This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 25860294 and 25590073. We would like to thank Ms. Yui Namie for the hand-drawn illustration, and Mr. Koshi Kataoka and Ms. Sayuri Ichikawa for assistance with the zebrafish maintenance.

All animal procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of Mie University, and were performed according to Japanese animal welfare regulation &#8216;Act on Welfare and Management of Animals&#8217; (Ministry of Environment of Japan) and complied with international guidelines.
1. Preparation of the Needle &#160;
NOTE: All experiments were performed under anesthesia, and all efforts were made to minimize suffering. For euthanasia, fish were immersed in an ice&#8211;water bath (5 parts ice/1 part water at &#8804;4 &#176;C) for &#8805;20 min.
<ol>
	<li>Prepare the glass microcapillary needles by pulling a 1.0-mm-outer-diameter glass capillary with a needle puller (Figure 1A).</li>
	<li>Cut the tips of the needles obliquely using fine scissors (Figure 1B). The ideal tip diameter should be approximately 100 &#8211; 200 &#181;m (Figure 1C). If the tip diameter is too narrow, blood will not enter the needle.</li>
	<li>Dissolve heparin in saline to a concentration of 5 mg/ml.</li>
	<li>Place a precut needle in the nosepiece end of an aspirator tube assembly and hold the mouthpiece in the mouth, or connect the needle to a bulb dispenser. Immerse the needle tip into the heparin solution, and heparinize the needle by suction and blowing through the solution (Figure 1D and 1E). 
	Note: The aspirator tube assembly has been used for zebrafish sperm cryopreservation16. Long rubber tube can stop any blood flying into mouth. Setting a filter in the midway of the tube can avoid the hazards.</li>
	<li>Store the heparinized needles in a 10-cm Petri dish and air-dry for at least 1 hr. A large number of needles can be prepared in advance.</li>
</ol>
2. Anesthesia
<ol>
	<li>Prepare the anesthetic solution in a small plastic case by mixing 200 ml of fish water with 100 &#181;l of 2-phenoxyethanol (2-PE). Final concentration of the anesthetics is 500 ppm. 
	CAUTION! 2-PE has a rapid effect.</li>
	<li>Remove desired number of fish (AB strain) from the circulation system.</li>
	<li>Use a net to transfer the fish into the anesthetics for 1 &#8211; 2 min (Figure 1F). Observe the fish gradually swim, spread the pectoral fins horizontally, gasp, and have rapid operculum movements within 1 min.</li>
	<li>As the time goes on, observe the fish lay on the bottom of the case and finally stop swimming. The surgical plane of anesthesia will reach when the fish stops to gasp and the operculum movements are slow. At this point, fish is ready for blood collection.</li>
	<li>Using a skimmer lift the anesthetized fish from the 2-PE and gently place it on a paper towel soaked with the anesthetics ( Figure 1G). Cover the fish&#8217;s head with soft tissue paper also soaked with 2-PE solution to prevent eye dryness and use another dry soft tissue paper to gently dry off the body surface.</li>
</ol>
3. Blood Collection
<ol>
	<li>Place a heparinized needle in the nosepiece end of the aspirator tube assembly (or the bulb dispenser) and hold the mouthpiece end of the aspirator tube assembly in mouth.</li>
	<li>Grasp the nosepiece end and the needle together, and carefully remove the interfering scales with the needle tip. Insert the needle at a 30 &#8211; 45&#176; angle into the blood collection site. Avoid puncture of the gastrointestinal tract (Figure 1H). In case of using bulb dispenser, press the bulb with thumb and middle finger, and block the hole at the tip of the bulb with first finger, then insert the needle as described above. 
	Note: The site for blood collection is along the body axis and posterior to the anus in the region of the dorsal aorta. The dorsal aorta (DA) and the posterior cardinal vein (PCV) are just ventral to the spine (Figure 2).</li>
	<li>Begin to suck the mouthpiece end of the aspiration tube assembly when the needle is felt touching the spine. If blood does not rise, move the needle tip subtly by hand to encourage blood flow. Note that once blood is rising into the needle, immediately stop shaking and suck gently (Figure 1I). In case of using bulb dispenser, release the pressure of bulb to aspirate the blood.</li>
	<li>Observe the blood will slowly rise into the needle in a pulsatile manner without suction, which is likely because of the arterial blood pressure. Thus, it is not necessary to suck if the needle correctly penetrates the artery.</li>
	<li>Stop suction after the appropriate volume of blood is collected. Remove the needle from the fish and press the puncture site using soft tissue paper to stop any bleeding. Observe the bleeding stop after approximately 10 &#8211; 20 sec&#160;of finger pressure (Figure 1J).</li>
	<li>After the bleeding is stopped, immediately transfer the fish back to a clean warm&#8211;water (~ 28 &#176;C) tank. Help the fish to recover by gently swirling water towards the gills until it begins to swim. 
	Note: Keep up to 5 postsampling fish in a 2 L tank and connect the tank to the circulation system to oxygenate the fish. Addition of antibiotics to the fish water is not necessary. Maintain the fish with normal housing and feeding.</li>
	<li>Expel the blood from the needle onto a clean area of a piece of parafilm (Figure 1K).</li>
	<li>Measure blood glucose using any commercial handheld glucometer (Figure 1L). 
	Note: The glucometer uses a glucose dehydrogenase&#8211;flavin adenine dinucleotide electrode and requires a sample volume of 0.6 &#181;l.
	<ol>
		<li>Insert a test strip completely into the meter and directly touch the blood drop. Observe the blood draw into the test strip automatically and obtain the blood glucose result 5 sec on the display area. Record the result and discard the test strip. Use a new test strip for each measurement.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>(optional step) Take accurate quantities of blood by a pipetting and transfer the blood to a microcentrifuge tube for further analyses (hemoglobin, triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol, etc.). If necessary, dilute the whole blood from one fish with saline. Centrifuge the blood samples for 3 min at 680 x g at RT and harvest the plasma. Transfer the plasma into a new tube. At this point, it is ready to be used in biochemical analyses.</li>
</ol>

