Worldwide, people are getting older, and this prolonged lifespan unfortunately also results in an increased prevalence of age-related neurodegenerative diseases, contributing to a diminished life quality of elderly. Age-associated neuropathies typically include diseases leading to dementia (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease), as well as eye diseases such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Despite many research attempts aiming to unravel aging processes and their involvement in neurodegeneration and functional decline, achieving healthy brain aging remains a challenge. The African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) is the shortest-lived reported vertebrate that can be bred in captivity and displays many of the aging hallmarks that have been described for human aging, which makes it a very promising biogerontology model. As vision decline is an important hallmark of aging as well as a manifestation of many neurodegenerative diseases, we performed a comprehensive characterization of this fish’s aging visual system. Our work reveals several aging hallmarks in the killifish retina and brain that eventually result in a diminished visual performance. Moreover, we found evidence for the occurrence of neurodegenerative events in the old killifish retina. Altogether, we introduce the visual system of the fast-aging killifish as a valuable model to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying aging in the vertebrate central nervous system. These findings put forward the killifish for target validation as well as drug discovery for rejuvenating or neuroprotective therapies ensuring healthy aging.

Retinal development in vertebrates relies extensively on thyroid hormones. Their local availability is tightly controlled by several regulators, including deiodinases (Ds). Here we used morpholino technology to explore the roles of Ds during eye development in zebrafish. Transcriptome analysis at 3 days post fertilization (dpf) revealed a pronounced effect of knockdown of both T4-activating Ds (D1D2MO) or knockdown of T3-inactivating D3 (D3bMO) on phototransduction and retinoid recycling. This was accompanied by morphological defects (studied from 1 to 7 dpf) including reduced eye size, disturbed retinal lamination and strong reduction in rods and all four cone types. Defects were more prominent and persistent in D3-deficient fish. Finally, D3-deficient zebrafish larvae had disrupted visual function at 4 dpf and were less sensitive to a light stimulus at 5 dpf. These data demonstrate the importance of TH-activating and -inactivating Ds for correct zebrafish eye development, and point to D3b as a central player.

Age-related neurodegenerative diseases are highly debilitating and incurable pathologies that impinge a high socio-economic burden on our society (El-Hayek et al., 2019). They share a progressive degeneration of neurons, which results in loss of brain function and a heterogeneous array of incapacitating symptoms (Dugger & Dickson, 2017). Therapeutic strategies for brain restoration consist of compensating for neuronal loss by generating new neurons from the existing stem cell pools that can integrate into the existing circuitry. The capacity for neuroregeneration is naturally limited in the adult mammalian brain (Zhao et al., 2016). Neural stem cells

Thyroid hormones are crucial mediators of many aspects of vertebrate life, including reproduction. The key player is the biologically active 3,5,3’-triiodothyronine (T3), whose local bio-availability is strictly regulated by deiodinase enzymes. Deiodinase type 2 (Dio2) is present in many tissues and is the main enzyme for local T3 production. To unravel its role in different physiological processes, we generated a mutant zebrafish line, completely lacking Dio2 activity. Here we focus on the reproductive phenotype studied at the level of offspring production, gametogenesis, functioning of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis and sex steroid production. Homozygous Dio2-deficient zebrafish were hypothyroid, displayed a delay in sexual maturity and the duration of their reproductive period was substantially shortened. Fecundity and fertilization were also severely reduced. Gamete counts pointed to a delay in oogenesis at onset of sexual maturity and later on to an accumulation of oocytes in mutant ovaries due to inhibition of ovulation. Analysis of spermatogenesis showed a strongly decreased number of spermatogonia A at onset of sexual maturity. Investigation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis revealed that dysregulation was largely confined to the gonads with significant upregulation of igf3, and a strong decrease in sex steroid production concomitant with alterations in gene expression in steroidogenesis/steroid signaling pathways. Rescue of the phenotype by T3 supplementation starting at 4 weeks resulted in normalization of reproductive activity in both sexes. The combined results show that reproductive function in mutants is severely hampered in both sexes, thereby linking the loss of Dio2 activity and the resulting hypothyroidism to reproductive dysfunction.

The African turquoise killifish uniquely combines a short lifespan with vertebrate-specific features, including age-dependent loss of neuroregenerative capacity, that are missing from the currently used model organisms. In this study, we investigate the cellular landscape that shapes adult neuro- and gliogenesis using single-cell sequencing. Our analysis identifies seventeen cell types including neuronal cells (NC), and progenitors (PC) of glial and non-glial nature in the adult killifish telencephalon. PC subclustering unveils four radial glia types, one atypical non-glial progenitor (NGP) and two clusters representing transitioning states. NC subclustering classified neurons into immature and mature excitatory or inhibitory sub-clusters. Using lineage inference analysis, we discovered neuroepithelial-like radial glia to be the source of neuro- and gliogenesis, and a central role for NGP. Our findings are evidence for specialized progenitors within telencephalon and the data is accessible via an online database, providing a resource to understand normal brain function, as well as the role of cellular relationships in response to injury and disease.