PUBLICATION

Buffering intracellular calcium disrupts motoneuron development in intact zebrafish embryos

Authors
Ashworth, R., Zimprich, F., and Bolsover, S.R.
ID
ZDB-PUB-010912-29
Date
2001
Source
Brain research. Developmental brain research   129(2): 169-179 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Ashworth, Rachel, Zimprich, Fritz
Keywords
calcium signalling; zebrafish; motoneuron; differentiation; axogenesis; neurite outgrowth
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Axons/physiology
  • Buffers
  • Calcium/metabolism*
  • Calcium Signaling/physiology
  • Cellular Senescence/physiology
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/physiology
  • Fluorescent Dyes/pharmacology
  • Intracellular Membranes/metabolism*
  • Motor Neurons/physiology*
  • Organic Chemicals
  • Spinal Cord/cytology
  • Spinal Cord/embryology
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
PubMed
11506861 Full text @ Brain Res. Dev. Brain Res.
Abstract
Numerous studies, performed mainly on dissociated cells, have shown that calcium signals have a role during different stages of neuronal development. However, the actions of calcium during neuronal development in vivo remain to be established. The present study has investigated the role of intracellular calcium signals during development of motoneurons in the spinal cord of intact zebrafish embryos. Loading blastomeres of early embryos with either the calcium buffer BAPTA or the calcium reporter dye Calcium Green, was shown to disrupt motoneuron development in the spinal cord of embryos at 24 h postfertilisation. Loading the calcium buffer BAPTA, at an intracellular concentration of 1 mM, into the blastomeres of early embryos did not alter the resting levels of intracellular calcium, but significantly dampened transient rises in intracellular calcium in the cells of later stage embryos. Loading cells with 1 mM BAPTA significantly decreased the number of motoneurons present in the spinal cord at 24 h, indicating that calcium signals are important for normal motoneuron differentiation. Furthermore, in those BAPTA-filled cells that did adopt a motoneuron cell fate, axogenesis was found to be inhibited, suggestive of a role for calcium signalling in neurite initiation. This work provides evidence that calcium signals are necessary at several stages of motoneuron development in vivo.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping