Gene expression profiling of zebrafish heart regeneration. From the university of pittsburgh, researchers applied extracellular matrices ecms from zebrafish in mice and human heart cells in vitro. Studies uncover foundations of heart regeneration from. Zebrafish research on fish which can repair their own hearts. Mar 24, 2010 zebrafish study with human heart implications. Mar 14, 2016 new research has uncovered that in zebrafish a specific microrna, a small molecule which regulates gene activity, may be able to stimulate growth of new heart cells and the removal of scar tissue. Caught in the net an image of zebrafish heart captured as part of dr jana koths research. Researchers have identified a protein that triggers regeneration of heart muscle cells, embedding it into a patch that they say can repair heart damage caused by heart attack. In adults however, cells such as nerve or cardiac muscle cells have lost the ability to regenerate. Essential clues for human heart repair are uncovered when zebrafish and newt are found to regenerate cardiac muscle after injury. Zebrafish heart regeneration as a model for cardiac tissue repair article in drug discovery today disease models 44.
Dr jana koth from the mrc weatherall institute at the university of oxford, tells us about growing up in berlin, falling in love with science, and how she joined the. Unexpected that unassuming mice and zebrafish can help repair damaged hearts, a new study has revealed. Zebrafish heart regeneration as a model for cardiac tissue. This patch is large enough to cover over damage experienced by patients who have suffered a heart attack. How the zebrafish is helping scientists repair the heart after a heart. Molecules surrounding zebrafish heart cells may yield promising new. Jan 26, 2016 feds back new heart patch for infants 2 minute read bioengineers at rice university and texas childrens hospital have won a national institutes of health grant to develop a new generation of patches to repair the damaged hearts of infants. Zebrafish hearts were dissected and fixed in fish fix 4% wv. Although cardiac regeneration and repair have been investigated in other teleost. Stages of heart development in zebrafish embryos in a v openi. Discovering small molecules as wnt inhibitors that promote. Poss said that a continued understanding of the processes involved in regeneration of the zebrafish heart could lead to therapies to repair human heart muscle damaged by disease or heart attack. Zebrafish, a freshwater fish native to south asia, is known to be able to fully regenerate its heart after damage due to the formation of a temporary scar as new cardiac muscle cells are formed. The zebrafish heart regenerates after cryoinjuryinduced.
March 24, 2010 zebrafish study with human heart implications. Researchers at mdi biological laboratory in maine have discovered new mechanisms in heart tissue regeneration. Special cells contribute to regenerate the heart in zebrafish. The researchers injected the extracellular matrix of the zebrafish into. Zebrafish have a unique ability to regenerate almost any body part, irrespective of age a sharp contrast to the limited regenerative capacity of the adult mammalian cardiovascular system. Zebrafish study with human heart implications eurekalert. Nonetheless, there are many striking similarities between zebrafish and mammals in terms of heart structure and embryonic morphogenesis. While the heart does a reasonable immediate patch job following damage, the resulting scar tissue is a short term fix and prevents effective. The exact source of these new cardiomyocytes is an unanswered question. The zebrafish has the ability to stitch its severed spine again and the mouse has a substance surrounding its hearts that can patch up the injured or broken heart.
Many, but not all, of our body cells are able to constantly renew themselves. Zebrafish as a model system to study dna damage and repair. In contrast to the fourchambered human hearts, zebrafish hearts are twochambered with one ventricle and one atrium fig. After a nonfatal heart attack, a damaged human heart does its best to patch itself up by forming a scar. They found that a single administration of ecm taken from zebrafish hearts restored heart function and regenerated adult mouse heart tissues after acute myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack. New research has uncovered that in zebrafish a specific microrna, a small molecule which regulates gene activity, may be able to stimulate growth of new heart cells and the removal of scar tissue. How mice and zebrafish are unlocking clues to repairing. The life of a zebrafish heart expert british heart. Protein patch to repair heart attack damage in heart muscles. Hundreds of thousands of people in the uk are living with debilitating heart failure. Oct 11, 2016 caught in the net an image of zebrafish heart captured as part of dr jana koths research. It seems that nature has been kind by ensuring some of the cells that cause the heart to form in the embryo persist in adulthood, although they stay dormant during the. Zebrafish heart regeneration as a model for cardiac tissue repair.
The zebrafish is a wellestablished animal model to decipher the genetics of cardiovascular development and disease of vertebrates. The zebrafish has traditionally been used as a model for developmental biology. An immune cell is shown for the first time to be involved in creating the scar that could help to repair the heart after a heart attack. The zebrafish, which can completely regenerate its severed spinal cord, might hold promise for research into tissue repair in humans, researchers said. Besides their electrophysiological functions in the heart, recent findings have demonstrated that ion channels also feature ion flux independent functions during heart development and morphogenesis. Nov 21, 2016 the zebrafish has amazing powers of regeneration, including the ability to patch up its heart. The postresection zebrafish heart differs in many ways to the infarcted human.
