A genome wide transcriptome dataset of the embryonic
zebrafish heart with high spatial resolution was established and used to identify a novel mechanism regulating pacemaker function.
We want to understand the mechanism and the signals that induce cardiomyocyte proliferation in
the zebrafish heart.
The zebrafish heart robustly regenerates missing or damaged cardiac tissue following a partial ventricular resection procedure in as little as 30 - 60 days.
To identify which cells actually filled in excised
zebrafish heart muscle, Izpisúa Belmonte's team first employed some genetic engineering to only make cardiomyocytes «transgenic» by inserting into them a tracer gene that made them glow green under a microscope.
Matthew Oberholtzer, Cape Elizabeth, Maine; University of Maine; mentor: Vicki P. Losick, Ph.D., assistant professor, MDI Biological Laboratory; research topic: A study of cilia importance in
zebrafish heart regeneration
To test whether this affects the early heart, Hove's team used small beads to block blood flow in
the zebrafish heart at 37 hours, when the heart is little more than a tube.
«But
the zebrafish heart robustly regenerates missing or damaged tissue in as little as 30 to 60 days.
They found that while both types of ECM were effective in repairing damage to the mice hearts, the ECM obtained from
the zebrafish hearts that were healing were even more potent in restoring heart function in the mice.
The study, led by Yadong Wang, the William Kepler Whiteford Professor in Bioengineering in the Swanson School of Engineering and the principal investigator of the Biomaterials Foundry at Pitt, found that a single administration of extracellular matrices (ECM) from
zebrafish hearts restored the function of the heart and regenerated adult mouse heart tissues after acute myocardial infarction.
Not exact matches
That allows her to image the cells of awake, moving creatures, such as the flashing neurons of crawling fly larvae or the beating
hearts of twitching
zebrafish, without the problem of blurring when the animal moves.
«
Zebrafish study sheds new light on human
heart defects.»
Yin is using
zebrafish to study the regeneration of
heart tissue because of the amazing capacity of these common aquarium fish to regenerate the form and function of almost any body part, including
heart, bone, skin and blood vessels, regardless of their age.
«Now, through our new study, we show that lowering levels of a particular cohesin protein called Rad21 in embryonic
zebrafish produces similar types of
heart defects to those found in people with CdLS,» Associate Professor Horsfield says.
«Although
zebrafish look quite different from humans, they share an astonishing 70 percent of their genetic material with humans, including genes important for the formation of new
heart muscle,» Yin said.
The team theorizes that
zebrafish produce new
heart - muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes, in response to injury, which allows them to regenerate undamaged
heart muscle.
Mark T. Keating and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School wounded the
hearts of adult
zebrafishes by surgically removing 20 percent of the muscle from the lower chamber.
«Using models such as
zebrafish and neonatal mice that regenerate their
hearts naturally, we can begin to identify important molecules that enhance
heart repair,» said Ellen Lien, PhD, of The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Even the
heart of an adult
zebrafish can regenerate after injury.
Zebrafish have emerged as an important vertebrate model for cardiovascular research for a number of reasons, including the ability to regenerate its
heart if damaged, and because the transparency of the embryos allows easy observation of internal processes like blood vessel development.
Lien and her team observed that
zebrafish with a mutation at the CXCR4 receptor survive, but are not able to form coronary vessels or undergo
heart regeneration following injury.
New research from a team including Carnegie's Daniel Gorelick and Marnie Halpern on the effects of these chemicals on
zebrafish shows that embryonic
heart valves could be particularly in danger.
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for
Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim, together with U.S. colleagues, have now observed in the embryo of the
zebrafish that muscle cells migrate from the undamaged atrium into the ventricle and thus significantly contribute to regeneration.
Taking advantage of the naturally see - through
zebrafish embryo, the team selected a transgenic version that expressed green fluorescent protein in the cardiac valves, which made the structures in the
heart easier to visualize.
In lower animals, such as
zebrafish, the
heart retains that ability throughout their lives: up to 20 percent of a
zebrafish's
heart can be damaged or removed, and within days the
heart's capacity has been fully restored.
The researchers tested the effectiveness of ECM from normal
zebrafish and from
zebrafish with damaged
hearts, in which the ECM had already begun the healing process.
