Zebrafish cutaneous injury models reveal that Langerhans cells engulf axonal debris in adult epidermis.

Somatosensory neurons extend enormous peripheral axons to the skin, where they detect diverse environmental stimuli. Somatosensory peripheral axons are easily damaged due to their small caliber and superficial location. Axonal damage results in Wallerian degeneration, creating vast quantities of cellular debris that phagocytes must remove to maintain organ homeostasis.

Dermal appendage-dependent patterning of zebrafish Merkel cells.

Touch system function requires precise interactions between specialized skin cells and somatosensory axons, as exemplified by the vertebrate mechanosensory Merkel cell-neurite complex. Development and patterning of Merkel cells and associated neurites during skin organogenesis remain poorly understood, partly due to the in utero development of mammalian embryos. Here, we discover Merkel cells in the zebrafish epidermis and identify Atonal homolog 1a (Atoh1a) as a marker of zebrafish Merkel cells.

Dephosphorylation of Y228 and Y217 and phosphorylation of Y335 in p120 catenin activate convergent extension during zebrafish gastrulation.

Background: The cadherin-associated protein p120 catenin regulates convergent extension through interactions with cadherin proteins, Cdc42, and Rac1, as we previously showed in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Phosphorylation of p120 catenin changes the nature of its activity in vitro but is virtually unexplored in embryos. We used our previously developed antisense RNA splice-site morpholino targeted to endogenous p120 catenin-δ1 to cause defects in axis elongation probing the functions of three p120 catenin tyrosine-phosphorylation sites in gastrulating zebrafish embryos.

Phosphorylation of serine residues S252, S268/S269, and S879 in p120 catenin activates migration of presomitic mesoderm in gastrulating zebrafish embryos.

Background: Cadherin-associated protein p120 catenin regulates cell adhesion and migration in cell cultures and is required for axial elongation in embryos. Its roles in adhesion and cell migration are regulated by phosphorylation. We determined the effects of phosphorylation of six serine and three threonine residues in p120 catenin during zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryogenesis.

Osteoblasts pattern endothelium and somatosensory axons during zebrafish caudal fin organogenesis.

Skeletal elements frequently associate with vasculature and somatosensory nerves, which regulate bone development and homeostasis. However, the deep, internal location of bones in many vertebrates has limited in vivo exploration of the neurovascular-bone relationship. Here, we use the zebrafish caudal fin, an optically accessible organ formed of repeating bony ray skeletal units, to determine the cellular relationship between nerves, bones and endothelium.