title: The zebrafish as a model of vascular development and disease.
abstract: The zebrafish has recently emerged as an important animal model to study the formation of the vertebrate vascular network. The small size, optical translucency, and genetic tractability of the zebrafish embryo, in combination with an abundance of fluorescent transgenic lines which permit direct visualization of in vivo vessel formation, have greatly advanced our understanding of vascular biology. Widespread adoption of this powerful system has led to many important discoveries in relation to the mechanisms that underlie blood vessel formation. This review highlights the contribution of the zebrafish system to the current understanding of blood vessel formation and the use of zebrafish to model human vascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Science, Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Robert N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre for Biomedical Genetics, Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fredericus J M
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: van Eeden
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000196:embryology* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D042583:Lymphangiogenesis; D024510:Muscle Development; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Angiogenesis; Blood vessel; Vascular disease; Vasculogenesis; Zebrafish