Burns CG, Milan DJ, Grande EJ, Rottbauer W, MacRae CA, Fishman MC. High-throughput assay for small molecules that modulate zebrafish embryonic heart rate. Nat Chem Biol. 2005 Oct; 1(5):263-4.

Citation

Burns CG, Milan DJ, Grande EJ, Rottbauer W, MacRae CA, Fishman MC. 2005. High-throughput assay for small molecules that modulate zebrafish embryonic heart rate. Nature chemical biology. 1(5):263-4. Pubmed: 16408054

Abstract

To increase the facility and throughput of scoring phenotypic traits in embryonic zebrafish, we developed an automated micro-well assay for heart rate using automated fluorescence microscopy of transgenic embryos expressing green fluorescent protein in myocardium. The assay measures heart rates efficiently and accurately over a large linear dynamic range, and it rapidly characterizes dose dependence and kinetics of small molecule-induced changes in heart rate. This is the first high-throughput micro-well assay for organ function in an intact vertebrate.

Related Faculty

Mark C. Fishman, M.D.

Fishman Lab

Mark C. Fishman’s group studies the heart-brain connection. They employ a range of genetic, developmental, and neurobiological tools in zebrafish to understand what the heart tells the brain, and how critical internal sensory systems adjust homeostatic and somatic behaviors, including social interactions.