The Role of DNA Methylation in Zebrafish Models of CNS Diseases
摘要
DNA methylation plays an important role in the regulationof gene expression. Its deficits in the brain cause various neurologicaldiseases, including autism, schizophrenia and mood disorders. Thezebrafish (Danio rerio) isa promising model organism in biomedicine. Given its high geneticand physiological homology with humans, studying genome methylationdeficits in zebrafish can help elucidate the molecular processesunderlying the etiology and pathogenesis of various neurologicaldiseases, as well as develop novel therapies. Here, we discuss themechanisms of DNA methylation in the brain and the diseases associatedwith its dysregulation in humans, as well as their genetic and pharmacologicalmodels in zebrafish. We also evaluate the limitations of zebrafishmodels and possible directions for further research in this field.Mounting evidence summarized here supports zebrafish as an effectivemodel for elucidating the molecular mechanisms of brain pathologiesassociated with compromised DNA methylation.