PUBLICATION

Reverse genetic screen reveals that Il34 facilitates yolk sac macrophage distribution and seeding of the brain

Authors
Kuil, L.E., Oosterhof, N., Geurts, S.N., van der Linde, H.C., Meijering, E., van Ham, T.J.
ID
ZDB-PUB-190216-3
Date
2019
Source
Disease models & mechanisms   12(3): (Journal)
Registered Authors
Kuil, Laura, van der Linde, Herma, van Ham, Tjakko
Keywords
Brain development, Hematopoiesis, Macrophages, Microglia, Reverse genetic screen
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Base Sequence
  • Brain/growth & development
  • Brain/metabolism*
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics
  • Cell Count
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Genetic Testing*
  • Interleukins/metabolism*
  • Macrophages/metabolism*
  • Microglia/metabolism
  • Mutation/genetics
  • Reverse Genetics*
  • Yolk Sac/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish/metabolism*
PubMed
30765415 Full text @ Dis. Model. Mech.
Abstract
Microglia are brain resident macrophages, which have specialized functions important in brain development and in disease. They colonize the brain in early embryonic stages, but few factors that drive the migration of yolk sac macrophages (YSMs) into the embryonic brain , or regulate their acquisition of specialized properties are currently known.Here, we present a CRISPR/Cas9-based in vivo reverse genetic screening pipeline to identify new microglia regulators using zebrafish. Zebrafish larvae are particularly suitable due to their external development, transparency and conserved microglia features. We targeted putative microglia regulators, by Cas9/gRNA-complex injections, followed by neutral red-based visualization of microglia. Microglia were quantified automatically in 3-day-old larvae using a software tool we called SpotNGlia. We identified that loss of the zebrafish colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) ligand IL34, caused reduced microglia numbers. Previous studies on the role of the IL34 on microglia development in vivo were ambiguous. Our data, and a concurrent paper, show that in zebrafish, il34 is required during the earliest seeding of the brain by microglia. Our data also indicate that Il34 is required for YSM distribution to other organs. Disruption of the other CSF1R ligand, Csf1, did not reduce microglia numbers in mutants, whereas overexpression increased the number of microglia. This shows Csf1 can influence microglia numbers, but might not be essential for the early seeding of the brain. In all, we identified il34 as a modifier of microglia colonization, by affecting distribution of YSMs to target organs, validating our reverse genetic screening pipeline in zebrafish.
Genes / Markers
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping