Manipulating Mechanical Forces in the Developing Zebrafish Heart Using Magnetic Beads

Summary

This protocol outlines a method for grafting a magnetic bead into the developing zebrafish heart through microsurgery, enabling the manipulation of mechanical forces in vivo and triggering mechanical stimulus-dependent calcium influx in endocardial cells.

Abstract

Mechanical forces continuously provide feedback to heart valve morphogenetic programs. In zebrafish, cardiac valve development relies on heart contraction and physical stimuli generated by the beating heart. Intracardiac hemodynamics, driven by blood flow, emerge as fundamental information shaping the development of the embryonic heart. Here, we describe an effective method to manipulate mechanical forces in vivo by grafting a 30 µm to 60 µm diameter magnetic bead in the cardiac lumen. The insertion of the bead is conducted through microsurgery in anesthetized larvae without perturbing heart function and enables artificial alteration of the boundary conditions, thereby modifying flow forces in the system. As a result, the presence of the bead amplifies the mechanical forces experienced by endocardial cells and can directly trigger mechanical stimulus-dependent calcium influx. This approach facilitates the investigation of mechanotransduction pathways that govern heart development and can provide insights into the role of mechanical forces in cardiac valve morphogenesis.

Introduction

Since its introduction in the late 1970s¹, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as a powerful model system for studying the intricacies of cardiac development and congenital heart disorders. Unlike most vertebrates, including mouse and chick embryos, which rely on a functional cardiovascular system and cannot survive early heart defects, zebrafish provide a unique advantage by enabling the investigation of severe heart phenotypes. This is due to their small size, which facilitates sufficient oxygen supply through passive diffusion, allowing survival even in the absence of heart contraction and active blood circulation

Protocol

The procedures for working with zebrafish embryos described in this protocol adhere to the European directive 2010/63/EU and Home Office guidelines under the project licence PP6020928.

1. Obtaining zebrafish embryos for bead grafting

1. Cross the relevant zebrafish line and grow the embryos in Danieau's medium at 28.5 °C. For more detailed instructions on crossing zebrafish lines, refer to the JoVE Science Education Database²⁷.
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Discussion

Critical steps in the protocol and troubleshooting

Mounting of zebrafish embryos

The quantity of agarose used to mount the embryos is important. The dome formed should not be excessively large, as this can hinder the manipulation of the bead from the surface to the embryos. Conversely, it should not be too small; having multiple beads atop the agarose, positioned close to the embryos and their yolk, can cause confusion. A v.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Materials
Essential equipment for zebrafish raising, breeding, and embryo collection
Glass-bottom dish (35 mm x 15 mm)	VWR International	734-2905
Heat block	Eppendorf	EP5382000031	Eppendorf ThermoMixer C
Jewelers forceps	Sigma-Aldrich	F6521-1EA	Dumont No. 5, L 4 1/4 in., Inox alloy
Microcentrifuge tubes 2 mL	Eppendorf	30120094
Pasteur pipette
Petri dish
Stereomicroscope
Reagents
4 mg/mL tricaine stock solution
Danieau's medium (60x stock solution)
PureCube Glutathione MagBeads	Cube Biotech	32201
PTU (1-phenyl-2-thiourea)	Sigma-Aldrich	P7629
UltraPure low melting point agarose	Invitrogen	16520-050
Danieau's medium (60x stock solution)
34.8 g NaCl	Sigma-Aldrich	S3014
1.6 g KCl	Sigma-Aldrich	P9541
5.8 g CaCl2·2H2O	Sigma-Aldrich	C3306
9.78 g MgCl2·6H2O	Sigma-Aldrich	442611-M
Dissolve the ingredients in H2O to a final volume of 2 L. Adjust the pH to 7.2 using NaOH, then autoclave.
4 mg/mL tricaine stock solution
400 mg of tricaine powder (Ethyl 3-aminobenzoate methanesulfonate salt)	Sigma-Aldrich	A5040
97.9 mL double-distilled H2O
2.1 mL 1 M Tris (pH 9)
Adjust the pH to 7, then aliquot and store at -20 °C.