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The authors have nothing to disclose.

We present here a detailed protocol for serially obtaining blood from adult zebrafish. This method is straightforward to carry out and we use it in lab on a daily basis. This blood collection method is based on inserting a glass capillary needle into the zebrafish&#8217;s dorsal aorta. During this procedure, it is critical to be careful to not ablate the spine because it is the criterion for searching for the dorsal aorta. Reducing the spine injury will improve the survival rate. Although this technique is simple and eas...

Zebrafish are gaining increasing popularity as a valuable model of human diseases because their organs and genetics are similar to those of humans1,2. In the field of developmental biology, many studies have demonstrated that zebrafish and human show marked similarity in hematopoiesis3, hemostasis4,5, and myelopoiesis6. Adult zebrafish are also used for studying immunological7, neurodegenerative8 and obesity-related diseases9 because this model organism shares common pathways with those disrupted in human diseases. For obesity and obesity-related diseases (diabetes, hepatic steatosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and atherosclerosis), zebrafish blood glucose and lipids levels have been thoroughly investigated in several transgenic and diet-induced obesity models10-13.
Repeated blood sampling from individual animals will reduce animal use and decrease interindividual differences. However, repeated sample collection is technically difficult in small animals such as zebrafish because of their relatively small blood volume and the lack of easily accessible vessels. Several methods for one-time blood collection from zebrafish have been developed, although these methods have their own drawbacks, including lethality, associated tissue damage and limited blood volume. For example, 1&#8211;5 &#181;l blood can be harvested from a lateral incision of approximately 0.3 cm in length in the region of the dorsal aorta5. Decapitation with scissors by cutting through the pectoral girdle can collect 5&#8211;10 &#181;l blood10. Another convenient blood sampling method is tail ablation14. Cardiac puncture is one potential alternative method for repeated blood collection from the same fish, but the very small amount obtained (approximately 50 nl) with this procedure limits the number of analyses that can be performed11. Accordingly, a new protocol is needed to enable repeated non-lethal blood sampling, which would be a critical advance necessary for this organism to be a standard model organism for human diseases. This technique would allow for testing pharmacological response, discovery of molecular biomarkers for diagnosis, determination of prognosis, and the monitoring of various diseases, such as metabolic diseases, degenerative diseases and several types of malignancies.
We therefore developed a minimally invasive method for obtaining blood from zebrafish serially15. Here we demonstrate the procedure visually and provide a detailed protocol for this technique. Using this method, the normal value based on various parameters, including hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, and lipids in the blood of healthy adult zebrafish were evaluated. Additionally, we also evaluated whether this method is suitable for studies that require serial samples by monitoring the temporal changes in blood glucose levels during overfeeding experiments.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass capillaries with filament</td>
			<td>Narishige</td>
			<td>GD-1</td>
			<td>1.0-mm-outer-diameter.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Needle puller</td>
			<td>Narishige</td>
			<td>PC-10</td>
			<td>To produce the needls</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Heparin</td>
			<td>Wako Pure Chemical Industries</td>
