Zebrafish may give curative solutions

​Hyderabad: This could be one among the most exotic variety of fish that mesmerises with its splendorous stripes and keeps you glued to the aquarium. But, this fish has become the cynosure of the medical science community, not because of aesthetics or fascinating contour, but the incredible possibilities that it proffers in the form of preventive, curative and regenerative solutions for a wide spectrum of health conditions and diseases.

Believe it or not! The zebrafish has a lot in common with humans when it comes to genomic traits, configuration and functions. According to findings, 70 per cent of protein coding attributes and 84 per cent of diseases causing genes in humans are present in zebrafish. Today, zebrafish has become an ideal model for genetic manipulation to identify the root cause of various diseases and in the process explore appropriate palliatives.

Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), which was the first institution to set up a zebrafish facility in the country, has been conducting intensive transgenic experiments – artificial introduction of DNA into the genetic material of an unrelated organism. According to Dr Rakesh Mishra, Director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, functional equivalence or similar genome dynamics between humans and zebrafish has unfolded tantalising opportunities in discovering answers to a plethora of medical problems, including cancer, neural conditions and eye diseases.

Elucidating on the advantages of using zebrafish as a model, Dr Rakesh Mishra informed The Hans India that the transparent innards or anatomy – visible to the naked eye- of the fish made it easier and convenient for scientists to monitor the mutations and changes that occur as a result of genetic manipulation and introduction of disease-related mutagens.

“This way we can zero in on the causative factors of a disease and also enable us to come out with possible medical solutions for a problem,” Dr Rakesh Mishra said. The focus is on exploring the amazing regenerative or regeneration capability of the zebrafish to recreate broken appendages along the body axis – like the fins and tail - and also repairing and rejuvenating heart muscles and the eyes.

Zebrafish gives the advantage of monitoring morphological development right from its embryonic stage to its adult phase. “This helps us isolate the regenerative components in the gene,” Dr Mishra said and added such identification of this regenerative factor will open up astounding possibilities in replacement and repair of human body parts.

Though zebrafish is not an ideal or total substitute to more preferred models like mice and primates (monkeys), the advantage with this model is that it does not encounter bio-ethical or bio-safety issues, he said adding that since it is a freshwater fish it can be spawned and its availability in large numbers can be ensured. All this adds to make zebrafish a cost-effective model for carrying out the experiments. This relationship between the tiny fish and more evolved humans may dissolve the line between science fiction and fact in near future.

By Satyapal Menon