Rescue of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells formation in plcg1 zebrafish mutant.

Hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC) in zebrafish emerge from the aortic hemogenic endothelium (HE) and migrate towards the caudal hematopoietic tissue (CHT), where they expand and differentiate during definitive hematopoiesis. Phospholipase C gamma 1 (Plcγ1) has been implicated for hematopoiesis in vivo and in vitro and is also required to drive arterial and HSPC formation. Genetic mutation in plcg1 (y10 allele) completely disrupts the aortic blood flow, specification of arterial fate, and HSPC formation in zebrafish embryos.

Construction of a vertebrate embryo from two opposing morphogen gradients.

Development of vertebrate embryos involves tightly regulated molecular and cellular processes that progressively instruct proliferating embryonic cells about their identity and behavior. Whereas numerous gene activities have been found to be essential during early embryogenesis, little is known about the minimal conditions and factors that would be sufficient to instruct pluripotent cells to organize the embryo. Here, we show that opposing gradients of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and Nodal, two transforming growth factor family members that act as morphogens, are sufficient to induce molecular and cellular mechanisms required to organize, in vivo or in vitro, uncommitted cells of the zebrafish blastula animal pole into a well-developed embryo.

Ginger stimulates hematopoiesis via Bmp pathway in zebrafish.

Background: Anemia is a hematologic disorder with decreased number of erythrocytes. Erythropoiesis, the process by which red blood cells differentiate, are conserved in humans, mice and zebrafish. The only known agents available to treat pathological anemia are erythropoietin and its biologic derivatives.

Zebrafish model: worth considering in defining tumor angiogenesis.

The process of angiogenesis is essential for tumor progression and metastasis; however, antiangiogenesis therapy-induced hypoxia and inflammation are perhaps the driving force for tumor escape and metastasis formation, thereby compromising its efficacy. This warrants the complete understanding of the molecular and cellular basis of antiangiogenesis therapy and necessitates the identification of potential signaling events in the host microenvironment, which are involved in tumor angiogenesis and metastasis, to improve the treatment of cancer. In this context, the zebrafish/tumor xenograft model represents an emerging vertebrate system to study the correlation between tumor angiogenesis, inflammation, and metastasis and to better understand the modification of tumor microenvironment by antiangiogenesis therapy.

Discriminating different cancer cells using a zebrafish in vivo assay.

Despite the expanded understanding of tumor angiogenesis phenomenon and how it impacts cancer treatment outcomes, we have yet to develop a robust assay that can quickly, easily, and quantitatively measure tumor-induced angiogenesis. Since the zebrafish/tumor xenograft represents an emerging tool in this regard, the present study strives to capitalize on the ease, effectiveness, and the adaptability of this model to quantify tumor angiogenesis. In order to test a range of responses, we chose two different tumorigenic cell lines, the human non-small cell lung carcinoma (H1299) and the mouse lung adenocarcinoma (CL13).

The phytoestrogen genistein affects zebrafish development through two different pathways.

Background: Endocrine disrupting chemicals are widely distributed in the environment and derive from many different human activities or can also be natural products synthesized by plants or microorganisms. The phytoestrogen, genistein (4', 5, 7-trihydroxy-isoflavone), is a naturally occurring compound found in soy products. Genistein has been the subject of numerous studies because of its known estrogenic activity.