Why Zebrafish Is a Good Animal Model for Ocular Disease Studies

As an animal model at the forefront of clinical development in recent years, zebrafish not only meet research needs but also reflect the situation of human eye diseases better than rodent models in many aspects. This is mainly due to: 1) unlike rodent models, zebrafish are relatively easy to maintain at a fraction of the cost and are prolific breeders, producing as many as 100-200 eggs per clutch, allowing for higher throughput screens to identify mutants and potential drug candidates; 2) Zebrafish visual system more mirrors that of humans, as opposed to mice with rod vision, zebrafish have cone vision like humans, which helps to study human diseases related to cone degeneration (such as AMD); 3) Zebrafish eyes are structurally similar to humans, especially retinal structures with more than 80% of disease-causing genes switched in zebrafish; 4) Zebrafish eyes develop rapidly after 12 hpf and display a functional visual system by 5 dpf. This is much faster than mice (approximately 15-20 days) and allows the study of visual function in 5-day-old larvae; 5) Large eye size, which is large relative to the overall size of the zebrafish, allowing for easy eye manipulations and intravitreal (IV) compound injections; 6) The extensive amount of genetic information that zebrafish mutants related to vision development and functional defects can provide has contributed to the understanding of human eye diseases.

Fig. 1. Comparison of the human and zebrafish eye. (Chhetri J, et al., 2014)

Service Overview

As one of the world's leading developers and suppliers of ocular disease models, in the past few years, Ace Therapeutics has been committed to developing innovative zebrafish ocular disease models to shorten customer project development and product launch time.

Thanks to its expertise in genome editing, Ace Therapeutics can develop custom zebrafish genetic eye disease models to simulate human diseases and explore the biological relationship between candidate compounds and specific genes. It is worth mentioning that Ace Therapeutics has generated a number of transgenic zebrafish models to allow close monitoring of genes associated with ocular disease in a tissue-directed manner.

Explore Ace Therapeutics' Zebrafish Ocular Disease Models

Ace Therapeutics has established an experienced preclinical ophthalmology research matrix to help our clients conduct model screening and efficacy evaluation in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. Our talented researchers use multiple tools to build zebrafish models that meet customer needs, such as transgenics, CRISPR (knock-outs, knock-ins), and physicochemical stimulation. In addition, our zebrafish models have been validated through extensive experiments to accurately characterize the biological mechanisms involved in ocular diseases. Please click on the links below for details on different zebrafish ocular disease models.

• Zebrafish Models of Cataract
• Zebrafish Genetic Models of Glaucoma
• Zebrafish Models of NMDA-Induced Retinal Neurodegeneration
• Zebrafish Models of Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Retina Damage
• Zebrafish Models of Aniridia
• Zebrafish Models of Corneal Dystrophy
• Zebrafish Models of Cone-Rod Dystrophy
• Zebrafish Models of Choroideremia
• Zebrafish Models of Microphthalmia
• Zebrafish Models of Retinal Vascular Disease
• Zebrafish Models of Retinitis Pigmentosa
• Zebrafish Models of Leber Congenital Amaurosis
• Zebrafish Models of Ocular Infection
• Zebrafish Models of Ocular Defect
• Zebrafish Models of Myopia
• Zebrafish Models of MMU-Induced Retinal Degeneration and Regeneration
• Methylglyoxal-Induced Retinal Angiogenesis Model in Zebrafish Embryo
• Zebrafish Models of White Light-Induced Retinal Degeneration
• Hypoxia-Induced Retinal Angiogenesis Model in an Adult Zebrafish
• Hypoxia-Induced Neovascularization Model in Zebrafish Embryos

Importantly, we use a series of electroretinograms (ERGs), fundus photography, histology, etc., to characterize the resulting mutants and response groups, including genetic analysis and identification, immune and environmental factors, thus ensuring the most robust data and development of optimal zebrafish ocular disease models.

Advantages of Ace Therapeutics' Zebrafish Ocular Disease Models

• Zebrafish ocular disease models cover a wide range of areas, including cataracts, microphthalmia, glaucoma, hereditary retinopathy, dry eye, etc.
• High similarity to human eye genetic diseases.
• Low incidence of adverse reactions during the study.
• A series of supporting inspection services: ophthalmic pre-screening, and drug efficacy evaluation.
• Customize model development services according to customer project needs.

Thanks to our in-depth understanding of zebrafish and eye diseases, Ace Therapeutics has established the world's most comprehensive laboratory for zebrafish eye disease models. Our scientists can select and customize the best model according to your project. If you are interested in our services or need more detailed information, please feel free to contact us. Our experienced scientists are ready to help you!

References

1. Hong Y, Luo Y. Zebrafish Model in Ophthalmology to Study Disease Mechanism and Drug Discovery. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2021, 14(8):716.
2. Rosa JGS, Lopes-Ferreira M, Lima C. An Overview towards Zebrafish Larvae as a Model for Ocular Diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2023, 24(6):5387.
3. Chhetri J, Jacobson G, Gueven N. Zebrafish--on the move towards ophthalmological research. Eye (Lond). 2014, 28(4):367-80.

• Customized Rodent Models of Ocular Diseases
• Customized Rabbit Models of Ocular Diseases
• Customized Minipig Models of Ocular Diseases
• Customized Canine Models of Ocular Diseases
• Customized Chicken Models of Ocular Diseases
• Customized Non-Human Primate (NHP) Models of Ocular Diseases

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