Smyd5 plays pivotal roles in both primitive and definitive hematopoiesis during zebrafish embryogenesis

Abstract

Methylation of histone tails plays a pivotal role in the regulation of a wide range of biological processes. SET and MYND domain-containing protein (SMYD) is a methyltransferase, five family members of which have been identified in humans. SMYD1, SMYD2, SMYD3, and SMYD4 have been found to play critical roles in carcinogenesis and/or the development of heart and skeletal muscle. However, the physiological functions of SMYD5 remain unknown. To investigate the function of Smyd5 in vivo, zebrafish were utilised as a model system. We first examined smyd5 expression patterns in developing zebrafish embryos. Smyd5 transcripts were abundantly expressed at early developmental stages and then gradually decreased. Smyd5 was expressed in all adult tissues examined. Loss-of-function analysis of Smyd5 was then performed in zebrafish embryos using smyd5 morpholino oligonucleotide (MO). Embryos injected with smyd5-MO showed normal gross morphological development, including of heart and skeletal muscle. However, increased expression of both primitive and definitive hematopoietic markers, including pu.1, mpx, l-plastin, and cmyb, were observed. These phenotypes of smyd5-MO zebrafish embryos were also observed when we introduced mutations in smyd5 gene with the CRISPR/Cas9 system. As the expression of myeloid markers was elevated in smyd5 loss-of-function zebrafish, we propose that Smyd5 plays critical roles in hematopoiesis.

The Smyd family of methyltransferases: role in cardiac and skeletal muscle physiology and pathology

“…While loss of Smyd1 and Smyd3 were deleterious [21, 24], Smyd2 and Smyd5 were dispensable for cardiac development in mice and zebrafish, respectively [53, 54]. However, Smyd2’s role in zebrafish heart development has produced seemingly dichotomous results with two studies reporting that decreased Smyd2a or Smyd2a/b resulted in malformation in both the atrium and ventricle and 50% reduction in fractional shortening (FS) as well as tail deformation [43, 44].…”

Prospect of Circular RNA in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Novel Potential Biomarker and Therapeutic Target

“…An interesting result showed that hsa_circ_0004018 possessed a HCC-stage-specific expression feature. SMYD4 has been reported as a potential tumor suppressor and was involved in carcinogenesis ( 113 – 115 ), which prompted that, as a transcript of SMYD4 , hsa_circ_0004018 might be involved in the development of HCC. Moreover, the sensitivity of hsa_circ_0004018 was superior to that of AFP, which means hsa_circ_0004018 may play a crucial role in HCC monitoring.…”

The Lysine Methylase SMYD3 Modulates Mesendodermal Commitment during Development

“…Drosophila dSmyd4 knockdown suggests a role for dSmyd4 in development or function of adult muscles [ 16 ]. SMYD5 negatively regulates lineage-specific genes and plays a role in the maintenance of self-renewal in mESCs [ 24 ] and in hematopoiesis during zebrafish embryogenesis [ 25 ].…”