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Zebrafish as a Model for Translational Immuno-Oncology
Gabriela Rodrigues Barbosa1,2,3, Augusto Monteiro de Souza4, Priscila Fernandes Silva4
1Immuno-Oncology Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas, Campinas 13087-571, SP, Brazil.
Journal of Personalized Medicine
|July 25, 2025
Summary
Zebrafish models offer a powerful platform for studying cancer immunotherapy and immune responses in vivo. This review highlights their utility in drug screening and personalized therapy, accelerating clinical translation.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Zebrafish models
Background:
- Cancer immunotherapy faces challenges with clinical translation from traditional models.
- Zebrafish (Danio rerio) offer unique advantages for in vivo studies due to transparency and genetic tractability.
- They provide high-resolution, real-time imaging of tumor-immune interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the application of zebrafish in cancer immunotherapy research.
- To highlight tools for tracking immune responses and modeling tumor microenvironments.
- To evaluate zebrafish platforms for drug screening and personalized therapy.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing transgenic zebrafish and xenograft models.
- Tracking innate and adaptive immune responses.
- Employing patient-derived xenografts for personalized therapy assessment ('zAvatars').
Main Results:
- Zebrafish enable real-time imaging of tumor-immune dynamics.
- They facilitate modeling of immune evasion and checkpoint molecule expression.
- Platforms for high-throughput drug screening and personalized medicine are being developed.
Conclusions:
- Zebrafish are a valuable complementary model for immuno-oncology research.
- Limitations include temperature sensitivity and differences in immune responses.
- Future directions involve humanized zebrafish and novel immunotherapies to accelerate clinical translation.
