Objective Endothelial cells (ECs) sense and respond to flow-induced mechanical stress, in part, via microtubule-based projections called primary cilia. However, many critical steps during vascular morphogenesis occur independent of flow. The involvement of cilia in regulating these stages of cranial vascular morphogenesis is poorly understood, as cilia have not been visualized in primary head vessels. The objective of this study was to investigate involvement of cilia in regulating the early stages of cranial vascular morphogenesis. Approach and Results Using high-resolution imaging of the Tg(kdrl:mCherry-CAAX) y171;(bactin::Arl13b:GFP) zebrafish line, we showed that cilia are enriched in the earliest formed cranial vessels that assemble via vasculogenesis and in angiogenic hindbrain capillaries. Cilia were more prevalent around the boundaries of putative intravascular spaces in primary and angiogenic vessels. Loss of cardiac contractility and blood flow, due to knockdown of cardiac troponin T type 2a (tnnt2a) expression, did not affect the distribution of cilia in primary head vasculature. In later stages of development, cilia were detected in retinal vasculature, areas of high curvature, vessel bifurcation points, and during vessel anastomosis. Loss of genes crucial for cilia biogenesis (ift172 and ift81) induced intracerebral hemorrhages in an EC-autonomous manner. Exposure to high shear stress induced premature cilia disassembly in brain ECs and was associated with intracerebral hemorrhages. Conclusion Our study suggests a functional role for cilia in brain ECs, which is associated with the emergence and remodeling of the primary cranial vasculature. This cilia function is flow-independent, and cilia in ECs are required for cerebral vascular stability.

Sepsis is a leading cause of death worldwide. Current treatment modalities remain largely supportive. Intervention strategies focused on inhibiting specific mediators of the inflammatory host response have been largely unsuccessful, a consequence of an inadequate understanding of the complexity and heterogeneity of the innate immune response. Moreover, the conventional drug-development pipeline is time-consuming and expensive, and the low success rates associated with cell-based screens underline the need for whole-organism screening strategies, especially for complex pathological processes. Here, we established a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced zebrafish endotoxemia model, which exhibits the major hallmarks of human sepsis, including edema and tissue/organ damage, increased vascular permeability and vascular leakage accompanied by altered expression of cellular junction proteins, increased cytokine expression, immune cell activation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, reduced circulation and increased platelet aggregation. We tested the suitability of the model for phenotype-based drug screening using three primary readouts: mortality, vascular leakage and ROS production. Preliminary screening identified fasudil, a drug known to protect against vascular leakage in murine models, as a lead hit, thereby validating the utility of our model for sepsis drug screens. This zebrafish sepsis model has the potential to rapidly analyze sepsis-associated pathologies and cellular processes in the whole organism, as well as to screen and validate many compounds that can modify sepsis pathology in vivo.

Sialic acids are important components of glycoproteins and glycolipids essential for cellular communication, infection, and metastasis. The importance of sialic acid biosynthesis in human physiology is well illustrated by the severe metabolic disorders in this pathway. However, the biological role of sialic acid catabolism in humans remains unclear. Here, we present evidence that sialic acid catabolism is important for heart and skeletal muscle function and development in humans and zebrafish. In two siblings, presenting with sialuria, exercise intolerance/muscle wasting, and cardiac symptoms in the brother, compound heterozygous mutations [chr1:182775324C>T (c.187C>T; p.Arg63Cys) and chr1:182772897A>G (c.133A>G; p.Asn45Asp)] were found in the N-acetylneuraminate pyruvate lyase gene (NPL). In vitro, NPL activity and sialic acid catabolism were affected, with a cell-type-specific reduction of N-acetyl mannosamine (ManNAc). A knockdown of NPL in zebrafish resulted in severe skeletal myopathy and cardiac edema, mimicking the human phenotype. The phenotype was rescued by expression of wild-type human NPL but not by the p.Arg63Cys or p.Asn45Asp mutants. Importantly, the myopathy phenotype in zebrafish embryos was rescued by treatment with the catabolic products of NPL: N-acetyl glucosamine (GlcNAc) and ManNAc; the latter also rescuing the cardiac phenotype. In conclusion, we provide the first report to our knowledge of a human defect in sialic acid catabolism, which implicates an important role of the sialic acid catabolic pathway in mammalian muscle physiology, and suggests opportunities for monosaccharide replacement therapy in human patients.

e Rtt109 is a fungal histone acetyltransferase (HAT) that catalyzes histone H3 acetylation functionally associated with chromatin assembly. Rtt109-mediated H3 acetylation involves two histone chaperones, Asf1 and Vps75. In vivo, Rtt109 requires both chaperones for histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation (H3K9ac) but only Asf1 for full H3K56ac. In vitro, Rtt109-Vps75 catalyzes both H3K9ac and H3K56ac, whereas Rtt109-Asf1 catalyzes only H3K56ac. In this study, we extend the in vitro chaperone-associated substrate specificity of Rtt109 by showing that it acetylates vertebrate linker histone in the presence of Vps75 but not Asf1. In addition, we demonstrate that in Saccharomyces cerevisiae a short basic sequence at the carboxyl terminus of Rtt109 (Rtt109C) is required for H3K9ac in vivo. Furthermore, through in vitro and in vivo studies, we demonstrate that Rtt109C is required for optimal H3K56ac by the HAT in the presence of full-length Asf1. When Rtt109C is absent, Vps75 becomes important for H3K56ac by Rtt109 in vivo. In addition, we show that lysine 290 (K290) in Rtt109 is required in vivo for Vps75 to enhance the activity of the HAT. This is the first in vivo evidence for a role for Vps75 in H3K56ac. Taken together, our results contribute to a better understanding of chaperone control of Rtt109-mediated H3 acetylation.