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Abstract #1387

Development of Cardiac MRI for Studying Zebrafish Models of Cardiovascular Disease

Gavin D. Merrifield1, Jim Mullin2, Carl S. Tucker3, Martin A. Denvir3, William M. Holmes2

1School of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom; 2Glasgow experimental MRI Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom; 3Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom


The zebrafish has emerged as an excellent model for cardiovascular research, with many researchers being attracted by the increasing availability of molecular, genetic and physiological research tools. However, unlike with mammalian models, live imaging of heart function remains challenging in the adult zebrafish1. Unlike embryos (<5day), the skin of adult zebrafish is non-transparent, i.e. pigmented and scaled, thereby precluding optical methods. We have explored the possibility of using MRI for in-vivo cardiac imaging of adult zebrafish, by implementing a retrospective self-gated cardiac sequence.