			<td>081-00136</td>
			<td>For heparinization</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Aspirator tube assembly</td>
			<td>Drummond</td>
			<td>2-040-000</td>
			<td>For blood collection</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bulb dispenser</td>
			<td>Drummond</td>
			<td>1-000-9000</td>
			<td>For blood collection</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2-phenoxyethanol</td>
			<td>Wako Pure Chemical Industries</td>
			<td>163-12075</td>
			<td>For anesthetizing the fish</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DRI-CHEM3500V</td>
			<td>Fujifilm</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>For hemoglobin measurement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DRI-CHEM Slides</td>
			<td>Fujifilm</td>
			<td>Hb-WII</td>
			<td>For hemoglobin measurement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glutest Neo Super</td>
			<td>Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>For bood glucose measurement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Wako L-type TG kit</td>
			<td>Wako Pure Chemical Industries</td>
			<td>464-44201</td>
			<td>For TG measurement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Wako L-type CHO kit</td>
			<td>Wako Pure Chemical Industries</td>
			<td>460-44301</td>
			<td>For total cholesterol measurement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Parafilm M</td>
			<td>Alcan Packaging</td>
			<td>PM996</td>
			<td>To expel the blood on</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

repeated blood collection for blood tests in adult zebrafish

Repeated blood collection is one of the most common techniques performed on laboratory animals. However, a non-lethal protocol for blood collection from zebrafish has not been established. The previous methods for blood collection from zebrafish are lethal, such as lateral incision, decapitation and tail ablation. Thus we have developed a novel &#8220;repeated&#8221; blood collection method, and present here a detailed protocol outlining this procedure. This method is minimally invasive and results in a very low mortality rate (2.3%) for zebrafish, thus enabling repeated blood sampling from the same individual. The maximum volume of blood sampling is dependent on body weight of the fish. The volume for repeated blood sampling at intervals should be&#160;&#8804;0.4% of body weight every week or &#8804;1% every 2 weeks, which were evaluated by measurements of blood hemoglobin. Additionally, hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, plasma triacylglycerol (TG) and total cholesterol levels in male and female adult zebrafish were measured. We also applied this method to investigate the dysregulation of glucose metabolism in diet-induced obesity. This blood collection method will allow many applications, including glucose and lipid metabolism and hematological studies, which will increase the use of zebrafish as a human disease model organism.

This blood collection method causes minimal injury to zebrafish (a &#60;1 mm puncture; Figure 1J) and yields a very low mortality rate of 2.3%. We examined the maximum volume of blood that could be collected from a single fish and evaluated the relationship to its body weight (Figure 3). We found that the maximum blood volume collected was linearly correlated with body weight (R = 0.813). The largest volume of blood collected from an individual fish (body weight = 1.071 g) was 25 &#181;l...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Repeated Blood Collection for Blood Tests in Adult Zebrafish at JoVE.com

Repeated Blood Collection for Blood Tests in Adult Zebrafish

Repeated blood sampling is necessary and important in animal research. We developed a novel, non-lethal and reliable method for repeated blood collection from adult zebrafish, and applied this method to the study of blood biochemistry, including glucose metabolism.

