Jiaxuan He,1,* Peiye Xu,1,* Rongbing Chen,2 Mengyan Chen,3 Beier Wang,4 Yilun Xie,4 Qinsi Yang,5 Da Sun,1 Mingxia Ji3 

1Institute of Life Sciences & Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR 999077, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Critical Care Medicine, Yiwu Central Hospital, the Affiliated Yiwu Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Yiwu, 322000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, People’s Republic of China; 5Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, 325000, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Mingxia Ji; Da Sun, Email jmx529652@wmu.edu.cn; sunday@wzu.edu.cn

Abstract: Sepsis, a severe condition instigated by infections, continues to be a primary global cause of death, typified by systemic inflammation and advancing immune dysfunction. Comprehending the complex pathological processes that underlie sepsis is integral to the creation of efficacious treatments. Despite the inability of animal models to entirely reproduce the clinical intricacies related to sepsis, they are invaluable instruments for the exploration and development of therapeutic approaches. Within this context, the zebrafish model is particularly noteworthy due to its genetic tractability, transparency, and appropriateness for high-throughput screening of genetic mutants and therapeutic compounds. This scholarly review emphasizes the crucial role that the zebrafish disease model plays in enhancing our comprehension of sepsis, by exploring its applications in deciphering immune and inflammatory responses, evaluating the consequences of genetic alterations, and examining novel therapeutic agents. The Insights derived from zebrafish research not only augment our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of sepsis, but also possess considerable potential for the transference of these discoveries into clinical therapies, thus potentially transforming the approach to sepsis management. The objective of this scholarly article is to underscore the importance of zebrafish in the realm of biomedical research pertaining to sepsis, and to delineate forthcoming opportunities for utilizing this model in clinical applications.

Keywords: Sepsis, Zebrafish models, Inflammation, Immunology, Drug development