From Omics to Drug Metabolism and High Content Screen of Natural Product in Zebrafish: A New Model for Discovery of Neuroactive Compound

• DOI: 10.1155/2012/605303
• Publication Date: 2012-08-05T21:01:01Z
• Authors: Ming Wai Hung; Zai Jun Zhang; Shang Li; Benson Lei; Shuai Yuan; Guo Zhen Cui; Pui Man Hoi; Kelvin Chan; Simon Ming Yuen Lee
• Keywords: 110311 - Medical Genetics (excl. Cancer Genetics); RM; 0303 health sciences; 500; Review Article; zebrafish; drugs; omics; 3. Good health; 929999 - Health not elsewhere classified; QH301; 03 medical and health sciences; zebra danio; metabolism; QH426

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has recently become a common model in the fields of genetics, environmental science, toxicology, and especially drug screening. Zebrafish has emerged as a biomedically relevant model forin vivohigh content drug screening and the simultaneous determination of multiple efficacy parameters, including behaviour, selectivity, and toxicity in the content of the whole organism. A zebrafish behavioural assay has been demonstrated as a novel, rapid, and high-throughput approach to the discovery of neuroactive, psychoactive, and memory-modulating compounds. Recent studies found a functional similarity of drug metabolism systems in zebrafish and mammals, providing a clue with why some compounds are active in zebrafishin vivobut notin vitro, as well as providing grounds for the rationales supporting the use of a zebrafish screen to identify prodrugs. Here, we discuss the advantages of the zebrafish model for evaluating drug metabolism and the mode of pharmacological action with the emerging omics approaches. Why this model is suitable for identifying lead compounds from natural products for therapy of disorders with multifactorial etiopathogenesis and imbalance of angiogenesis, such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, cardiotoxicity, cerebral hemorrhage, dyslipidemia, and hyperlipidemia, is addressed.