LPA1 is essential for lymphatic vessel development in zebrafish

• Main Authors: Tzu-Cheng Chen, 陳子承
• Other Authors: Shyh-Jye Lee
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/85543335860611696313

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 動物學研究所 === 96 === Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a small bioactive molecule which binds to its specific G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to mediate a variety of physiological responses of organisms. The existence of LPA receptor in endothelial cells (ECs), which are a main component of the vascular system, has long been considered to relate to angiogenesis. However, no significant defect in vascular system was observed in mouse embryos lacking either or a combinator of LPA receptors, LPA1 and LPA2. To verify the previous result, I use zebrafish to study the role of LPA1 during embryonic development. I found that knockdown lpa1 by morpholino oligonucleotides (MO) caused cardiovascular dysfunctions including weaker contractility of ventricle and static blood flow in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, edema also appeared globally. Using the transgenic zebrafish (Tg(fli1:EGFP)y1) to observe vasculature, the development of the major lymphatic vessel, thoracic duct, was impaired or even absent in the LPA1 morphants and these defects could be rescued fully or partially by ectopic expression lpa1 or vegf-c, respectively. Taken together, these results demonstrated that LPA1 is indispensable to lymphatic development in zebrafish.