Advancing toxicology research using in vivo high throughput toxicology with small fish models.
Small freshwater fish models, especially zebrafish, offer advantages over traditional rodent models, including low maintenance and husbandry costs, high fecundity, genetic diversity, physiology similar to that of traditional biomedical models, and reduced animal welfare concerns. The Collaborative Workshop on Aquatic Models and 21st Century Toxicology was held at North Carolina State University on May 5-6, 2014, in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Participants discussed the ways in which small fish are being used as models to screen toxicants and understand mechanisms of toxicity. Workshop participants agreed that the lack of standardized protocols is an impediment to broader acceptance of these models, whereas development of standardized protocols, validation, and subsequent regulatory acceptance would facilitate greater usage. Given the advantages and increasing application of small fish models, there was widespread interest in follow-up workshops to review and discuss developments in their use. In this article, we summarize the recommendations formulated by workshop participants to enhance the utility of small fish species in toxicology studies, as well as many of the advances in the field of toxicology that resulted from using small fish species, including advances in developmental toxicology, cardiovascular toxicology, neurotoxicology, and immunotoxicology. We alsoreview many emerging issues that will benefit from using small fish species, especially zebrafish, and new technologies that will enable using these organisms to yield results unprecedented in their information content to better understand how toxicants affect development and health.
Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.|Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Antonio
A
Planchart
Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.|Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Carolyn J
CJ
Mattingly
Integrated Laboratory Systems, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
David
D
Allen
Integrated Laboratory Systems, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Patricia
P
Ceger
National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Warren
W
Casey
Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
David
D
Hinton
National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR, USA.
Jyotshna
J
Kanungo
Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.|Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Seth W
SW
Kullman
Integrated Systems Toxicology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Tamara
T
Tal
Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Maria
M
Bondesson
National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Shawn M
SM
Burgess
Department of Molecular & Biomedical Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA.|Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA.
Con
C
Sullivan
Department of Molecular & Biomedical Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA.|Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA.
Carol
C
Kim
Division of National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Mamta
M
Behl
Integrated Systems Toxicology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Stephanie
S
Padilla
Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.|Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
David M
DM
Reif
Department of Environmental & Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
Robert L
RL
Tanguay
Integrated Laboratory Systems, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Jon
J
Hamm
D032761:Animal Experimentation; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D005399:Fishes; D016678:Genome; D023281:Genomics; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D051598:Whole Body Imaging
D015386:Hazardous Substances
21st century toxicology; alternatives; aquatic models