Repeated blood collection is one of the most common techniques performed on laboratory animals. However, a non-lethal protocol for blood collection from ...

repeated-blood-collection-for-blood-tests-in-adult-zebrafish

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34.7K vistas.  Mie University. Repeated blood sampling is necessary and important in animal research. We developed a novel, non-lethal and reliable method for repeated blood collection from adult zebrafish, and applied this method to the study of blood biochemistry, including glucose metabolism.

Video: Repeated Blood Collection for Blood Tests in Adult Zebrafish

Blood Collection from the American Horseshoe Crab, Limulus Polyphemus

The horseshoe crab has the best-characterized immune system of any long-lived invertebrate. The study of immunity in horseshoe crabs has been facilitated by the ease in collecting large volumes of blood and from the simplicity of the blood. Horseshoe crabs show only a single cell type in the general circulation, the granular amebocyte. The plasma has the salt content of sea water and only three abundant proteins, hemocyanin, the respiratory protein, the C-reactive proteins, which function in the cytolytic destruction of foreign cells, including bacterial cells, and &alpha;2-macroglobulin, which inhibits the proteases of invading pathogens. Blood is collected by direct cardiac puncture under conditions that minimize contamination by lipopolysaccharide (a.k.a., endotoxin, LPS), a product of the Gram-negative bacteria. A large animal can yield 200 - 400 mL of blood. For the study of the plasma, blood cells are immediately removed from the plasma by centrifugation and the plasma can then be fractionated into its constituent proteins. The blood cells are conveniently studied microscopically by collecting small volumes of blood into LPS-free isotonic saline (0.5 M NaCl) under conditions that permit direct microscopic examination by placing one of more LPS-free coverglasses on the culture dish surface, then mounting those coverglasses in simple observation chambers following cell attachment. A second preparation for direct observation is to collect 3 - 5 mL of blood in a LPS-free embryo dish and then explanting fragments of aggregated amebocytes to a chamber that sandwiches the tissue between a slide and a coverglass. In this preparation, the motile amebocytes migrate onto the coverglass surface, where they can readily be observed. The blood clotting system involves aggregation of amebocytes and the formation of an extracellular clot of a protein, coagulin, which is released from the secretory granules of the blood cells. Biochemical analysis of washed blood cells requires that aggregation and degranulation does not occur, which can be accomplished by collecting blood into 0.1 volumes of 2% Tween-20, 0.5 M LPS-free NaCl, followed by centrifugation of the cells and washing with 0.5 M NaCl.

The American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, is arguably the most convenient source for large quantities of blood of any invertebrate. The blood is simple in composition, with only one cell-type in the general circulation, the granular amebocyte, and only three abundant proteins in the plasma, hemocyanin, the C-reactive proteins, and &alpha;2-macroglobulin. Blood is collected from the heart and the blood cells and plasma are separated by centrifugation.

The horseshoe crab has the best-characterized immune system of any long-lived invertebrate.  The study of immunity in horseshoe crabs has been facilitated ...

