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Hepatotoxicity in Zebrafish Larvae

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Developmental Toxicology

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1965))

Abstract

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae are a uniquely powerful model system which investigate the effects of toxicant exposure on liver development and function. Manufacturing processes and development of new synthetic compounds increased rapidly since the middle of the twentieth century, resulting in widespread exposure to environmental toxicants. This is compounded by the shift in the global burden of disease from infectious agents to chronic disease, particularly in industrialized nations, which increases the need to investigate the long-term and transgenerational effects of environmental exposures on human health. Zebrafish provide an excellent model to investigate the mechanisms of action of environmental pollutants given their large-scale embryo production and rapid development, which allow for short-term assessment of toxicity in a whole animal system. Here we describe methods for the use of zebrafish to study hepatotoxicity and liver disease induced by chemical toxicants. Many of the genetic, molecular, and cellular processes are conserved between zebrafish and mammals, enabling translation to human populations and diseases.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Dr. Deanna Benson, Dr. Nikos Tzavaras, and Dr. Sijie Hao at the Microscopy CoRE at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. All experiments were conducted in accordance within the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. We thank Jill Gregory, CMI, and FAMI for graphic design. This work is funded by K08 DK101340-01A1, Gilead Liver Research Scholars Award, Art in Giving/The Rachel Molly Markoff Foundation, and The Mindich Child Health and Development Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to J.C., T32 HD049311-09 and P30ES023515 to K.B.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Kathryn Bambino

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Joshua Morrison & Jaime Chu

Authors
  1. Kathryn Bambino
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  2. Joshua Morrison
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  3. Jaime Chu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jaime Chu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA

    Jason M. Hansen

  2. Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Louise M. Winn

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Bambino, K., Morrison, J., Chu, J. (2019). Hepatotoxicity in Zebrafish Larvae. In: Hansen, J., Winn, L. (eds) Developmental Toxicology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1965. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9182-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9182-2_9

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9181-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9182-2

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