A role for α1 tubulin-expressing Müller glia in regeneration of the injured zebrafish retina

BV Fausett, D Goldman - Journal of Neuroscience, 2006 - Soc Neuroscience
BV Fausett, D Goldman
Journal of Neuroscience, 2006Soc Neuroscience
α1 tubulin (α1T) is a neuron-specific microtubule protein whose expression is induced in the
developing and regenerating CNS. In the adult CNS, α1T expression remains high in neural
progenitors. Transgenic zebrafish harboring a 1.7 kb α1T promoter fragment along with the
first exon and intron express the transgene in a manner that recapitulates expression of the
endogenous gene. We recently showed that this promoter mediates gene induction in retinal
ganglion cells during optic nerve regeneration and in a subset of Müller glia that proliferate …
α1 tubulin (α1T) is a neuron-specific microtubule protein whose expression is induced in the developing and regenerating CNS. In the adult CNS, α1T expression remains high in neural progenitors. Transgenic zebrafish harboring a 1.7 kb α1T promoter fragment along with the first exon and intron express the transgene in a manner that recapitulates expression of the endogenous gene. We recently showed that this promoter mediates gene induction in retinal ganglion cells during optic nerve regeneration and in a subset of Müller glia that proliferate after retinal injury . To further characterize these Müller glia, we generated transgenic fish harboring an α1T promoter fragment that is specifically induced in these cells after retinal damage. Transgene expression, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling, and stem cell marker expression suggested that α1T-expressing Müller glia dedifferentiate and become multipotent in response to injury. In addition, green fluorescent protein and BrdU-mediated lineage tracing combined with retinal gene expression analysis indicated that α1T-expressing Müller glia were capable of generating retinal neurons and glia. These data strongly suggest α1T-expressing Müller glia dedifferentiate and mediate regeneration of the injured zebrafish retina.
Soc Neuroscience