Isolation and Culture of Pulmonary Endothelial Cells from Neonatal Mice

Endothelial cells provide a useful research model in many areas of vascular biology. Since its first isolation 1, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) have shown to be convenient, easy to obtain and culture, and thus are the most widely studied endothelial cells. However, for research focused on processes like angiogenesis, permeability or many others, microvascular endothelial cells (ECs) are a much more physiologically relevant model to study 2. Furthermore, ECs isolated from knockout mice provide a useful tool for analysis of protein function ex vivo. Several approaches to isolate and culture microvascular ECs of different origin have been reported to date 3-7, but consistent isolation and culture of pure ECs is still a major technical problem in many laboratories. Here, we provide a step-by-step protocol on a reliable and relatively simple method of isolating and culturing mouse lung endothelial cells (MLECs). In this approach, lung tissue obtained from 6- to 8-day old pups is first cut into pieces, digested with collagenase/dispase (C/D) solution and dispersed mechanically into single-cell suspension. MLECS are purified from cell suspension using positive selection with anti-PECAM-1 antibody conjugated to Dynabeads using a Magnetic Particle Concentrator (MPC). Such purified cells are cultured on gelatin-coated tissue culture (TC) dishes until they become confluent. At that point, cells are further purified using Dynabeads coupled to anti-ICAM-2 antibody. MLECs obtained with this protocol exhibit a cobblestone phenotype, as visualized by phase-contrast light microscopy, and their endothelial phenotype has been confirmed using FACS analysis with anti-VE-cadherin 8 and anti-VEGFR2 9 antibodies and immunofluorescent staining of VE-cadherin. In our hands, this two-step isolation procedure consistently and reliably yields a pure population of MLECs, which can be further cultured. This method will enable researchers to take advantage of the growing number of knockout and transgenic mice to directly correlate in vivo studies with results of in vitro experiments performed on isolated MLECs and thus help to reveal molecular mechanisms of vascular phenotypes observed in vivo.

Here, we describe a protocol for isolation and culture of murine pulmonary endothelial cells. This method comprises mechanic and enzymatic lung tissue dissociation as well as a 2-step purification process using anti-PECAM-1 and anti-ICAM-2 antibodies conjugated to magnetic beads, which produces a pure endothelial cell population of mostly microvascular origin.

Endothelial cells provide a useful research model in many areas of vascular biology. Since its first isolation 1, human umbilical vein endothelial cells ...

Whole-mount Immunohistochemical Analysis for Embryonic Limb Skin Vasculature: a Model System to Study Vascular Branching Morphogenesis in Embryo

Whole-mount immunohistochemical analysis for imaging the entire vasculature is pivotal for understanding the cellular mechanisms of branching morphogenesis. We have developed the limb skin vasculature model to study vascular development in which a pre-existing primitive capillary plexus is reorganized into a hierarchically branched vascular network. Whole-mount confocal microscopy with multiple labelling allows for robust imaging of intact blood vessels as well as their cellular components including endothelial cells, pericytes and smooth muscle cells, using specific fluorescent markers. Advances in this limb skin vasculature model with genetic studies have improved understanding molecular mechanisms of vascular development and patterning. The limb skin vasculature model has been used to study how peripheral nerves provide a spatial template for the differentiation and patterning of arteries. This video article describes a simple and robust protocol to stain intact blood vessels with vascular specific antibodies and fluorescent secondary antibodies, which is applicable for vascularized embryonic organs where we are able to follow the process of vascular development.

We introduce a whole-mount immunohistochemistry and laser scanning confocal microscopy with multiple labelling for analyzing intricate vascular network formation in mouse embryonic limb skin.

Whole-mount immunohistochemical analysis for imaging the entire vasculature is pivotal for understanding the cellular mechanisms of branching ...

In vivo Electroporation of Morpholinos into the Adult Zebrafish Retina

Many devastating inherited eye diseases result in progressive and irreversible blindness because humans cannot regenerate dying or diseased retinal neurons. In contrast, the adult zebrafish retina possesses the robust ability to spontaneously regenerate any neuronal class that is lost in a variety of different retinal damage models, including retinal puncture, chemical ablation, concentrated high temperature, and intense light treatment 1-8. Our lab extensively characterized regeneration of photoreceptors following constant intense light treatment and inner retinal neurons after intravitreal ouabain injection 2, 5, 9. In all cases, resident M&uuml;ller glia re-enter the cell cycle to produce neuronal progenitors, which continue to proliferate and migrate to the proper retinal layer, where they differentiate into the deficient neurons. 
	We characterized five different stages during regeneration of the light-damaged retina that were highlighted by specific cellular responses. We identified several differentially expressed genes at each stage of retinal regeneration by mRNA microarray analysis 10. Many of these genes are also critical for ocular development. To test the role of each candidate gene/protein during retinal regeneration, we needed to develop a method to conditionally limit the expression of a candidate protein only at times during regeneration of the adult retina. 
	Morpholino oligos are widely used to study loss of function of specific proteins during the development of zebrafish, Xenopus, chick, mouse, and tumors in human xenografts 11-14. These modified oligos basepair with complementary RNA sequence to either block the splicing or translation of the target RNA. Morpholinos are stable in the cell and can eliminate or "knockdown" protein expression for three to five days 12. 
	Here, we describe a method to efficiently knockdown target protein expression in the adult zebrafish retina. This method employs lissamine-tagged antisense morpholinos that are injected into the vitreous of the adult zebrafish eye. Using electrode forceps, the morpholino is then electroporated into all the cell types of the dorsal and central retina. Lissamine provides the charge on the morpholino for electroporation and can be visualized to assess the presence of the morpholino in the retinal cells. 
	Conditional knockdown in the retina can be used to examine the role of specific proteins at different times during regeneration. Additionally, this approach can be used to study the role of specific proteins in the undamaged retina, in such processes as visual transduction and visual processing in second order neurons.

