PUBLICATION

New Model Systems to Illuminate Thyroid Organogenesis. Part I: An Update on the Zebrafish Toolbox

Authors
Opitz, R., Antonica, F., Costagliola, S.
ID
ZDB-PUB-140513-61
Date
2013
Source
European thyroid journal   2: 229-242 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Antonica, Francesco, Costagliola, Sabine, Opitz, Robert
Keywords
Development, Embryo, Live imaging
, Mutagenesis, Thyroid, Transgenesis, Zebrafish
MeSH Terms
none
PubMed
24783054 Full text @ Eur Thyroid J
Abstract
Thyroid dysgenesis (TD) resulting from defects during embryonic thyroid development represents a major cause of congenital hypothyroidism. The pathogenetic mechanisms of TD in human newborns, however, are still poorly understood and disease-causing genetic variants have been identified in only a small percentage of TD cases. This limited understanding of the pathogenesis of TD is partly due to a lack of knowledge on how intrinsic factors and extrinsic signalling cues orchestrate the differentiation of thyroid follicular cells and the morphogenesis of thyroid tissue. Recently, embryonic stem cells and zebrafish embryos emerged as novel model systems that allow for innovative experimental approaches in order to decipher cellular and molecular mechanisms of thyroid development and to unravel pathogenic mechanisms of TD. Zebrafish embryos offer several salient properties for studies on thyroid organogenesis including rapid and external development, optical transparency, ease of breeding, relative short generation time and amenability for genome editing. In this review, we will highlight recent advances in the zebrafish toolkit to visualize cellular dynamics of organ development and discuss specific prospects of the zebrafish model for studies on vertebrate thyroid development and human congenital thyroid diseases.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping