Zebrafish tumor assays: the state of transplantation

Abstract

Tumor transplant studies are important tools for studying cancer biology in a model organism. Transplantation is especially important for assaying tumor cell malignancy and migration capabilities, and is critical for identifying putative cancer stem cell populations. In this review, we discuss the current state of tumor transplantation studies performed in the zebrafish. We address several zebrafish-specific considerations for development of the transplant assay, including choosing recipient animals, transplant methods, and post-transplant observation. We also examine how the zebrafish is an advantageous model for transplantation, particularly with development of the translucent fish. Transplantation has already been critical for characterizing zebrafish models of leukemia, rhabdomyosarcoma, and melanoma. With further development of imaging techniques and other tools, zebrafish tumor transplantation will continue to contribute to our understanding of tumor cell biology.

FIG. 1.

Steps of the zebrafish transplantation assay.

FIG. 2.

Transplantation in the casper fish.¹⁵ (A) Imaging of melanoma development post-transplant. Melanoma from an mitf:NRAS;p53^−/− zebrafish was transplanted into the casper fish, and images were taken 3, 14, and 28 days post-transplant. (B) Homing of hematopoietic cells post-transplant. Whole kidney marrow expressing β-actin green fluorescent protein was transplanted into irradiated casper fish. On the left, cells at 2 weeks post-transplant are beginning to home to the thymus and kidney. On the right, by 4 weeks post-transplant, cells are localized to the kidney.