In vivo Electroporation of Morpholinos into the Adult Zebrafish Retina

A method to conditionally knockdown a target protein&#x2019;s expression in the adult zebrafish retina is described, which involves intravitreally injecting antisense morpholinos and electroporating them into the retina. The resulting protein is knocked down for several days, which allows testing the protein&#x2019;s role in the regenerating or intact retina.

Many devastating inherited eye diseases result in progressive and irreversible blindness because humans cannot regenerate dying or diseased retinal ...

In vivo Electroporation of Morpholinos into the Regenerating Adult Zebrafish Tail Fin

Certain species of urodeles and teleost fish can regenerate their tissues. Zebrafish have become a widely used model to study the spontaneous regeneration of adult tissues, such as the heart1, retina2, spinal cord3, optic nerve4, sensory hair cells5, and fins6.
The zebrafish fin is a relatively simple appendage that is easily manipulated to study multiple stages in epimorphic regeneration. Classically, fin regeneration was characterized by three distinct stages: wound healing, blastema formation, and fin outgrowth. After amputating part of the fin, the surrounding epithelium proliferates and migrates over the wound. At 33 &deg;C, this process occurs within six hours post-amputation (hpa, Figure 1B)6,7. Next, underlying cells from different lineages (ex. bone, blood, glia, fibroblast) re-enter the cell cycle to form a proliferative blastema, while the overlying epidermis continues to proliferate (Figure 1D)8. Outgrowth occurs as cells proximal to the blastema re-differentiate into their respective lineages to form new tissue (Figure 1E)8. Depending on the level of the amputation, full regeneration is completed in a week to a month.
The expression of a large number of gene families, including wnt, hox, fgf, msx, retinoic acid, shh, notch, bmp, and activin-betaA genes, is up-regulated during specific stages of fin regeneration9-16. However, the roles of these genes and their encoded proteins during regeneration have been difficult to assess, unless a specific inhibitor for the protein exists13, a temperature-sensitive mutant exists or a transgenic animal (either overexpressing the wild-type protein or a dominant-negative protein) was generated7,12. We developed a reverse genetic technique to quickly and easily test the function of any gene during fin regeneration.
Morpholino oligonucleotides are widely used to study loss of specific proteins during zebrafish, Xenopus, chick, and mouse development17-19. Morpholinos basepair with a complementary RNA sequence to either block pre-mRNA splicing or mRNA translation. We describe a method to efficiently introduce fluorescein-tagged antisense morpholinos into regenerating zebrafish fins to knockdown expression of the target protein. The morpholino is micro-injected into each blastema of the regenerating zebrafish tail fin and electroporated into the surrounding cells. Fluorescein provides the charge to electroporate the morpholino and to visualize the morpholino in the fin tissue.
This protocol permits conditional protein knockdown to examine the role of specific proteins during regenerative fin outgrowth. In the Discussion, we describe how this approach can be adapted to study the role of specific proteins during wound healing or blastema formation, as well as a potential marker of cell migration during blastema formation.

