Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development ; Stem Cell Institute.
Biol Open. 2012 Aug 15;1(8):739-46. doi: 10.1242/bio.20121057. Epub 2012 Jun 13.
The zebrafish is a widely used model animal to study the regeneration of organs, such as the fin and heart. Their average lifetime is about 3 years, and recent studies have shown that zebrafish exhibit aging-related degeneration, suggesting the possibility that aging might affect regenerative potential. In order to investigate this possibility, we compared regeneration of the fin and heart after experimental amputation in young (6-12 month old) and old (26-36 month old) fish. Comparison of recovery rate of the caudal fin, measured every two or three days from one day post amputation until 13 days post amputation, show that fins in young and old fish regenerate at a similar rate. In the heart, myocardium regeneration and cardiomyocyte proliferation occurred similarly in the two groups. Moreover, neo-vascularization, as well as activation of fibroblast growth factor signaling, which is required for neo-vascularization, occurred similarly. The epicardial tissue is a thin layer tissue that covers the heart, and starts to express several genes immediately in response to injury. The expression of epicardial genes, such as wt1b and aldh1a2, in response to heart injury was comparable in two groups. Our results demonstrate that zebrafish preserve a life-long regenerative ability of the caudal fin and heart.
斑马鱼是一种广泛使用的模式动物，用于研究器官的再生，如鳍和心脏。它们的平均寿命约为 3 年，最近的研究表明斑马鱼表现出与衰老相关的退化，这表明衰老可能会影响再生潜力。为了研究这种可能性，我们比较了年轻（6-12 个月大）和年老（26-36 个月大）鱼在实验性截肢后鳍和心脏的再生情况。从截肢后一天开始，每两到三天测量一次尾鳍的恢复率，直到截肢后 13 天，结果表明年轻鱼和年老鱼的鳍以相似的速度再生。在心脏中，两组的心肌再生和心肌细胞增殖情况相似。此外，新生血管形成以及新生血管形成所需的成纤维细胞生长因子信号的激活也相似。心外膜组织是覆盖心脏的一层薄组织，它会在受伤后立即开始表达几个基因。心脏损伤后，wt1b 和 aldh1a2 等心外膜基因的表达在两组之间具有可比性。我们的研究结果表明，斑马鱼终生保持着尾鳍和心脏的再生能力。
