Research Progress on the Construction and Application of a Diabetic Zebrafish Model

Abstract

Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by high blood glucose levels. With economic development and lifestyle changes, the prevalence of diabetes is increasing yearly. Thus, it has become an increasingly serious public health problem in countries around the world. The etiology of diabetes is complex, and its pathogenic mechanisms are not completely clear. The use of diabetic animal models is helpful in the study of the pathogenesis of diabetes and the development of drugs. The emerging vertebrate model of zebrafish has many advantages, such as its small size, large number of eggs, short growth cycle, simple cultivation of adult fish, and effective improvement of experimental efficiency. Thus, this model is highly suitable for research as an animal model of diabetes. This review not only summarizes the advantages of zebrafish as a diabetes model, but also summarizes the construction methods and challenges of zebrafish models of type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and diabetes complications. This study provides valuable reference information for further study of the pathological mechanisms of diabetes and the research and development of new related therapeutic drugs.

Simplified Protocol for Production of Persistent Hyperglycemic Zebrafish Model for Type II Diabetes Mellitus Studying

“…Easiness in care, relatively short life span, and transcriptome similarity with higher vertebrates, including human, all recommended its use in this field of investigation (Schlegel & Stainier, 2007). Glucose immersion method was identified as one of the main methods for the induction of T2DM in zebrafish (Cao et al, 2023).…”

A Metabolomics Study of the Effects of Eleutheroside B on Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in a Zebrafish Diabetes Model

“…The major metabolism-related organs in zebrafish have a very similar structure to mammals, including the pancreas and some insulin-sensitive target tissues such as the liver and muscle. The similar regulation of glucose metabolism makes zebrafish a good model for diabetes research, and they are now widely used for the study of human metabolic diseases such as DM [35]. We used 1.75% glucose immersion combined with a high-fat diet to construct the zebrafish diabetes model.…”

Neohesperidin Dihydrochalcone Improves Hyperglycemia and Insulin Resistance in Diabetic Zebrafish

“…It is an ideal animal model in many biological fields, including toxicological research, pharmacological analysis, and genetic analysis . The zebrafish genome is highly similar to the human genome, and the functional and histological features of zebrafish pancreas are similar to those of mammalian pancreas. , In addition, other tissues and organs that participate in glycometabolism, such as skeletal muscle, liver, and other adipocyte tissues, are highly conserved . This implies that the results of drug experiments on zebrafish are, in most cases, also applicable to humans.…”