Fig. 9

Abnormal development of the neural tube and blood vessels in panther. (A) Horizontal sections through the spinal cord of the adult wild-type (left) and panther mutant (right). Anterior to the left. Mineralization of neural arch was detected by von Kossa staining (black). Deposits of mineral (*) had penetrated into the spinal cordin the panther mutant. (B) The pattern diagram of lateral view of zebrafish blood vessel in the caudal region of the WT adult is shown. The red-dotted rectangle on diagram shows approximate location of region imaged in panel in ′′D′′. DA, dorsal aorta; CV, caudal vein. (C) Ectopic formation of blood vessel (arrowheads) in panther. Shown in bright-field image (n = 10). (D) Sagittal sections through the main blood vessels of the adult wild-type (left; n = 2) and panther mutant (right; n = 2). Anterior to the left. The sections were stained with methylene blue. (E) Pattern diagram of a cross view of zebrafish blood vessel in the caudal region of the WT adult. Dotted line boxes (a, b) on diagram show approximate location of regions imaged in panels of a and b in ′′F′′, respectively. (F) Cross sections through the main blood vessels of the adult wild-type and panther mutant. The sections were stained with methylene blue to detect blood cells, and the enzymatic activity of Alkaline phosphatase was examined to reveal blood vessels. Left figure shows the wild-type and right (pan-/-) figures show an abnormal phenotype in the panther mutant (n = 2). Black arrowhead shows DA and black arrow shows CV (WT, a), indicating many blood cells inside the vessels. Red arrowhead shows DA (pan-/-, a). Red arrow shows eCV (pan-/-, b), revealing the ectopic blood vessels and many blood cells inside the vessels in the panther mutant. DA, dorsal aorta; CV, caudal vein, eCV; ectopic caudal vein; NC, notochord. Scale bars: 100 μm (A), 500 μm (B, C), 300 μm (D) and 50 μm (E, F).