Disease Modeling of Rare Neurological Disorders in Zebrafish

Abstract

Rare diseases are those which affect a small number of people compared to the general population. However, many patients with a rare disease remain undiagnosed, and a large majority of rare diseases still have no form of viable treatment. Approximately 40% of rare diseases include neurologic and neurodevelopmental disorders. In order to understand the characteristics of rare neurological disorders and identify causative genes, various model organisms have been utilized extensively. In this review, the characteristics of model organisms, such as roundworms, fruit flies, and zebrafish, are examined, with an emphasis on zebrafish disease modeling in rare neurological disorders.

Keywords: Danio rerio; model organisms; neurological rare diseases; rare diseases; undiagnosed diseases; zebrafish.

Figure 1

Major features of the zebrafish (Danio rerio). (A) Zebrafish embryo at day 1 of development. Fb, forebrain; Mb, midbrain; Hb, hindbrain. (B) Dissection of brain from an adult zebrafish. Tel, telencephalon; TeO, optic tectum; Cb, cerebellum. Rostral part of the brain is pointing to the left. Scale bars: 500 µm.