Zebrafish thrombosis models according to the location of thrombus formation.

Background: Ischemic stroke becomes a major cause of death and disability. It can develop due to intravascular or cardiac thromboemboli. Animal models that reflect diverse stroke mechanisms remain under development. Using photochemical thrombosis, we developed a feasible zebrafish model according to the thrombus location (intracerebral Methods: We used transgenic zebrafish larvae (flk:gfp), which express specific fluorescence in endothelial cells. We injected Rose Bengal, a photosensitizer as a mixture of photosensitizer, and a fluorescent agent into the cardinal vein of the larvae. We then evaluated real-time thrombosis Results: The photochemical agent induced the formation of intracerebral thrombi in transgenic zebrafish. Real-time imaging techniques confirmed the formation of the thrombi. The damage and apoptosis of the vessel's endothelial cells were seen in the Conclusions: We developed and validated two zebrafish thrombosis models that are readily available, cost-effective, and intuitive for assessing the efficacy of thrombolytic agents. These models can be used for a broad spectrum of future studies, such as screening and efficacy assessment of new antithrombotic agents.