Zebrafish live imaging: a strong weapon in anticancer drug discovery and development
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Published on: April 25, 2018
Tiancheng Zhan1,2, Wanqian Song1,2, Guo Jing1,2
1School of Medical Technology, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 10 Poyanghu Rd, Jinghai District, Tianjin, 301617, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Developing anticancer drugs is a complex and time-consuming process. The inability of current laboratory models to reflect important aspects of the tumor in vivo limits anticancer medication research. Zebrafish is a rapid, semi-automated in vivo screening platform that enables the use of non-invasive imaging methods to monitor morphology, survival, developmental status, response to drugs, locomotion, or other behaviors. Zebrafish models are widely used in drug discovery and development for anticancer drugs, especially in conjunction with live imaging techniques. Herein, we concentrated on the use of zebrafish live imaging in anticancer therapeutic research, including drug screening, efficacy assessment, toxicity assessment, and mechanism studies. Zebrafish live imaging techniques have been used in numerous studies, but this is the first time that these techniques have been comprehensively summarized and compared side by side. Finally, we discuss the hypothesis of Zebrafish Composite Model, which may provide future directions for zebrafish imaging in the field of cancer research.
Insights
Zebrafish live imaging offers a rapid, in vivo platform for anticancer drug discovery, overcoming limitations of traditional models. This review comprehensively compares techniques for screening, efficacy, and toxicity, proposing future directions.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Developing effective anticancer drugs is hindered by current laboratory models' inability to fully replicate in vivo tumor complexity.
- Zebrafish offer a unique, rapid, and semi-automated in vivo screening platform for drug discovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively review and compare zebrafish live imaging techniques for anticancer therapeutic research.
- To highlight the application of zebrafish models in drug screening, efficacy, toxicity assessment, and mechanism studies.
- To propose future research directions, including the Zebrafish Composite Model.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and comparative analysis of existing zebrafish live imaging techniques in anticancer research.
- Focus on non-invasive imaging for monitoring morphology, survival, drug response, and behavior.
- Synthesis of data from numerous studies utilizing zebrafish for anticancer drug development.
Main Results:
- Zebrafish live imaging is a versatile tool for anticancer drug discovery, enabling efficient screening and assessment.
- Techniques cover drug screening, efficacy evaluation, toxicity testing, and mechanistic studies.
- This work provides the first comprehensive side-by-side comparison of these techniques.
Conclusions:
- Zebrafish live imaging significantly advances anticancer drug development by providing a relevant in vivo model.
- The comprehensive review and comparison of techniques offer valuable insights for researchers.
- The proposed Zebrafish Composite Model presents a promising avenue for future cancer research.
