von Hippel Lindau (VHL) results from VHL gene loss and causes hemangioblastomas. van Rooijen et al. show that knocking out the zebrafish ortholog of VHL recapitulates the abnormal retinal blood vessel formation that is common in patients. Angiogenic retinopathies also occur in diseases that cause blindness, such as diabetes, suggesting a wider utility for these zebrafish mutants in research and drug development.
2010