The zebrafish is a versatile vertebrate system for developing in vivo disease-related assays suitable for both rapid target validation and high volume compound screening. Zebrafish have cardiovascular, nervous and digestive systems that are similar to those of mammals. Zebrafish embryos are produced in large numbers and are transparent, facilitating the visualization of developing tissues and organs. Zebrafish gene function can be rapidly knocked down by injection of antisense molecules to validate potential drug targets. Zebrafish embryos and larvae are amenable to compound screening applications because they can be assayed in multi-well plates where compounds can be taken up directly from the media or injected as necessary. The zebrafish is the only vertebrate system currently used for rapid in vivo compound screening.
Zygogen’s proprietary Z-Tag technology (Lin, S.; US Patent 6,380,458, 2002) enables tissue-specific expression of heterologous proteins in zebrafish to enable real time, quantitative readouts. Using Z-Tag technology, Zygogen has developed validated assays in the areas of angiogenesis, thrombosis and QT prolongation.
Zygogen offers Z-Tag embryos for sale to customers interested in performing zebrafish research in-house without requiring an aquatic facility.
COMPOUND SCREENING
Zebrafish enable rapid compound screening in a complex vertebrate model system. Z-TagSM assays utilize fluorescent zebrafish embryos and larvae arrayed into multi-well plates and treated with test compounds. Zygogen’s fluorescent technologies are better suited for quantification and automation than those that require staining and labeling steps. Microplates are processed on an automated imaging system and images of Z-Tag embryos are quantified using automated analysis algorithms. Automated fluorescent zebrafish assays accelerate drug discovery by providing early and rapid information on compound efficacy and toxicity in the context of a whole organism.