In vivo Electroporation of Morpholinos into the Regenerating Adult Zebrafish Tail Fin

We describe a method to conditionally knockdown the expression of a target protein during adult zebrafish fin regeneration. This technique involves micro-injecting and electroporating antisense oligonucleotide morpholinos into fin tissue, which allows testing the protein&#x2019;s role in various stages of fin regeneration, including wound healing, blastema formation, and regenerative outgrowth.

Certain species of urodeles and teleost fish can regenerate their tissues. Zebrafish have become a widely used model to study the spontaneous regeneration ...

Blood Collection for Biochemical Analysis in Adult Zebrafish

The zebrafish has been used as an animal model for studies of several human diseases. It can serve as a powerful preclinical platform for studies of molecular events and therapeutic strategies as well as for evaluating the physiological mechanisms of some pathologies1. 
There are relatively few publications related to adult zebrafish physiology of organs and systems2, which may lead researchers to infer that the basic techniques needed to allow the exploration of zebrafish systems are lacking3. Hematologic biochemical values of zebrafish were first reported in 2003 by Murtha and colleagues4 who employed a blood collection technique first described by Jagadeeswaran and colleagues in 1999. Briefly, blood was collected via a micropipette tip through a lateral incision, approximately 0.3 cm in length, in the region of the dorsal aorta5. Because of the minute dimensions involved, this is a high-precision technique requiring a highly skilled practitioner. The same technique was used by the same group in another publication in that same year6. In 2010, Eames and colleagues assessed whole blood glucose levels in zebrafish7. They gained access to the blood by performing decapitations with scissors and then inserting a heparinized microcapillary collection tube into the pectoral articulation. They mention difficulties with hemolysis that were solved with an appropriate storage temperature based on the work Kilpatrick et al.8. When attempting to use Jagadeeswaran's technique in our laboratory, we found that it was difficult to make the incision in precisely the right place as not to allow a significant amount of blood to be lost before collection could be started. 
Recently, Gupta et al.9 described how to dissect adult zebrafish organs, Kinkle et al.10 described how to perform intraperitoneal injections, and Pugach et al.11 described how to perform retro-orbital injections. However, more work is needed to more fully explore basic techniques for research in zebrafish.
The small size of zebrafish presents challenges for researchers using it as an experimental model. Furthermore, given this smallness of scale, it is important that simple techniques are developed to enable researchers to explore the advantages of the zebrafish model.

This paper presents a technique for collection of blood from the dorsal aorta of Zebrafish. It also provides instructions for obtaining serum for use in biochemical analyses, such as tests for determining cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

The zebrafish has been used as an animal model for studies of several human diseases. It can serve as a powerful preclinical platform for studies of ...

Gavaging Adult Zebrafish

The zebrafish has become an important in vivo model in biomedical research. Effective methods must be developed and utilized to deliver compounds or agents in solutions for scientific research. Current methods for administering compounds orally to adult zebrafish are inaccurate due to variability in voluntary consumption by the fish. A gavage procedure was developed to deliver precise quantities of infectious agents to zebrafish for study in biomedical research. Adult zebrafish over 6 months of age were anesthetized with 150 mg/L of buffered MS-222 and gavaged with 5 &mu;l of solution using flexible catheter implantation tubing attached to a cut 22-G needle tip. The flexible tubing was lowered into the oral cavity of the zebrafish until the tip of the tubing extended past the gills (approximately 1 cm). The solution was then injected slowly into the intestinal tract. This method was effective 88% of the time, with fish recovering uneventfully. This procedure is also efficient as one person can gavage 20-30 fish in one hour. This method can be used to precisely administer agents for infectious diseases studies, or studies of other compounds in adult zebrafish.

The increasing use of zebrafish as an animal model requires the development of effective methods for the delivery of known quantities of compounds and solutions. The gavage procedure described below allows for the oral delivery of precise volumes of solution reliably, safely and efficiently to adult zebrafish.

The zebrafish has become an important in vivo model in biomedical research. Effective methods must be developed and utilized to deliver compounds or ...

