Establishment of a transgenic zebrafish EF1α:Kaede for monitoring cell proliferation during regeneration

Zebrafish is considered as a versatile experimental animal for various research models from development to diseases. In this study, we report the development of transgenic zebrafish line named as Tg(EF1α:Kaede) that expresses translation elongation factor 1 subunit alpha (EF1α) promoter linked to a fluorescent protein (FP), Kaede for monitoring proliferating cells in during regeneration. It was revealed that about 1.4 kb 5′-flanking region of the EF1α was sufficient for its promoter activity. Expression of Kaede with a property of photo-conversion from green to red was detected in different embryonic stages as well as various organs such as brain, heart, pancreas, intestine, ovary, and fins of adult fish. Cell proliferation pattern during fin regeneration was monitored after amputation of Tg(EF1α:Kaede) caudal fin and results shown that this system is simple and efficient method for detecting proliferating cells during tissue regeneration. Developed Tg(EF1α:Kaede) line has potential to investigate the cell proliferation, regeneration, wound healing capacities after tissue damage and evaluate the therapeutic power of wound healing drugs.

► Development of transgenic line of zebrafish [Tg(EF1α:Kaede)]for monitoring cell proliferation during tissue regeneration. ► System is simple and efficient for detecting proliferating cells after amputation of caudal fin. ► Potential to determine the therapeutic power of wound healing drugs.