Alternate Immersion in Glucose to Produce Prolonged Hyperglycemia in Zebrafish

Summary

This protocol noninvasively induces hyperglycemia in zebrafish for up to 8 weeks. Using this protocol, an in-depth study of the adverse effects of hyperglycemia can be made.

Abstract

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are an excellent model to investigate the effects of chronic hyperglycemia, a hallmark of Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). This alternate immersion protocol is a noninvasive, step-wise method of inducing hyperglycemia for up to eight weeks. Adult zebrafish are alternately exposed to sugar (glucose) and water for 24 hours each. The zebrafish begin treatment in a 1% glucose solution for 2 weeks, then a 2% solution for 2 weeks, and finally a 3% solution for the remaining 4 weeks. Compared to water-treated (stress) and mannitol-treated (osmotic) controls, glucose-treated zebrafish have significantly higher blood sugar levels. The glucose-treated zebrafish show blood sugar levels of 3-times that of controls, suggesting that after both four and eight weeks hyperglycemia can be achieved. Sustained hyperglycemia was associated with increased Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) and increased nuclear factor Kappa B (NF-kB) levels in retina and decreased physiological responses, as well as cognitive deficits suggesting this protocol can be used to model disease complications.

Introduction

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are quickly becoming a widely used animal model to study both disease and cognition¹. The ease of genetic manipulation and embryonic transparency through the early developmental stages, make them a prime candidate to study human diseases with a known genetic basis. For example, zebrafish have been used to study Holt-Oram syndrome, cardiomyopathies, glomerulocystic kidney disease, muscular dystrophy, and diabetes mellitus (DM) among other diseases¹. In addition, the zebrafish model is ideal because of the species’ small size, ease of maintenance, and high fecundity^2....

Protocol

All procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at American University.

1. Preparing the Solution Tanks

1. Obtain six tanks, two for each experimental group (glucose, mannitol, and water). Label one of the two tanks ‘housing tank’ (it will house the fish) and label the other ‘solution tank’ (it will hold the solution).
   NOTE: The mannitol treatment group is the osmotic control, and the water treatment group is a handling/stress control. It is important to keep the tanks, airlines/airstones, lids, and cleaning supplies separate for each treatment group
2. Use a 2 L....

Results

Using this protocol (Figure 1), blood sugar values are significantly elevated after both 4-weeks and 8-weeks of treatment (Figure 2A), with hyperglycemia defined as 3x the control averages from both water-treated and mannitol-treated groups. Water-treated controls are transferred in and out of water daily, providing a stress/handling control. Mannitol serves as an osmotic control in in vitro glucose studies^19,.......

Discussion

Diabetes is a nationwide problem. Studies show that by 2030, an estimated 400 million people will have some form of diabetes. In rodent models, Type 2 DM is studied using genetic manipulation. In rats, the Zucker diabetic fatty rats (ZDF), and the Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty rats (OLETF), are providing more information on the effects of Type 2 DM¹⁰. In addition, high fat diets have been used in rodent to induce hyperglycemia. This mirrors the noninvasive procedure proposed in this paper. Usi.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Airline Tubing	petsmart	5291863	This can be used in the tank to circulate air
Airpump	petsmart	5094984	This can be used in the tank to circulate air
Airstones	petsmart	5149683	This can be used in the tank to circulate air
D-glucose	Sigma	G8270-5KG
D-mannitol	Acros Organics	AC125340050
Freestyle Lite Meter	Amazon	B01LMOMLTU
Freestyle Lite Strips	Amazon	B074ZN3H2Z
Net	petsmart	5175115
Tanks	Amazon	B0002APZO4