PUBLICATION

Genetic inducible fate mapping in larval zebrafish reveals origins of adult insulin-producing {beta}-cells

Authors
Wang, Y., Rovira, M., Yusuff, S., and Parsons, M.J.
ID
ZDB-PUB-110110-34
Date
2011
Source
Development (Cambridge, England)   138(4): 609-617 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Parsons, Michael
Keywords
β-cells, Notch-signaling, Pancreas development, Pancreatic progenitors, Zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Aging*
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Cell Lineage*
  • Fish Proteins/metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Insulin/biosynthesis*
  • Insulin-Secreting Cells/cytology
  • Insulin-Secreting Cells/metabolism*
  • Larva/genetics
  • Pancreas, Exocrine/growth & development
  • Pancreas, Exocrine/metabolism
  • Receptors, Notch/metabolism
  • Zebrafish/genetics*
  • Zebrafish/growth & development*
  • Zebrafish/metabolism
PubMed
21208992 Full text @ Development
Abstract
The Notch-signaling pathway is known to be fundamental in controlling pancreas differentiation. We now report on using Cre-based fate mapping to indelibly label pancreatic Notch-responsive cells (PNCs) at larval stages and follow their fate in the adult pancreas. We show that the PNCs represent a population of progenitors that can differentiate to multiple lineages, including adult ductal cells, centroacinar cells (CACs) and endocrine cells. These endocrine cells include the insulin-producing β-cells. CACs are a functional component of the exocrine pancreas; however, our fate-mapping results indicate that CACs are more closely related to endocrine cells by lineage as they share a common progenitor. The majority of the exocrine pancreas consists of the secretory acinar cells; however, we only detect a very limited contribution of PNCs to acinar cells. To explain this observation we re-examined early events in pancreas formation. The pancreatic anlage that gives rise to the exocrine pancreas is located in the ventral gut endoderm (called the ventral bud). Ptf1a is a gene required for exocrine pancreas development and is first expressed as the ventral bud forms. We used transgenic marker lines to observe both the domain of cells expressing ptf1a and cells responding to Notch signaling. We do not detect any overlap in expression and demonstrate that the ventral bud consists of two cell populations: a ptf1-expressing domain and a Notch-responsive progenitor core. As pancreas organogenesis continues, the ventral bud derived PNCs align along the duct, remain multipotent and later in development differentiate to form secondary islets, ducts and CACs.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping