Dataset Information

Blood Vessel Imaging at Pre-Larval Stages of Zebrafish Embryonic Development.

ABSTRACT: The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an increasingly popular animal model biological system. In cardiovascular research, it has been used to model specific cardiac phenomena as well as to identify novel therapies for human cardiovascular disease. While the zebrafish cardiovascular system functioning is well examined at larval stages, the mechanisms by which vessel activity is initiated remain a subject of intense investigation. In this research, we report on an in vivo stain-free blood vessel imaging technique at pre-larval stages of zebrafish embryonic development. We have developed the algorithm for the enhancement, alignment and spatiotemporal analysis of bright-field microscopy images of zebrafish embryos. It enables the detection, mapping and quantitative characterization of cardiac activity across the whole specimen. To validate the proposed approach, we have analyzed multiple data cubes, calculated vessel images and evaluated blood flow velocity and heart rate dynamics in the absence of any anesthesia. This non-invasive technique may shed light on the mechanism of vessel activity initiation and stabilization as well as the cardiovascular system's susceptibility to environmental stressors at early developmental stages.

SUBMITTER: Machikhin AS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7692510 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Blood Vessel Imaging at Pre-Larval Stages of Zebrafish Embryonic Development.

Machikhin Alexander S AS Volkov Mikhail V MV Burlakov Alexander B AB Khokhlov Demid D DD Potemkin Andrey V AV

Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) 20201030 11

The zebrafish (<i>Danio rerio</i>) is an increasingly popular animal model biological system. In cardiovascular research, it has been used to model specific cardiac phenomena as well as to identify novel therapies for human cardiovascular disease. While the zebrafish cardiovascular system functioning is well examined at larval stages, the mechanisms by which vessel activity is initiated remain a subject of intense investigation. In this research, we report on an in vivo stain-free blood vessel i ...[more]

PMID: 33143148

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Project description:The aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) is a basic helix-loop-helix-PAS heterodimeric transcription factor that dimerizes with other basic helix-loop-helix-PAS proteins to mediate biological responses. The function of ARNT2 is poorly understood. Here we provide an initial characterization of the zebrafish arnt2 null (arnt2(-/-)) mutant to identify functions of Arnt2 during development. Arnt2(-/-) mutant zebrafish develop normally until 120 hours postfertilization (hpf ) when morphological changes and functional deficits occur. The C-start escape response initiated by either touch or startle stimuli is absent in the mutants. Brain ventricle size is markedly increased at 120 hpf. Heart ventricles are enlarged, with decreased ventricle wall thickness. A cardiac arrhythmia, characterized by missing beats, is also observed in the mutants. This is associated with bradycardia in arnt2(-/-) larvae. Dilated liver sinusoids merge abnormally to form an extensive, labyrinth-like network of vascular channels. External appearance of arnt2(-/-) larvae at 120 hpf is indistinguishable from wild type except that the swim bladder is not inflated. The arnt2(-/-) mutants are not debilitated when phenotypic effects are first detected at 120 hpf that culminate in mortality, 4 days later around 216 hpf. Gross morphological assessment of the development of forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain regions, neuromasts and Mauthner neurons, inner ear semicircular canals and otoliths, primary motor neurons, trigeminal ganglia, and trunk skeletal muscles, before or when the arnt2(-/-) phenotype was observed, failed to demonstrate a difference from wild type. The only effect in arnt2(-/-) larvae that occurred before 120 hpf was a decrease in expression of sim1, an Arnt2 dimerization partner, in the hypothalamus and ventral thalamus at 72 hpf. Further research is needed to determine if the primary functions of Arnt2 occur during the larval stage, when the phenotype is observed, or earlier in development.

Dataset Information

Blood Vessel Imaging at Pre-Larval Stages of Zebrafish Embryonic Development.

Publications

Blood Vessel Imaging at Pre-Larval Stages of Zebrafish Embryonic Development.

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