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INDUCED AND SPONTANEOUS NEOPLASIA IN ZEBRAFISH.
Citation:
Beckwith, L. G., J. L. Moore, G. S. TsaoWu, J. M. Spitsbergen, J. D. Hendricks, Kent, J. M. Ward, J W. Fournie, R. Reimschuessel, V. V. Khudoley, J. C. Harshbarger, AND K. C. Cheng. INDUCED AND SPONTANEOUS NEOPLASIA IN ZEBRAFISH. Presented at Aquaria Fish Models of Human Disease, San Marcos, TX, Sep. 21-24, 2000.
Description:
To address the potential of zebrafish as a cancer model, it is important to determine the susceptibility of zebrafish to tumors, and to compare zebrafish tumors with human tumors. To determine whether the commonly-used germ line mutagen, ethylnitrosourea (ENU) induces tumors, we compared the incidence of tumors in ENU-treated fish versus untreated controls. Eighteen of eighteen (100%) adult male zebrafish mutagenized with either 2.5 or 3.0 mM ENU developed 1-22 epidermal papillomas per fish, within 1 year of treatment. The induced epidermal lesions included epidermal hyperplasia, flat papillomas (0.2 - 1.2 mm), and pedunculated papillomas (1.2 - 8 mm), but no skin cancers. Angiogenesis was evident in papillomas larger than approximately 1 mm. Two cavernous hemangiomas and a single malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor were also found in the treated fish. None of five untreated controls developed tumors.
Other zebrafish tumors have occurred in wild-type strains, spontaneously and after carcinogen exposure. Tumors have involved a variety of tissues including neural tissue, intestine, liver, testis, and soft tissue. As part of a multi-institutional collaborative effort, zebrafish tumors are being reviewed and catalogued in print and web-site based atlases. Microscope slides of the tumors are being maintained at the Registry of Tumors in Lower Animals, and will be available for reference and future study. Suggestions will be sought from the zebrafish community. A zebrafish tumor working group has been formed to facilitate use of zebrafish as a tumor model. The histologic similarity of most zebrafish and human tumors suggests that the zebrafish has potential as a vertebrate model of human neoplasia.