Written by Dr. Marija Cvetanovic Edited by Dr. Larissa Nitschke
Elsaey and colleagues develop a new animal model of SCA1 using zebrafish. These SCA1-fish can help researchers learn more about what happens to neurons as disease progresses.
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 is dominantly inherited spinocerebellar ataxia caused by the lengthening of the polyglutamine repeats in the protein ataxin-1. Patients with SCA1 slowly lose their sense of balance, and can experience other symptoms like depression. Studies have shown that a key feature of SCA1 is the loss of Purkinje cells in the patient’s cerebellum.
Since the discovery of SCA1 in 1993, the use of mouse and cell models of disease have really helped researchers understand how mutant ataxin-1 affects Purkinje cells to cause SCA1 symptoms. Each model has its advantages and disadvantages. You need to consider several things when picking which model to use to study SCA1, like cost and similarity to humans.
For example, mouse models of SCA1 are useful to study pathogenesis at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and behavioral levels. But mice are costly and can take a long time to develop. It is also difficult to study the loss of Purkinje cells in live mice. On the other hand, fruit fly models are relatively cheap and grow really quickly, which allows for high-throughput studies of how different genes affect SCA1. But since fruit flies are evolutionarily distant from humans and do not have a cerebellum, they cannot be used to study Purkinje cells loss.

This is why creating a SCA1 zebrafish model is exciting. Zebrafish have very similar cerebellar anatomy and function to mammals. Also, Zebrafish larval stages are almost transparent, allowing for non-invasive imaging. Zebrafish are also much more cost-effective than mice and are easier to modify.
Continue reading “Arrival of SCA1-fish: Expanding the research tools to study Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1”
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