Now, a University of Pittsburgh researcher has used the components of the cellular «scaffolding» of a
zebrafish to regenerate
heart tissues in mammals, specifically mice, as well as exhibiting promising results in human
heart cells in vitro.
During the course, students collect
zebrafish embryos and watch them develop from single cells to swimming larvae complete with beating
hearts and distinct pigmentation.
«Using different genetic techniques, we inhibited Wars2 function in both rats and
zebrafish, and the resulting animals showed impairment of blood vessel formation within the
heart and in the rest of the body,» described Mr Wang.
ABC7 / Fox 22 interviews MDI Biological Laboratory scientist Voot P. Yin, Ph.D., about MSI - 1436, a drug candidate that has been shown to stimulate the regeneration of
heart muscle tissue in
zebrafish and mice.
Jan. 25, 2018 — Studies of alpha - B crystallin in
zebrafish could ultimately lead to improved treatment for cataracts and
heart disease.
They described how the drug candidate, MSI - 1436, regenerates
heart muscle tissue in
zebrafish and mice in the journal Regenerative Medicine.
Researchers have discovered a gene in
zebrafish so powerful it can be used to redirect the fate of cells in the developing embryo to become beating
heart cells, suggesting that a similar gene in humans could be used to generate
heart cells in culture for transplant in ailing people.
«During
heart regeneration in the
zebrafish we found that cardiomyocytes displayed structural changes similar to those observed in hibernating cardiomyocytes,» he said, noting that those changes were actually necessary before the fish cardiomyoctes could start dividing.
«Discovery of a gene that could convert human embryonic stem cells into myocardial cells would be golden,» said Didier Stainier, PhD, UCSF assistant professor of biochemistry and biophysics, the senior author of the UCSF study and a pioneer in the study of
heart development in the transparent
zebrafish embryo.
Home - Salk News -
Zebrafish study with human
heart implications: Cellular grown - ups outperform stem cells in cardiac repair
The researchers are using the
zebrafish to study how
heart tissue regenerates because the fish have what they called an «amazing capacity» to regenerate the form and function of almost any of their body parts.
DanioScope is a software program that does exactly that, offering a very straight - forward tool to accurately and efficiently assess the
heart rates of multiple
zebrafish larvae simultaneously.
Dr. Yin and other scientists have identified a drug candidate, MSI - 1436, that stimulates the regeneration of
heart muscle in
zebrafish and mice.
Dr. Voot Yin talks about how research on the common aquarium fish, the
zebrafish, may lead to a drug to regenerate healthy
heart tissue after a
heart attack.
Measuring the
heart rate is an important read - out in toxicological, pharmacological, and other studies on the cardiovascular system using larval
zebrafish.
A new study describes how MSI - 1436, a naturally occurring compound, regenerates
heart muscle tissue in
zebrafish and mice.
Regeneration of cryoinjury induced necrotic
heart lesions in
zebrafish is associated with epicardial activation and cardiomyocyte proliferation.
My laboratory uses the
zebrafish to elucidate the genetic circuitry that controls regeneration of two organ systems in response to injury: the adult
heart and the caudal fin appendage.
To elucidate the roles of eya4 in
heart function, we studied
zebrafish embryos injected with antisense morpholino oligonucleotides.
Voot Yin knew a
zebrafish could re-grow its severed tail or sliced - off
heart tissue, so why couldn't humans?
«Studying
heart regeneration in the
zebrafish made a whole lot of sense because this animal had optimized the blueprint of
heart regeneration,» he said.
Dr. Yin had been studying
heart regeneration in
zebrafish (a common animal model for research) for about ten years.
Currently,
zebrafish are showing real promise in
heart failure research because
zebrafish have the unique ability to repair their own
heart muscle.
For example, if you remove part of a
zebrafish's
heart it can grow it back in a matter of weeks.
For example, the
zebrafish, a common aquarium specimen, possesses the remarkable ability to rapidly replace damaged and lost body parts including limbs,
heart, and nervous system, making it an ideal model for defining the genetic mechanisms of regeneration and healing and for identifying drug candidates for use in regenerative medicine.