Delivering missing protein heals damaged hearts in animals, stanfordled study finds. Zebrafish as a smart model to understand regeneration after heart. Zebrafish extract heals a broken heart a coloured scan of a zebrafish danio rerio head with the ventricle and ventricular cavity of its heart shown in red in the lower right. Zebrafish as a model for human heart development and diseases.
For instance, one could create patches of lesioned myocardium, or specifically ablate different cardiac cell types to address their roles in regeneration. Regenerated heart muscles come from proliferation of differentiated cardiomyocytes. The zebrafish heart does have some structural differences with the human heart, having only two chambers instead of four, and having a more spongy composition that may facilitate clotting. The ability to repair damaged heart tissue could lead to a vast increase in quality of life for people who have damaged hearts, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. In a second paper appearing april 1, 2015, in the journal elife, poss and colleagues found that the epicardium produces a molecule called neuregulin that.
While the adult zebrafish danio rerio heart demonstrates a remarkable capacity for selfrenewal following apical resection little is known about the response to injury in the embryonic heart. Zebrafish can lose up to 20 per cent of their heart muscle without longterm consequences, as they can repair the damage completely within eight weeks. Changes in ejection fraction ef, heart rate hr, and caudal vein blood flow cvbf assessed by video capture techniques were assessed at 2, 24 and 48 h postlaser. Stages of heart development in zebrafish embryos in a v. Primary contribution to zebrafish heart regeneration by. Yin, who led the research, used zebrafish to study heart tissue regeneration. Autophagy activation in zebrafish heart regeneration scientific.
Detailed phenotyping of these lines and identification. A protein patch has been developed which has shown to reverse heart attack damage in pig and mouse heart muscles. Interestingly, the role that autophagy may play in zebrafish heart. To identify molecular signals that initiate regeneration, we focused our gene expression profile analysis on the early stages of zebrafish heart regeneration. Jul 26, 20 zebrafish can lose up to 20 per cent of their heart muscle without longterm consequences, as they can repair the damage completely within eight weeks. Sep 02, 2015 the zebrafish heart does have some structural differences with the human heart, having only two chambers instead of four, and having a more spongy composition that may facilitate clotting. Sep 17, 2015 researchers have identified a protein that triggers regeneration of heart muscle cells, embedding it into a patch that they say can repair heart damage caused by heart attack. If part of their heart is damaged they can repair it in a matter of weeks, just like we are able to mend a broken bone. Heart disease remains the leading cause of mortality throughout the world. The robust capacity of zebrafish to regenerate a variety of tissues position it as an ideal genetic model system for understanding the molecular and cellular events governing regeneration. Primary contribution to zebrafish heart regeneration by gata4. The mending broken hearts project will involve stem cell research and developmental biology to work out how to repair or replace damaged heart muscle. In this study, we described an embryobased screen and tested the efficacy of identified small molecules on heart regeneration and repair.
The role of the epicardium during heart development and repair. During heart regeneration in zebrafish, lost ventricular tissues is rapidly replaced. Regenerating hearts with zebrafish tissue cardiology. Mar 25, 2010 zebrafish are able to efficiently regenerate lost cardiac muscle, and is used as a model to understand why natural heart regeneration is blocked in mammals. But how much better would it be if that patch were made up of healthy, fully functional heart muscle rather than scrappy, stiff scar tissue.
It is already known that zebrafish can flexibly regenerate their hearts after injury. Dr jana koth from the mrc weatherall institute at the university of oxford, tells us about growing up in berlin, falling in love with science, and how she joined the bhfs fight to mend broken hearts. The researchers now plan to perform larger screens for molecules that could enhance heart repair in zebrafish, and perhaps one day provide a new treatment for humans with heart conditions. Scientists know that a protein called mef2 is needed to turn zebrafish stem cells into heart muscle cells. Collagen patch speeds repair of damaged heart tissue in mice. Researchers are studying fish which can repair their own hearts. The findings, published in the journal development, might lead the way to drugs that help the body build new muscle cells, a crucial step toward the treatment of muscular dystrophies assistant professor voot p. Studies uncover foundations of heart regeneration from zebrafish. Instead, repair is accomplished by differentiated cardiac muscle cells. Adult ckitpos cardiac stem cells are necessary and sufficient for functional.
When the human heart is severely wounded during, for example, a heart attack it cannot regenerate the damaged muscle tissue. A fishy solution to restoring the hearts regenerative. Heart tissue regeneration study in zebrafish looks to. The hole was the size of a half dollar and was patched fairly easily. But how is the fish able to regenerate this injury and, more specifically, what are the initial factors are that push heart muscle cells to start dividing again in order to replace the lost tissue. Also, to comprehend the role that autophagy plays in the early stages of cardiac repair and its. Primordial, cortical, and trabecular muscles are defined in the zebrafish heart.
Zebrafish exhibit a robust regenerative capacity in a variety of tissues including the fin, spinal cord, retina, and heart, making it the sole regenerative vertebrate organism currently amenable to genetic manipulation. Unlike humans, zebrafish are able to completely repair their heart after injury, for example a myocardial infarctionlike event. In fact, zebrafish could become an ideal model to study dna damage and repair pathways. An international research group now shows that certain heart muscle cells play a central role in this process. Sep 20, 2015 a protein patch has been developed which has shown to reverse heart attack damage in pig and mouse heart muscles. In the zebrafish, resection of the ventricle results in complete heart regeneration, without stable scar formation.
