Neuroscience For Kids

Can Zebrafish Genes Help Us Cure Paralysis?

By Nicole Recka, Neuroscience for Kids Guest Writer
Edited by Ellen Kuwana
November 15, 2023

Do you know someone who uses a wheelchair? Many people who use wheelchairs have trouble moving their lower body because of an injury. Doctors call this "paralysis." In the United States, more than 5.4 million people have some sort of paralysis.

What Causes Paralysis?

Paralysis may be caused by damage to the spinal cord. Right now, there is no way to fix a broken spinal cord. Some people who are paralyzed will never be able to use of their paralyzed arms or legs again. The spinal cord, along with the brain, makes up the central nervous system. Inside the central nervous system are special cells called neurons. Neurons are important because they send messages between different parts of your body. Neurons can be hurt and die if your central nervous system is damaged. Some cells in our body can repair themselves. Neurons in the central nervous system, though, are not able to grow back or repair themselves if they get hurt. This means that any injury to the central nervous system is permanent. wheelchair

What Can We Learn From Zebrafish?

Scientists and doctors have been working together to find a way to make our neurons grow back. If we find a way to regrow neurons in the spinal cord, we might be able to cure paralysis!

Researchers have discovered a tiny freshwater fish called zebrafish (because the fish have blue stripes) that can fix its spinal cord if it gets hurt. When a zebrafish senses an injury to spinal cord, it makes new neurons to replace the damaged ones. This repair is possible because the neurons are able to turn on specific genes that cause the nerve cell to grow back.

What Does This Mean For Humans?

Scientists found out that humans have the same genes as zebrafish! But we do not use these genes in the same way that the fish do. While zebrafish use these genes to regrow neurons after an injury, we use these genes when we are babies to help grow our neurons. Sometime during evolution, though, we lost the ability to switch on these genes again in adulthood. This is why we are unable to repair our spinal cord.

Doctors hope that one day we will find a way to turn our genes back on like zebrafish do. If we figure out how to do this, we might be able to cure paralysis!

Did You Know?

We share 70% of our genes with Zebrafish!