A Method for Screening and Validation of Resistant Mutations Against Kinase Inhibitors

The discovery of BCR/ABL as a driver oncogene in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) resulted in the development of Imatinib, which, in fact, demonstrated the potential of targeting the kinase in cancers by effectively treating the CML patients. This observation revolutionized drug development to target the oncogenic kinases implicated in various other malignancies, such as, EGFR, B-RAF, KIT and PDGFRs. However, one major drawback of anti-kinase therapies is the emergence of drug resistance mutations rendering the target to have reduced or lost affinity for the drug. Understanding the mechanisms employed by resistant variants not only helps in developing the next generation inhibitors but also gives impetus to clinical management using personalized medicine. We reported a retroviral vector based screening strategy to identify the spectrum of resistance conferring mutations in BCR/ABL, which has helped in developing the next generation BCR/ABL inhibitors. Using Ruxolitinib and JAK2 as a drug target pair, here we describe in vitro screening methods that utilizes the mouse BAF3 cells expressing the random mutation library of JAK2 kinase.

Emergence of genetic resistance against kinase inhibitor therapy poses significant challenge for effective cancer therapy. Identification and characterization of resistant mutations against a newly developed drug helps in better clinical management and next generation drug design. Here, we describe our protocol for in vitro screening and validation of resistant mutations.

The discovery of BCR/ABL as a driver oncogene in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) resulted in the development of Imatinib, which, in fact, demonstrated the ...

Techniques for the Analysis of Extracellular Vesicles Using Flow Cytometry

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are small, membrane-derived vesicles found in bodily fluids that are highly involved in cell-cell communication and help regulate a diverse range of biological processes. Analysis of EVs using flow cytometry (FCM) has been notoriously difficult due to their small size and lack of discrete populations positive for markers of interest. Methods for EV analysis, while considerably improved over the last decade, are still a work in progress. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all protocol, and several aspects must be considered when determining the most appropriate method to use. Presented here are several different techniques for processing EVs and two protocols for analyzing EVs using either individual detection or a bead-based approach. The methods described here will assist with eliminating the antibody aggregates commonly found in commercial preparations, increasing signal&#8211;to-noise ratio, and setting gates in a rational fashion that minimizes detection of background fluorescence. The first protocol uses an individual detection method that is especially well suited for analyzing a high volume of clinical samples, while the second protocol uses a bead-based approach to capture and detect smaller EVs and exosomes.

Many different methods exist for the measurement of extracellular vesicles (EVs) using flow cytometry (FCM). Several aspects should be considered when determining the most appropriate method to use. Two protocols for measuring EVs are presented, using either individual detection or a bead-based approach.

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are small, membrane-derived vesicles found in bodily fluids that are highly involved in cell-cell communication and help ...

Immunofluorescence Analysis of Endogenous and Exogenous Centromere-kinetochore Proteins

"Centromeres" and "kinetochores" refer to the site where chromosomes associate with the spindle during cell division. Direct visualization of centromere-kinetochore proteins during the cell cycle remains a fundamental tool in investigating the mechanism(s) of these proteins. Advanced imaging methods in fluorescence microscopy provide remarkable resolution of centromere-kinetochore components and allow direct observation of specific molecular components of the centromeres and kinetochores. In addition, methods of indirect immunofluorescent (IIF) staining using specific antibodies are crucial to these observations. However, despite numerous reports about IIF protocols, few discussed in detail problems of specific centromere-kinetochore proteins.1-4 Here we report optimized protocols to stain endogenous centromere-kinetochore proteins in human cells by using paraformaldehyde fixation and IIF staining. Furthermore, we report protocols to detect Flag-tagged exogenous CENP-A proteins in human cells subjected to acetone or methanol fixation. These methods are useful in detecting and quantifying endogenous centromere-kinetochore proteins and Flag-tagged CENP-A proteins, including those in human cells.

Here we report protocols to detect endogenous and exogenous centromere-kinetochore proteins in human cells and quantify these protein levels at centromeres-kinetochores by indirect immunofluorescent staining through the use of fixation (paraformaldehyde, acetone, or methanol fixation).