Jackson-Crawford, A. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2022

Assessment of endocytic traffic and Ocrl function in the developing zebrafish neuroepithelium

Endocytosis is a vital process, required during development and for maintenance of tissue homeostasis, that allows cells to internalize a wide range of molecules from their environment as well maintain their plasma membrane composition. The ability to visualise endocytosis in vivo requires suitable assays to monitor the process. Here, we describe imaging-based assays to visualize endocytosis in the neuroepithelium of living zebrafish embryos. These assays rely on injection of fluorescent tracers into the brain ventricles followed by live imaging and can be used to study fluid-phase or receptor-mediated endocytosis, for which we use receptor-associated protein (RAP) as a ligand for LDL receptor-related protein (LRP) receptors expressed at the neuroepithelium. Using dual colour imaging combined with transient or stable expression of endocytic markers, it is possible to track the progression of endocytosed tracers and to monitor trafficking dynamics. Using these assays, we reveal a role for the Lowe syndrome protein Ocrl in endocytic trafficking within the neuroepithelium. We also find that the RAP binding receptor Lrp2 appears to only partially contribute to neuroepithelial RAP endocytosis. Altogether, our results provide a basis to track endocytosis within the neuroepithelium in vivo, and support a role for Ocrl in this process. Summary statementWe describe live imaging assays to analyse endocytosis in the zebrafish neuroepithelium and show involvement of the inositol phosphatase OCRL in this process

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2021

A novel nanoluciferase transgenic reporter to measure proteinuria in zebrafish

The zebrafish is an important animal system for modelling human diseases. This includes kidney dysfunction as the embryonic kidney (pronephros) shares considerable molecular and morphological homology with the human nephron. Zebrafish also have a high fecundity, with females capable of laying 200-300 eggs per week, thereby facilitating chemical and mutation screening. A key clinical indicator of kidney disease is proteinuria, but a high-throughput readout of proteinuria in the zebrafish is lacking. Coupling the advantages of the zebrafish system with a tool to measure proteinuria will advance the scope for testing the efficacy of drugs to treat kidney diseases. Here, we generated a stable transgenic zebrafish line using the l-fabp10 liver-specific promoter to over-express a nanoluciferase molecule fused with the D3 domain of Receptor-Associated-Protein (RAP) to create NL-D3. In the healthy state, NL-D3 is excreted, but when embryos were treated with chemicals that affected either proximal tubular reabsorption (cisplatin, gentamicin) or glomerular filtration (angiotensin II, Hanks Balanced Salt Solution, Bovine Serum Albumin), NL-D3 presence in the urine increased. Similarly, depletion of several gene products associated with kidney disease (nphs1, nphs2, lrp2a, ocrl, col4a3, col4a4, and col4a5) also induced NL-D3 proteinuria. Furthermore, we found that treating col4a4 depleted zebrafish larvae (a model of Alport syndrome) with captopril reduced proteinuria. Our findings confirm the use of the NL-D3 transgenic zebrafish as a robust and quantifiable proteinuria reporter. Given the feasibility of high-throughput assays in zebrafish, this novel reporter will permit screening for drugs that ameliorate proteinuria and thereby prioritise candidates for further translational studies. Significance StatementThe zebrafish has become an important system for modelling kidney disease. However, proteinuria, an important clinical indicator of kidney dysfunction, is not easily detected in zebrafish. Here, we describe a transgenic line that uses a nanoluciferase reporter to enable detection of proteinuria in multiple models of glomerular and proximal tubular kidney disease in the zebrafish. In this system proteinuria can be accurately measured in a high-throughput manner and will enable the screening of drugs that affect glomerular filtration or protein re-uptake in the proximal tubule.

pathology↗