Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Ecological Treatment Technology of Urban Water Pollution, College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, China
Yilei Ma
Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China
Jia Yi
Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China
Pengyu Lei
Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China
Yimeng Fang
Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China
Lei Wang
Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China; Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, 325000, China
Fan Liu
Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China
Li Luo
Affiliated Dongguang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Dongguang, 523059, China
Kun Zhang
Bioengineering College of Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
Libo Jin
Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China
Qinsi Yang
Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, 325000, China
Da Sun
Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China; Corresponding author. Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Chi Zhang
Department of Clinical Translational Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325200, China; Corresponding author.
Rapid ascent to high-altitude areas above 2500 m often leads to acute high altitude illness (AHAI), posing significant health risks. Current models for AHAI research are limited in their ability to accurately simulate the high-altitude environment for drug screening. Addressing this gap, a novel static self-assembled water vacuum transparent chamber was developed to induce AHAI in zebrafish. This study identified 6000 m for 2 h as the optimal condition for AHAI induction in zebrafish. Under these conditions, notable behavioral changes including slow movement, abnormal exploration behavior and static behavior in the Novel tank test. Furthermore, this model demonstrated changes in oxidative stress-related markers included increased levels of malondialdehyde, decreased levels of glutathione, decreased activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and increased levels of inflammatory markers IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α, and inflammatory cell infiltration and mild edema in the gill tissue, mirroring the clinical pathophysiology observed in AHAI patients. This innovative zebrafish model not only offers a more accurate representation of the high-altitude environment but also provides a high-throughput platform for AHAI drug discovery and pathogenesis research.
