PUBLICATION

Quantitative analyses of adiposity dynamics in zebrafish

Authors
Elemans, L.M.H., Cervera, I.P., Riley, S.E., Wafer, R., Fong, R., Tandon, P., Minchin, J.E.N.
ID
ZDB-PUB-190815-3
Date
2019
Source
Adipocyte   8: 330-338 (Other)
Registered Authors
Minchin, James, Tandon, Panna, Wafer, Rebecca
Keywords
adipose tissue, animal models, zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Adipose Tissue/metabolism*
  • Adiposity/physiology*
  • Animals
  • Biomarkers/metabolism
  • Diet
  • Models, Biological
  • Molecular Imaging
  • Organ Size
  • Tissue Distribution
  • Zebrafish/metabolism*
PubMed
31411107 Full text @ Adipocyte
Abstract
Adipose tissues often exhibit subtle, quantitative differences between individuals, leading to a graded series of adiposity phenotypes at the population level. Robust, quantitative analyses are vital for studying these differences. In this Commentary we highlight two articles from our lab that employ sensitive new methods in zebrafish capable of delineating complex and quantitative adiposity phenotypes. In the first article, we utilized in vivo imaging to systematically quantify zebrafish adipose tissues. We identified 34 regionally distinct zebrafish adipose tissues and developed statistical models to predict the size and variance of each adipose tissue over the course of zebrafish growth. We then employed these models to identify effects of strain and diet on adipose tissue growth. In the second article, we employed deep phenotyping to study complex disease-related adiposity traits. Using this methodology, we identified that adipose tissues have unique capacities to re-deposit lipid following food restriction and re-feeding. These distinct re-deposition potentials led to widespread fat distribution changes following re-feeding. We discuss how these novel findings may provide relevance to health conditions such as anorexia nervosa. Together, the strategies described in these two articles can be used as unbiased and quantitative methods to uncover new relationships between genotype, diet and adiposity.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping