Modeling the Effects of Environmental Pollutants on Metabolic Syndrome in Fish

Metabolic syndrome is a complex and multifactorial disease characterized by the coexistence of multiple metabolic disorders such as abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Today, it is becoming increasingly clear that this syndrome can be triggered not only by genetic and lifestyle factors, but also by chemicals. Persistent organic pollutants, endocrine disruptors, pesticides, and heavy metals can have disruptive effects on metabolic regulatory pathways. Model organisms are critical for understanding the systematic relevance of metabolic syndrome analysis. This study will present models of the effects of environmental pollutants on metabolic syndrome factors in fish, which are aquatic organisms commonly selected to observe the effects of chemicals. As a result of applications using fish as models, biochemical and pathophysiological models of diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, and potentially hypertension have been provided in individuals exposed to various chemicals. In particular, zebrafish (Danio rerio) are preferred as model organisms in scientific studies due to their high degree of genetic and metabolic similarity to humans, transparent embryo structure, and short generation time. However, the poikilothermic nature of fish, their different metabolic response distribution, and certain genetic characteristics that are not fully compatible with humans impose limitations on the translational use of this model. In the future, it will demonstrate that recorded models obtained from fish models and human numerical systems should be evaluated holistically in order to better understand the possible consequences of such applications.