PUBLICATION

High tissue glucose alters intersomitic blood vessels in zebrafish via methylglyoxal targeting the VEGF receptor signalling cascade

Authors
Jörgens, K., Stoll, S.J., Pohl, J., Fleming, T.H., Sticht, C., Nawroth, P.P., Hammes, H.P., Kroll, J.
ID
ZDB-PUB-140806-5
Date
2015
Source
Diabetes   64(1): 213-25 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Kroll, Jens, Stoll, Sandra
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Blood Vessels/abnormalities
  • Blood Vessels/metabolism*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Glucose/metabolism*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins/genetics
  • Male
  • Neovascularization, Physiologic/physiology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism
  • Pyruvaldehyde/metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction/physiology*
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism*
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2/genetics
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish/embryology
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
PubMed
25092676 Full text @ Diabetes
Abstract
Hyperglycemia causes micro- and macrovascular complications in diabetic patients. Elevated glucose (gluc) concentrations lead to increased formation of the highly reactive dicarbonyl methylglyoxal (MG); yet, the early consequences of MG for development of vascular complications in vivo is poorly understood. In this study zebrafish was used as a model organism to analyze early vascular effects and mechanisms of MG in vivo. High tissue glucose increased MG concentrations in tg(fli:EGFP) zebrafish embryos and rapidly induced several additional malformed and uncoordinated blood vessel structures that originated out of existing intersomitic blood vessels. However, larger blood vessels including the dorsal aorta and common cardinal vein were not affected. Expression silencing of MG degrading enzyme glyoxalase 1 (glo1) elevated MG concentrations and induced a similar vascular hyperbranching phenotype in zebrafish. MG enhanced phosphorylation of VEGF receptor 2 and its downstream target Akt/PKB. Pharmacological inhibitors for VEGF receptor 2 and Akt/PKB as well as MG scavenger aminoguanidine and glo1 activation prevented MG induced hyperbranching of intersomitic blood vessels. Taken together, MG acts on smaller blood vessels in zebrafish via the VEGF receptor signalling cascade, thereby describing a new mechanism that can explain vascular complications under hyperglycemia and elevated MG concentrations.
Genes / Markers
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Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
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Mapping