Department of Medical Science & Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan.
Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan.
Sci Rep. 2018 Oct 30;8(1):15986. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-33577-7.
Zebrafish is a popular and favorable model organism for cardiovascular research, with an increasing number of studies implementing functional assays in the adult stage. For example, the application of electrocardiography (ECG) in adult zebrafish has emerged as an important tool for cardiac pathophysiology, toxicity, and chemical screen studies. However, few laboratories are able to perform such functional analyses due to the high cost and limited availability of a convenient in vivo ECG recording system. In this study, an inexpensive ECG recording platform and operation protocol that has been optimized for adult zebrafish ECG research was developed. The core hardware includes integration of a ready-to-use portable ECG kit with a set of custom-made needle electrode probes. A combined anesthetic formula of MS-222 and isoflurane was first tested to determine the optimal assay conditions to minimize the interference to zebrafish cardiac physiology under sedation. For demonstration, we treated wild-type zebrafish with different pharmacological agents known to affect cardiac rhythms in humans. Conserved electrophysiological responses to these drugs were induced in adult zebrafish and recorded in real time. This economic ECG platform has the potential to facilitate teaching and training in cardiac electrophysiology with adult zebrafish and to promote future translational applications in cardiovascular medicine.
斑马鱼是心血管研究中一种流行且理想的模式生物，越来越多的研究在成年阶段实施功能分析。例如，心电图（ECG）在成年斑马鱼中的应用已经成为心脏病理生理学、毒性和化学筛选研究的重要工具。然而，由于昂贵的成本和方便的体内 ECG 记录系统的有限可用性，很少有实验室能够进行这种功能分析。在这项研究中，开发了一种经济实惠的 ECG 记录平台和针对成年斑马鱼 ECG 研究进行了优化的操作方案。核心硬件包括将现成的便携式 ECG 套件与一组定制的针状电极探头集成在一起。首先测试了一种由 MS-222 和异氟烷组成的联合麻醉配方，以确定最佳检测条件，最大限度地减少镇静状态下对斑马鱼心脏生理学的干扰。为了演示，我们用已知会影响人类心律的不同药理学药物处理野生型斑马鱼。在成年斑马鱼中诱导并实时记录这些药物的保守电生理反应。这种经济的 ECG 平台有可能促进成人斑马鱼心脏电生理学的教学和培训，并促进心血管医学的未来转化应用。
