Using zebrafish in systems toxicology for developmental toxicity testing.
Yuhei Nishimura, Atsuto Inoue, Shota Sasagawa, Junko Koiwa, Koki Kawaguchi, Reiko Kawase, Toru Maruyama, Soonih Kim, Toshio Tanaka
Author Information
Yuhei Nishimura: Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacoinformatics, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Mie.
Atsuto Inoue: Ono Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd, Osaka, Japan.
Shota Sasagawa: Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacoinformatics, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Mie.
Junko Koiwa: Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacoinformatics, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Mie.
Koki Kawaguchi: Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacoinformatics, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Mie.
Reiko Kawase: Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacoinformatics, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Mie.
Toru Maruyama: Ono Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd, Osaka, Japan.
Soonih Kim: Ono Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd, Osaka, Japan.
Toshio Tanaka: Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacoinformatics, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Mie.
With the high cost and the long-term assessment of developmental toxicity testing in mammals, the vertebrate zebrafish has become a useful alternative model organism for high-throughput developmental toxicity testing. zebrafish is also very favorable for the 3R perspective in toxicology; however, the methodologies used by research groups vary greatly, posing considerable challenges to integrative analysis. In this review, we discuss zebrafish developmental toxicity testing, focusing on the methods of chemical exposure, the assessment of morphological abnormalities, housing conditions and their effects on the production of healthy embryos, and future directions. zebrafish as a systems toxicology model has the potential to elucidate developmental toxicity pathways, and to provide a sound basis for human health risk assessments.
