Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5788619 | Science Bulletin | 2017 | 34 Pages |
Abstract
Sp7/Osterix as a zinc finger transcription factor is expressed specifically in osteoblasts. Embryonic lethality of Sp7 knockout mice, however, has prevented from examining the functions of Sp7 in osteoblast and bone formation in live animals. Here we used TALEN, a versatile genome-editing tool, to generate one zebrafish sp7 mutant line. Homozygous sp7â/â mutant zebrafish are able to survive to adulthood. Alizarin Red staining and Micro-CT analysis showed that sp7â/â larvae and adult fish fail to develop normal opercula, and display curved tail fins and severe craniofacial malformation, while Alcian Blue staining showed no obvious cartilage defects in sp7â/â fish. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that a number of osteoblast markers including spp1, phex, col1ala, and col1a1b are significantly down-regulated in sp7â/â fish. Furthermore, col10a1a, whose ortholog is the cartilage marker in mice, was shown to be a novel downstream gene of Sp7 as an osteoblast marker in zebrafish. Together, these results suggest that Sp7 is required for zebrafish bone development and zebrafish sp7 mutants provide animal models for investigating novel aspects of bone development.
Keywords
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Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemistry
Chemistry (General)
Authors
Pengfei Niu, Zhaomin Zhong, Mingyong Wang, Guodong Huang, Shuhao Xu, Yi Hou, Yilin Yan, Han Wang,