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Updated: Nov 25, 2025
A Doxorubicin-induced Cardiomyopathy Model in Adult Zebrafish
Published on: June 7, 2018
Modeling Inherited Cardiomyopathies in Adult Zebrafish for Precision Medicine
Yonghe Ding1,2, Haisong Bu1,2,3, Xiaolei Xu1,2
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States.
Abstract:
Cardiomyopathies are a highly heterogeneous group of heart muscle disorders. More than 100 causative genes have been linked to various cardiomyopathies, which explain about half of familial cardiomyopathy cases. More than a dozen candidate therapeutic signaling pathways have been identified; however, precision medicine is not being used to treat the various types of cardiomyopathy because knowledge is lacking for how to tailor treatment plans for different genetic causes. Adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) have a higher throughout than rodents and are an emerging vertebrate model for studying cardiomyopathy. Herein, we review progress in the past decade that has proven the feasibility of this simple vertebrate for modeling inherited cardiomyopathies of distinct etiology, identifying effective therapeutic strategies for a particular type of cardiomyopathy, and discovering new cardiomyopathy genes or new therapeutic strategies via a forward genetic approach. On the basis of this progress, we discuss future research that would benefit from integrating this emerging model, including discovery of remaining causative genes and development of genotype-based therapies. Studies using this efficient vertebrate model are anticipated to significantly accelerate the implementation of precision medicine for inherited cardiomyopathies.
Insights
Adult zebrafish models are advancing precision medicine for cardiomyopathies. This review highlights their success in identifying disease genes and therapies, paving the way for genotype-based treatments.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Genetics
- Translational Medicine
Background:
- Cardiomyopathies are diverse heart muscle disorders with over 100 identified causative genes, explaining familial cases.
- Current treatments lack personalization due to insufficient understanding of genotype-specific therapeutic strategies.
- Precision medicine for cardiomyopathies is hindered by the need for tailored treatment plans based on genetic causes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the progress and feasibility of using adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model for inherited cardiomyopathies.
- To highlight the utility of zebrafish in identifying therapeutic strategies and discovering new genes.
- To discuss future research directions for genotype-based therapies and precision medicine.
Main Methods:
- Review of studies utilizing adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) over the past decade.
- Analysis of zebrafish models for inherited cardiomyopathies of distinct etiologies.
- Assessment of forward genetic approaches for gene and therapeutic discovery in zebrafish.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated feasibility of adult zebrafish as a vertebrate model for inherited cardiomyopathies.
- Successful identification of effective therapeutic strategies for specific cardiomyopathy types using zebrafish.
- Discovery of new cardiomyopathy genes and therapeutic targets through zebrafish studies.
Conclusions:
- Adult zebrafish models significantly accelerate the understanding and treatment of inherited cardiomyopathies.
- Future research integrating zebrafish models will aid in discovering remaining causative genes.
- This model is crucial for developing genotype-based therapies and advancing precision medicine for cardiomyopathies.
