Zebrafish models of sarcopenia.

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Gerontology
• Developmental Biology

Background:

• Sarcopenia, an under-diagnosed condition of age-related muscle mass and function loss, significantly impacts mobility and frailty in older adults.
• Current treatment options for sarcopenia are limited, despite its major phenotypes being highly heritable.
• Recent genome-wide association studies have identified numerous candidate genes for muscle traits, but their functions remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the utility of small teleost fish models in advancing the understanding of human skeletal muscle in health and disease.
• To provide a foundation of zebrafish skeletal muscle morphology and physiology, highlighting conserved genetic features.
• To discuss challenges in interpreting fish mutant phenotypes and translating findings to human sarcopenia.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on small teleost fish (zebrafish, medaka, killifish) as models for skeletal muscle research.
• Analysis of genetic and physiological conservation between fish and humans relevant to muscle function.
• Examination of genomic tools and challenges in applying them to sarcopenia research.

Main Results:

• Small teleost fish possess conserved genetic and physiological features making them valuable models for skeletal muscle genomics.
• These models offer amenability to rapid genetic manipulation, facilitating the study of gene function.
• Evidence supports their utility in identifying mechanisms underlying muscle traits and diseases like sarcopenia.

Conclusions:

• Small fish models are indispensable tools for accelerating the understanding of human skeletal muscle biology and sarcopenia.
• Further development and application of these models are recommended for genomic exploration in sarcopenia.
• Leveraging fish models can bridge the gap between genetic discoveries and the development of novel interventions for sarcopenia.