Zebrafish: A New Companion for Translational Research in Oncology

Cet article passe en revue les perspectives offertes par les travaux sur un modèle animal, le poisson zèbre, pour la recherche translationnelle en oncologie

Résumé en anglais

In an era of high-throughput 'omic' technologies, the unprecedented amount of data that can be generated presents a significant opportunity but simultaneously an even greater challenge for oncologists trying to provide personalized treatment. Classically, pre-clinical testing of new targets and identification of active compounds against those targets has entailed the extensive use of established human cell lines, as well as genetically modified mouse tumor models. Patient-derived xenografts in zebrafish may in the near future provide a platform for selecting an appropriate personalized therapy and together with zebrafish transgenic tumor models represent an alternative vehicle for drug development. The zebrafish is readily genetically modified. The transparency of zebrafish embryos and the recent development of pigment deficient zebrafish afford researchers the valuable capacity to observe directly cancer formation and progression in a live vertebrate host. The zebrafish is amenable to transplantation assays that test the serial passage of fluorescently labelled tumor cells as well as their capacity to disseminate and/or metastasize. Progress achieved to date in genetic engineering and xenotransplantation will establish the zebrafish as one of the most versatile animal models for cancer research. A model organism that can be used in transgenesis, transplantation assays, single cell functional assays and in vivo imaging studies make zebrafish a natural companion for mice in translational oncology research.