“Zebrafishing” for Novel Genes Relevant to the Glomerular Filtration Barrier
Figure 1
Edema as a sign of kidney failure in zebrafish. Edema in zebrafish is detected and rated as different grades of swelling in zebrafish embryos. (a) Modified fish (e.g., by morpholino knockdown) are examined at 120 hours postfertilization (hpf) and are compared to control (e.g., scrambled morpholino injected) fish. At that developmental stage a clear pericardial effusion (black arrow) and an edema of the yolk sac (asterisk) are visible. (b) Edema can be graded in four stages. Stage I: no signs of edema; stage II: mild edema; stage III: intermediate stage of edema; and stage IV: severe edema. Other features of the embryo such as curved or arched back deformities of the head structure, an absent or present swim bladder, and a sign of variable developmental delay, are highly variable, depend on the morpholino used, and need to be evaluated separately.
