Skeletal Biology and Disease Modeling in Zebrafish

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Zebrafish are teleosts (bony fish) that share with mammals a common ancestor belonging to the phylum Osteichthyes, from which their endoskeletal systems have been inherited. Indeed, teleosts and mammals have numerous genetically conserved features in terms of skeletal elements, ossification mechanisms, and bone matrix components in common. Yet differences related to bone morphology and function need to be considered when investigating zebrafish in skeletal research. In this review, we focus on zebrafish skeletal architecture with emphasis on the morphology of the vertebral column and associated anatomical structures. We provide an overview of the different ossification types and osseous cells in zebrafish and describe bone matrix composition at the microscopic tissue level with a focus on assessing mineralization. Processes of bone formation also strongly depend on loading in zebrafish, as we elaborate here. Furthermore, we illustrate the high regenerative capacity of zebrafish bones and present some of the technological advantages of using zebrafish as a model. We highlight zebrafish axial and fin skeleton patterning mechanisms, metabolic bone disease such as after immunosuppressive glucocorticoid treatment, as well as osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) and osteopetrosis research in zebrafish. We conclude with a view of why larval zebrafish xenografts are a powerful tool to study bone metastasis. © 2021 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)436-458
Number of pages23
JournalJournal of Bone and Mineral Research
Volume36
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85100980642
ORCID /0000-0002-0420-7477/work/142250383

Keywords

Keywords

  • Animals, Biology, Bone and Bones, Osteogenesis, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Zebrafish, Zebrafish Proteins