PUBLICATION

amer1 Regulates Zebrafish Craniofacial Development by Interacting with the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway

Authors

Sun, L., Ping, L., Fan, X., Fan, Y., Zhang, B., Chen, X.

ID

ZDB-PUB-240123-8

Date

2024

Source

International Journal of Molecular Sciences 25(2): (Journal)

Registered Authors

Zhang, Bo

Keywords

Wnt/?-catenin pathway, amer1, cranial neural crest cells, craniofacial dysplasia

MeSH Terms

beta Catenin/genetics
Apoptosis/genetics
Animals
Quinolines*
Zebrafish*/genetics
Congenital Microtia*
Imides*

(all 7)

PubMed

38255806 Full text @ Int. J. Mol. Sci.

Abstract

Microtia-atresia is a rare type of congenital craniofacial malformation causing severe damage to the appearance and hearing ability of affected individuals. The genetic factors associated with microtia-atresia have not yet been determined. The AMER1 gene has been identified as potentially pathogenic for microtia-atresia in two twin families. An amer1 mosaic knockdown zebrafish model was constructed using CRISPR/Cas9. The phenotype and the development process of cranial neural crest cells of the knockdown zebrafish were examined. Components of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway were examined by qPCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence assay. IWR-1-endo, a reversible inhibitor of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, was applied to rescue the abnormal phenotype. The present study showed that the development of mandibular cartilage in zebrafish was severely compromised by amer1 knockdown using CRISPR/Cas9. Specifically, amer1 knockdown was found to affect the proliferation and apoptosis of cranial neural crest cells, as well as their differentiation to chondrocytes. Mechanistically, amer1 exerted an antagonistic effect on the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The application of IWR-1-endo could partially rescue the abnormal phenotype. We demonstrated that amer1 was essential for the craniofacial development of zebrafish by interacting with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. These findings provide important insight into the role of amer1 in zebrafish mandibular development and the pathology of microtia-atresia caused by AMER1 gene mutations in humans.

Genes / Markers

Figures