Zhao X, Pack M
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Methods Cell Biol. 2017;138:241-270. doi: 10.1016/bs.mcb.2016.11.006. Epub 2017 Jan 7.
Although the zebrafish was initially developed as a model system to study embryonic development, it has gained increasing attention as an advantageous system to investigate human diseases, including intestinal disorders. Zebrafish embryos develop rapidly, and their digestive system is fully functional and visible by 5days post fertilization. There is a large degree of homology between the intestine of zebrafish and higher vertebrate organisms in terms of its cellular composition and function as both a digestive and immune organ. Furthermore, molecular pathways regulating injury and immune responses are highly conserved. In this chapter, we provide an overview of studies addressing developmental and physiological processes relevant to human intestinal disease. These studies include those related to congenital disorders, host-microbiota interactions, inflammatory diseases, motility disorders, and intestinal cancer. We also highlight the utility of zebrafish to functionally validate candidate genes identified through mutational analyses and genome-wide association studies, and discuss methodologies to investigate the intestinal biology that are unique to zebrafish.
虽然斑马鱼最初是作为研究胚胎发育的模型系统而开发的，但它作为研究人类疾病（包括肠道疾病）的有利系统，越来越受到关注。斑马鱼胚胎发育迅速，其消化系统在受精后5天就完全功能化且可见。斑马鱼的肠道在细胞组成和作为消化及免疫器官的功能方面，与高等脊椎动物有很大程度的同源性。此外，调节损伤和免疫反应的分子途径高度保守。在本章中，我们概述了针对与人类肠道疾病相关的发育和生理过程的研究。这些研究包括与先天性疾病、宿主-微生物群相互作用、炎症性疾病、运动障碍和肠道癌相关的研究。我们还强调了斑马鱼在功能上验证通过突变分析和全基因组关联研究确定的候选基因的效用，并讨论了研究斑马鱼独特肠道生物学的方法。
