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Zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a Viable Model to Study the Blood-Brain Barrier

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Blood-Brain Barrier

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 142))

Abstract

As the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is essential for maintaining brain homeostasis and protecting the brain from exogenous substances, impermeability of the BBB is a major obstacle for drug delivery into the brain. Under pathological conditions, the integrity of the BBB is susceptible to disruption and can be broken down in severe brain diseases. Therefore, the understanding of intrinsic complexity as well as modulation of the BBB is critical to discover potential therapeutics for the treatment of brain diseases. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have emerged as a suitable animal model in studying pathology of diseases and screening leading compounds in the drug development and discovery because of their highly conserved nature in both genetics and cell biology as higher vertebrates. Importantly, due to their small body size, ease of care, rapid development, and transparency in the early embryo stage, zebrafish allow researchers to study the BBB and carry out high-throughput screening of potential therapeutics with cost-effectiveness. We thus aim to provide a technical overview of the procedures that can be used to analyze BBB integrity and functionality in zebrafish. Low permeability and strong tight junction-based BBB in zebrafish are very similar to those of higher vertebrates. Zebrafish could be an excellent experimental model organism for studying the development and maintenance of the BBB, defining disease pathway, and discovering specific and powerful therapies for the treatment of brain diseases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Husson University, Bangor, ME, USA

    Tianzhi Yang & Shuhua Bai

Authors
  1. Tianzhi Yang
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  2. Shuhua Bai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shuhua Bai .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA

    Tatiana Barichello

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Yang, T., Bai, S. (2019). Zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a Viable Model to Study the Blood-Brain Barrier. In: Barichello, T. (eds) Blood-Brain Barrier. Neuromethods, vol 142. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8946-1_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8946-1_11

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-8945-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-8946-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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