Study on promoting regeneration of zebrafish skull by phycocyanin characterized by in vivo optical coherence tomography

Abstract

In this study, the efficacy of phycocyanin in bone defect repairing was tested on a zebrafish skull defect model, and the evaluating process was monitored in vivo using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Thirty zebrafish were randomly divided into three groups, which were immersed in water and phycocyanin solution (50 and 100 mg/L) after skull defect creating. All zebrafish were examined by OCT immediately after craniotomy, and on the 10th and 20th days of phycocyanin treatment. All the model fish were euthanized to enable a histological evaluation of skull after 20 days of recovery. OCT images demonstrated that phycocyanin (50 mg/L) could repair a cranial defect within 20 days. A high concentration (100 mg/L) of phycocyanin may favor the recovery of bone abnormalities in 10 days, but with the extended treatment time to 20 days, a deformation of the skull occurs.

In vivo quantitative evaluation of the relationship between skull thickness and body length and age in zebrafish using OCT

“…Zebrafish and mammals have many conservative anatomic, embryonic, and genetic features of craniofacial development [13]. In the future, it will be interesting to examine the extent to which zebrafish skeletal tissues regenerate better than their mammalian counterparts, as well as the genetic and cellular basis of such regeneration, so that people could then be used to develop novel therapies for improving cartilage and bone healing in patients [14]. Although CT and histology has been used as the "gold standard" for bone mass assessment, concerns regarding its radiation exposure, cost, and sample processing complexity have precluded it from routine use.…”

Information-Rich Multi-Functional OCT for Adult Zebrafish Intra- and Extracranial Imaging

“…Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a three-dimensional label-free imaging technology and has gained widespread attention in zebrafish research [15]. Its large field of view and high-resolution render OCT a promising tool for investigating intra-and extracranial physiological structures of zebrafish [16][17][18]. However, compared to fluorescence microscopy, conventional OCT lacks molecular specificity and typically necessitates additional functional information to differentiate various tissues.…”