Heart disease and zebrafish understanding animal research. This is why myocardial infarction is so dangerous damaged cardiac muscle cells do not grow back and scar tissue forms in their. Zebrafish heart regeneration occurs efficiently due to 4 essential. Oct 08, 2015 heart transplants are rare only 181 were performed in 2014 so the holy grail in cardiology is the ability to stimulate the heart to repair itself and regrow naturally. Zebrafish are able to efficiently regenerate lost cardiac muscle, and is used as a model to understand why natural heart regeneration is blocked in mammals.
Scientists create protein patch that repairs damage. Some animals, such as zebrafish, have the natural ability to repair their own injured hearts. After as little as one month, most of the missing tissue has been regenerated by cardiomyocytes. The zebrafish has amazing powers of regeneration, including the ability to patch up its heart. Gene expression analysis of zebrafish heart regeneration. Heart tissue regeneration study in zebrafish looks to trigger. Feds back new heart patch for infants 2 minute read bioengineers at rice university and texas childrens hospital have won a national institutes of health grant to develop a new generation of patches to repair the damaged hearts of infants. But zebrafish can repair their hearts heart muscle cells near the damaged area lose their muscle properties and revert back to stem cells, which can repair the heart tissue. The global cardiovascular and soft tissue repair patches market size was estimated at usd 3. Zebrafish danio rerio is a favorite vertebrate model system for developmental and genetic studies because of its initially transparent small body, short reproductive cycle, high reproductive capacity, and the ability to do forward and reverse genetics. Collagen patch speeds repair of damaged heart tissue in mice you cant resurrect a dead cell anymore than you can breathe life into a brick, regardless of what you may have gleaned from zombie movies and dr. Nov 03, 2006 poss said that a continued understanding of the processes involved in regeneration of the zebrafish heart could lead to therapies to repair human heart muscle damaged by disease or heart attack.
How the zebrafish is helping scientists repair the heart. Mammals have an extremely limited capacity to repair lost or damaged heart tissue, thus encouraging biologists to seek out models for heart regeneration. Injury to the beating zebrafish embryo heart was induced by laser using a transgenic zebrafish expressing cardiomyocyte specific green fluorescent protein. Researchers recently identified a molecule that tells certain stem cells in the zebrafish embryo whether to become either heart muscle or blood vessel cells. At the end, only 1% of the total myocardial ckit positive cells are really.
Previous heart regeneration studies in zebrafish have shown that the epicardium is one of the driving factors for healing a damaged heart, ruizlozano said. The zebrafish can mend its own heart healthcare industry. In turn, results from dna repair studies are bound to yield a wealth of. Recent findings show that nrg1 can stimulate heart repair. How the zebrafish could hold the key to heart disease cure. Cellular grownups outperform stem cells in cardiac repair. We identified cardiomogen compounds to enhance cardiomyogenesis with minimal adverse effects. Moreover, adult zebrafish hearts exhibit an amazing capacity to regenerate after substantial injury and have been used as a model for studies that might lead to approaches in regenerative repair of human heart injuries. Zebrafish heart regeneration developmental biology. Heart transplants are rare only 181 were performed in 2014 so the holy grail in cardiology is the ability to stimulate the heart to repair itself and regrow naturally.
Instead, repair is accomplished by differentiated cardiac muscle cells known as cardiomyocytes. How to regenerate a zebrafish heart hubrecht institute. Mar 25, 2010 after a nonfatal heart attack, a damaged human heart does its best to patch itself up by forming a scar. I had an asd repair in 2003 and due to my age and the technology, they used the davinci machine to repair it. Researchers are hopeful that human clinical trials can start as early as 2017 in. In contrast to humans and other mammals, zebrafish hearts regenerate after substantial injury or tissue damage. Could the stuff that supports its own heart cells be useful in other species even mammals. Increasing prevalence of congenital heart diseases such as atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect and technological advancements are the key driving factors. Heart failure research to find cure using zebrafish bbc news. May 21, 2018 unexpected that unassuming mice and zebrafish can help repair damaged hearts, a new study has revealed. Zebrafish offers hope for spinal cord repair health24. Cardiomogen treatment stimulates injuryinduced cm proliferation and heart regeneration in zebrafish.
The zebrafish may not look anything like us but scientists believe it holds the key to fighting heart disease, thanks to its remarkable ability to repair its own heart. Advances in understanding the mechanism of zebrafish heart. Delivering missing protein heals damaged hearts in animals. For this reason, future studies into the zebrafish cardiac regenerative mechanisms could. I found out at the beginning of 2010 that the patch is leaking.
1052 1267 1223 1450 1443 805 535 1011 1380 159 542 1268 1525 669 1226 795 142 14 458 313 911 171 523 648 23 1236 1199 1415 783 420 432 729 1399