Zebrafish Epilepsy Models

Epilepsy is a neuronal disorder with marked neurological and behavioral changes that is clinically characterized by a sudden transient change or loss of consciousness, involuntary movements, or convulsions. Impairment of cognitive abilities such as learning and memory is frequently observed in epilepsy patients. A major problem associated with conducting epilepsy-related cognitive function studies is the lack of simple, rapid, specific, and sensitive in vivo test models.

Although many different types of rodent models of epilepsy and epilepsy syndromes are now available, the high reproductive costs and regulatory limitations of rodent experiments have reduced their use in drug screening. Zebrafish are now widely accepted as a valuable animal model for many different central nervous system diseases. They are suitable both for elucidating the origin of these diseases and the sequence of events that ultimately lead to their onset, and for use as a high-throughput in vivo drug screening platform. The availability of powerful and efficient genome manipulation techniques allows rapid modeling of different inherited epilepsy and disorders with epilepsy as a core symptom.

Fig.1 Schematic representation of the zebrafish bioassay used for epilepsy research.

Our Zebrafish Epilepsy Models

Creative Biogene offers different genetic or chemical zebrafish models depending on your research purpose. Currently, pentylenetetrazole is the most characteristic chemical model. It acts on GABAA receptors and, depending on the concentration applied, induces epileptiform behavior and epileptiform discharges in zebrafish larvae for longer or shorter time periods. Other compounds can also be used to induce discharge, such as AG, EKP and kainic acid, which induce seizures through different pathways and require further characterization before being applied to large-scale drug screening. In addition to pharmacological models, we also offer specific genetic models such as Dravet syndrome, rare syndromes associated with synaptic vesicle trafficking, GABRA1A-associated generalized epilepsy, Angelman syndrome-associated epilepsy, DEPDC5-associated focal Genetic models of epilepsy, PDE, and TSC.

Advantages

• Real-time neuroimaging in zebrafish
• Gene functional analysis at specific time points
• Simple and efficient manipulation of multiple genes at a physiologically relevant level
• Suitable for cell manipulation and drug or genetic screening

Our zebrafish models can be used to study possible mechanisms of epileptic seizures and the impact of pharmacological interventions through high-resolution spatial and temporal imaging. If you would like to learn more about the zebrafish epilepsy model, please feel free to contact us.

References

1. Kundap UP, et al. Zebrafish as a Model for Epilepsy-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction: A Pharmacological, Biochemical and Behavioral Approach. Front Pharmacol. 2017, 8:515.
2. Gawel K, et al. Seizing the moment: Zebrafish epilepsy models. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2020, 116:1-20
3. Burrows DRW, et al. Imaging epilepsy in larval zebrafish. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2020, 24:70-80.
4. Hortopan GA, Dinday MT, Baraban SC. Zebrafish as a model for studying genetic aspects of epilepsy. Dis Model Mech. 2010, 3(3-4):144-148.

For research use only. Not intended for any clinical use.