Zebrafish as a model vertebrate for investigating chemical toxicity

Toxicol Sci. 2005 Jul;86(1):6-19. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfi110. Epub 2005 Feb 9.

Abstract

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been a prominent model vertebrate in a variety of biological disciplines. Substantial information gathered from developmental and genetic research, together with near-completion of the zebrafish genome project, has placed zebrafish in an attractive position for use as a toxicological model. Although still in its infancy, there is a clear potential for zebrafish to provide valuable new insights into chemical toxicity, drug discovery, and human disease using recent advances in forward and reverse genetic techniques coupled with large-scale, high-throughput screening. Here we present an overview of the rapidly increasing use of zebrafish in toxicology. Advantages of the zebrafish both in identifying endpoints of toxicity and in elucidating mechanisms of toxicity are highlighted.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Models, Animal*
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Toxicity Tests*
  • Zebrafish / embryology
  • Zebrafish / genetics