Spatio-temporal expression and distribution of collagen VI during zebrafish development

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 19851 - 15
• Main Authors: Tonelotto, Valentina, Trapani, Valeria, Bretaud, Sandrine, Heumüller, Stefanie Elisabeth, Wagener, Raimund, Ruggiero, Florence, Bonaldo, Paolo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 27.12.2019; Nature Publishing Group UK
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; Bioinformatics; Cartilage; Collagen; Collagen Type I - classification; Collagen Type I - genetics; Collagen Type VI - classification; Collagen Type VI - genetics; Danio rerio; Epidermis; Extracellular matrix; Fertilization; Fins; Gene duplication; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Genomes; In Situ Hybridization; Larva - genetics; Larva - growth & development; Life Sciences; Muscle, Skeletal - embryology; Muscle, Skeletal - growth & development; Pattern formation; Phylogeny; Polyclonal antibodies; Proteins; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Skeletal muscle; Skin - embryology; Skin - growth & development; Spatio-Temporal Analysis; Spleen; Transcription; Zebrafish; Zebrafish - embryology; Zebrafish - genetics; Zebrafish - growth & development; Zebrafish Proteins - classification; Zebrafish Proteins - genetics
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56445-4

Collagen VI (ColVI) is an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein involved in a range of physiological and pathological conditions. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a powerful model organism for studying vertebrate development and for in vivo analysis of tissue patterning. Here, we performed a thorough characterization of ColVI gene and protein expression in zebrafish during development and adult life. Bioinformatics analyses confirmed that zebrafish genome contains single genes encoding for α1(VI), α2(VI) and α3(VI) ColVI chains and duplicated genes encoding for α4(VI) chains. At 1 day post-fertilization (dpf) ColVI transcripts are expressed in myotomes, pectoral fin buds and developing epidermis, while from 2 dpf abundant transcript levels are present in myosepta, pectoral fins, axial vasculature, gut and craniofacial cartilage elements. Using newly generated polyclonal antibodies against zebrafish α1(VI) protein, we found that ColVI deposition in adult fish delineates distinct domains in the ECM of several organs, including cartilage, eye, skin, spleen and skeletal muscle. Altogether, these data provide the first detailed characterization of ColVI expression and ECM deposition in zebrafish, thus paving the way for further functional studies in this species.