite details of leukemic initiation, progression, and regression. With these advantages, the zebrafish represents a unique experimental system for leukemic research and additionally, advances in zebrafish-based high-throughput drug screening promise to hasten the discovery of novel leukemia therapeutics. To date, investigators have accumulated knowledge of the genetic underpinnings critical to leukemic transformation and treatment resistance and without doubt, zebrafish are rapidly expanding our understanding of disease mechanisms and helping to shape therapeutic strategies for improved outcomes in leukemic patients.
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