Modeling nontuberculous mycobacterial infections in zebrafish

• Published in: Trends in microbiology (Regular ed.) 2024-07, Vol.32 (7), p.663-677
• Main Authors: Johansen, Matt D., Spaink, Herman P., Oehlers, Stefan H., Kremer, Laurent
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptive Immunity; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Host-Pathogen Interactions - immunology; host–pathogen interactions; Humans; immune system; Immunity, Innate; infection; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous - microbiology; nontuberculous mycobacteria; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria - pathogenicity; pathogenesis; zebrafish; Zebrafish - microbiology
• ISSN: 0966-842X; 1878-4380; 1878-4380
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2023.11.011

Mycobacterium marinum, a fish pathogen, was originally used to model natural host–pathogen interactions in zebrafish.Recent studies have shown that infections caused by a wide range of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) can be studied in zebrafish.Zebrafish larvae and adults represent valuable host species that can be used to model important biological questions underlying NTM pathogenesis and host immunity.Many pathophysiological traits discovered in the zebrafish model accurately recapitulate NTM infections in humans. The incidence of infections due to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) has increased rapidly in recent years, surpassing tuberculosis in developed countries. Due to inherent antimicrobial resistance, NTM infections are particularly difficult to treat with low cure rates. There is an urgent need to understand NTM pathogenesis and to develop novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of NTM diseases. Zebrafish have emerged as an excellent animal model due to genetic amenability and optical transparency during embryonic development, allowing spatiotemporal visualization of host–pathogen interactions. Furthermore, adult zebrafish possess fully functional innate and adaptive immunity and recapitulate important pathophysiological hallmarks of mycobacterial infection. Here, we report recent breakthroughs in understanding the hallmarks of NTM infections using the zebrafish model. The incidence of infections due to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) has increased rapidly in recent years, surpassing tuberculosis in developed countries. Due to inherent antimicrobial resistance, NTM infections are particularly difficult to treat with low cure rates. There is an urgent need to understand NTM pathogenesis and to develop novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of NTM diseases. Zebrafish have emerged as an excellent animal model due to genetic amenability and optical transparency during embryonic development, allowing spatiotemporal visualization of host–pathogen interactions. Furthermore, adult zebrafish possess fully functional innate and adaptive immunity and recapitulate important pathophysiological hallmarks of mycobacterial infection. Here, we report recent breakthroughs in understanding the hallmarks of NTM infections using the zebrafish model.