Zebrafish models of podocytopathies

Over the past decade, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has seen increasing use as a model system for glomerular disease. Podocyte architecture and molecular biology is highly conserved across all vertebrate clades; as such, the zebrafish is not only a highly efficient, more economical, alternative to mammalian disease models, but a versatile system for translational podocyte research by itself. Contributing to its versatility, strategies for assaying glomerular filtration and inducing podocyte injury in zebrafish have been applied to the study of podocyte gene functions. In addition, using these tools, podocyte regeneration in zebrafish has been characterized. These findings, together with other recently developed tools for zebrafish work, ensure that the zebrafish will remain a vital model system for future podocytopathy research.