Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, United States.
The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University & The Biomedical Sciences Institute of Qingdao University (Qingdao Branch of SJTU Bio-X Institutes), Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
Elife. 2022 Oct 18;11:e77327. doi: 10.7554/eLife.77327.
Previously we showed the generation of a protein trap library made with the gene-break transposon (GBT) in zebrafish () that could be used to facilitate novel functional genome annotation towards understanding molecular underpinnings of human diseases (Ichino et al, 2020). Here, we report a significant application of this library for discovering essential genes for heart rhythm disorders such as sick sinus syndrome (SSS). SSS is a group of heart rhythm disorders caused by malfunction of the sinus node, the heart's primary pacemaker. Partially owing to its aging-associated phenotypic manifestation and low expressivity, molecular mechanisms of SSS remain difficult to decipher. From 609 GBT lines screened, we generated a collection of 35 zebrafish insertional cardiac (ZIC) mutants in which each mutant traps a gene with cardiac expression. We further employed electrocardiographic measurements to screen these 35 ZIC lines and identified three GBT mutants with SSS-like phenotypes. More detailed functional studies on one of the arrhythmogenic mutants, , in both zebrafish and mouse models unveiled as a novel SSS causative gene with a unique expression pattern within the subpopulation of sinus node pacemaker cells that partially overlaps with the expression of hyperpolarization activated cyclic nucleotide gated channel 4 (HCN4), supporting heterogeneity of the cardiac pacemaker cells.
先前,我们展示了利用基因断裂转座子(GBT)在斑马鱼中生成的蛋白质陷阱文库,该文库可用于促进对人类疾病分子基础的新功能基因组注释(Ichino 等人,2020)。在这里,我们报告了该文库在发现心律失常(如窦性心动过缓综合征,SSS)等心脏节律紊乱的必需基因方面的重要应用。SSS 是一组由窦房结(心脏的主要起搏器)功能障碍引起的心律失常。部分由于其与衰老相关的表型表现和低表达性,SSS 的分子机制仍然难以破译。从 609 条 GBT 线中筛选,我们生成了 35 个具有心脏表达的斑马鱼插入性心脏(ZIC)突变体的集合,其中每个突变体都捕获一个具有心脏表达的基因。我们进一步采用心电图测量来筛选这 35 个 ZIC 系,并鉴定出三个具有 SSS 样表型的 GBT 突变体。在斑马鱼和小鼠模型中对一个心律失常突变体进行更详细的功能研究,揭示了作为一个新的 SSS 致病基因,在窦房结起搏细胞亚群中的表达模式独特,与超极化激活环核苷酸门控通道 4(HCN4)的表达部分重叠,支持心脏起搏细胞的异质性。