Inflammation in Zebrafish Models

The zebrafish is an outstanding model for in-vivo imaging of inflammation due to its optical translucency and the ability of transgenic lines to express fluorescent proteins under specific promoters. Furthermore, the immune system of zebrafish closely resembles that of mammals. Inflammation is the body's attempt at self-protection; the aim being to remove harmful stimuli, including damaged cells, irritants, or pathogens - and begin the healing process. This study focuses on two zebrafish models of inflammation. The first model, Tag MPX:GFP (UWM1), which has already been established and studied, was used to investigate the possible effect of Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in the inflammation process. The second model will express mCherry fluorescent protein under the Mx promoter, in order to quantify the strength or activity of upstream gene expression. The results suggest that EGCG has a favorable effect on the inflammation process. In addition, the entry clone for the Mx1-mCherry system was successfully constructed.