The zebrafish vitronectin receptor: Characterization of integrin αV and β3 expression patterns in early vertebrate development

Abstract

1␣V␤3 is a receptor for vitronectin and other extracellular matrix ligands, and it has been implicated in angiogenesis and osteoclast function in mammals. We have cloned full-length cDNAs of zebrafish integrin ␣V (itg␣V), and two paralogous zebrafish ␤3 integrins (itg␤3.1 and itg␤3.2). Whole-mount in situ hybridization analysis revealed that ␣V and ␤3.1 share overlapping expression domains in apical ectodermal ridge, ventricular myocardium, hypothalamus, posterior tuberculum, medial tectal proliferation zone, and in the odontogenic field of the bilateral pharyngeal dentitions. In contrast to ␤3.1, ␤3.2 is transiently expressed throughout the developing embryo. In situ hybridization profiles and heterologous expression of proteins in tissue culture cells suggest that ␤3.1 is the major ␤3 paralog that associates with ␣V in zebrafish. Furthermore, when ␤3.1 expression profiles are compared to those of other potential ␣V partners (␤1, ␤5, and ␤8), pharyngeal dentitions appear to represent a unique expression field for ␣V and ␤3.1. Developmental Dynamics 236:2268 -2276, 2007.

Integrin αV is necessary for gastrulation movements that regulate vertebrate body asymmetry

“…V transcripts are widely present in gastrulating embryos ( Fig. 2A-C) and are selectively localized in developing notochord at the beginning of segmentation (Ablooglu et al, 2007). As defective midline structures are known to cause laterality defects (Bisgrove et al, 2000), one potential explanation for our results is a compromise in the integrity of midline structures.…”

“…General methods for cell culture, protein analysis and western blotting were similar to Ablooglu et al (Ablooglu et al, 2007). The antigen specificity of rabbit serum raised against recombinant zebrafish V was tested in cell culture assays.…”

“…General methods for WISH were similar to Ablooglu et al (Ablooglu et al, 2007). Standard molecular cloning techniques were used to prepare antisense riboprobes and their GenBank accession numbers are as follows: cas, AF362749; ntl, NM_131162; sox17, NM_131287; spaw, NM_180967; vtn, NM_001139461; pdx1, NM_131443.…”

“…Postnatally, V integrins have been implicated in cellular responses to injury, immunity, angiogenesis and aspects of tumor progression (Nemeth et al, 2007;Takada et al, 2007). During vertebrate development, V integrins exhibit a wide distribution of overlapping expression domains in mammalian, avian and zebrafish embryos (Ablooglu et al, 2007;Delannet et al, 1994;Neugebauer et al, 1991;Testaz et al, 1999;Yamada et al, 1995). The developmental importance of V is illustrated by the phenotype of V (itgav -Zebrafish Information Network) knockout mice, which demonstrate improper formation of embryonic cerebral blood vessels and defective axon and glia interactions in the postnatal central nervous system (Bader et al, 1998;McCarty et al, 2005;McCarty et al, 2002).…”

Catch of the day: zebrafish as a human cancer model

“…This high-resolution, real-time analysis revealed extensive invadopodia formation, membrane blebbing, shedding of membrane particles and cell movement. The extensive interaction of the cancer cells with the host tissues is not that surprising as many extracellular matix proteins including collagen and fibronectin are highly conserved as are the integrin adhesion receptors that mediate these interactions (Sun et al, 2005;Mould et al, 2006;Ablooglu et al, 2007).…”