A Novel Behavioral Fish Model of Nociception for Testing Analgesics

Pain is a major symptom in many medical conditions, and often interferes significantly with a person’s quality of life. Although a priority topic in medical research for many years, there are still few analgesic drugs approved for clinical use. One reason is the lack of appropriate animal models tha...

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Main Authors: E. Don Stevens, Sérgio R. Cunha, Martin Scholze, Ana D. Correia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2011-04-01
Series:Pharmaceuticals
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/4/4/665/
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author E. Don Stevens
Sérgio R. Cunha
Martin Scholze
Ana D. Correia
author_facet E. Don Stevens
Sérgio R. Cunha
Martin Scholze
Ana D. Correia
author_sort E. Don Stevens
collection DOAJ
description Pain is a major symptom in many medical conditions, and often interferes significantly with a person’s quality of life. Although a priority topic in medical research for many years, there are still few analgesic drugs approved for clinical use. One reason is the lack of appropriate animal models that faithfully represent relevant hallmarks associated with human pain. Here we propose zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a novel short-term behavioral model of nociception, and analyse its sensitivity and robustness. Firstly, we injected two different doses of acetic acid as the noxious stimulus. We studied individual locomotor responses of fish to a threshold level of nociception using two recording systems: a video tracking system and an electric biosensor (the MOBS system). We showed that an injection dose of 10% acetic acid resulted in a change in behavior that could be used to study nociception. Secondly, we validated our behavioral model by investigating the effect of the analgesic morphine. In time-course studies, first we looked at the dose-response relationship of morphine and then tested whether the effect of morphine could be modulated by naloxone, an opioid antagonist. Our results suggest that a change in behavioral responses of zebrafish to acetic acid is a reasonable model to test analgesics. The response scales with stimulus intensity, is attenuated by morphine, and the analgesic effect of morphine is blocked with naloxone. The change in behavior of zebrafish associated with the noxious stimulus can be monitored with an electric biosensor that measures changes in water impedance.
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spelling doaj.art-f9287bad47a0415fb2f56e678db11c2b2022-12-22T01:11:30ZengMDPI AGPharmaceuticals1424-82472011-04-014466568010.3390/ph4040665A Novel Behavioral Fish Model of Nociception for Testing AnalgesicsE. Don StevensSérgio R. CunhaMartin ScholzeAna D. CorreiaPain is a major symptom in many medical conditions, and often interferes significantly with a person’s quality of life. Although a priority topic in medical research for many years, there are still few analgesic drugs approved for clinical use. One reason is the lack of appropriate animal models that faithfully represent relevant hallmarks associated with human pain. Here we propose zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a novel short-term behavioral model of nociception, and analyse its sensitivity and robustness. Firstly, we injected two different doses of acetic acid as the noxious stimulus. We studied individual locomotor responses of fish to a threshold level of nociception using two recording systems: a video tracking system and an electric biosensor (the MOBS system). We showed that an injection dose of 10% acetic acid resulted in a change in behavior that could be used to study nociception. Secondly, we validated our behavioral model by investigating the effect of the analgesic morphine. In time-course studies, first we looked at the dose-response relationship of morphine and then tested whether the effect of morphine could be modulated by naloxone, an opioid antagonist. Our results suggest that a change in behavioral responses of zebrafish to acetic acid is a reasonable model to test analgesics. The response scales with stimulus intensity, is attenuated by morphine, and the analgesic effect of morphine is blocked with naloxone. The change in behavior of zebrafish associated with the noxious stimulus can be monitored with an electric biosensor that measures changes in water impedance.http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/4/4/665/morphinefishdose-responsezebrafish
spellingShingle E. Don Stevens
Sérgio R. Cunha
Martin Scholze
Ana D. Correia
A Novel Behavioral Fish Model of Nociception for Testing Analgesics
Pharmaceuticals
morphine
fish
dose-response
zebrafish
title A Novel Behavioral Fish Model of Nociception for Testing Analgesics
title_full A Novel Behavioral Fish Model of Nociception for Testing Analgesics
title_fullStr A Novel Behavioral Fish Model of Nociception for Testing Analgesics
title_full_unstemmed A Novel Behavioral Fish Model of Nociception for Testing Analgesics
title_short A Novel Behavioral Fish Model of Nociception for Testing Analgesics
title_sort novel behavioral fish model of nociception for testing analgesics
topic morphine
fish
dose-response
zebrafish
url http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/4/4/665/
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