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Zebrafish as a genetic model in pre-clinical drug testing and screening
journal contribution
posted on 2013-01-01, 00:00 authored by Y Gibert, Monique Trengove, Alister WardAlister WardThe traditional drug discovery pipeline for the identification and development of compounds that selectively target specific molecules to ameliorate disease remains a major focus for medical research. However, the zebrafish is increasingly providing alternative strategies for various components of this pipeline. Zebrafish and their embryos are small, easily accessible and relatively low cost, making them applicable to high-throughput, small molecule screening. Zebrafish can also be manipulated by a range of forward and reverse genetics techniques to facilitate gene discovery and functional studies. Moreover, their physiological and developmental complexity provides accurate models of human disease to underpin mechanism of action and in vivo validation studies. Finally, several of these biological characteristics make zebrafish eminently suitable for toxicity testing, including eco-toxicology. Here we review the application of zebrafish to preclinical drug development and toxicity testing, including recent advances in mutant generation, drug screening and toxicology that serve to further enhance the capabilities of this valuable model organism in drug discovery.
History
Journal
Current Medicinal ChemistryVolume
20Issue
19Pagination
2458 - 2466Publisher
Bentham Science PublishersLocation
Hilversum, NetherlandsISSN
0929-8673eISSN
1875-533XLanguage
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2013, Bentham Science PublishersUsage metrics
Categories
Keywords
ZebrafishDrug discoveryDrug testingLarge-scale screenChemical geneticsPre-clinical studiesScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineBiochemistry & Molecular BiologyChemistry, MedicinalPharmacology & PharmacyINSERTIONAL MUTAGENESISSMALL MOLECULESMUTATIONSVERTEBRATEDISEASEPATHWAYSHEMATOPOIESISTRANSGENESISGENERATIONEXPRESSION