zebrafish-scale-regeneration-in-toto-and-ex-vivo-culture-of-scales

Zebrafish Scale Regeneration <em>In Toto</em> and <em>Ex Vivo</em> Culture of Scales

Skeletal diseases are often complex in their etiology and affect millions of people worldwide. Due to the aging population, there is a need for new ...

University of Bristol

Scales are mineralised exoskeletal structures that are part of the dermal skeleton. Scales have been mostly lost during evolution of terrestrial vertebrates whilst bony fish have retained a mineralised dermal skeleton in the form of fin rays and scales. Each scale is a mineralised collagen plate that is decorated with both matrix-building and resorbing cells. When removed, an ontogenetic scale is quickly replaced following differentiation of the scale pocket-lining cells that regenerate a scale. Processes promoting de novo matrix formation and mineralisation initiated during scale regeneration are poorly understood. Therefore, we performed transcriptomic analysis to determine gene networks and their pathways involved in dermal scale regeneration.

Regenerating zebrafish scales express a subset of evolutionary conserved genes involved in human skeletal disease.

Abnormal subchondral bone remodeling leading to sclerosis is a main feature of osteoarthritis (OA), and osteomodulin (OMD), a proteoglycan involved in extracellular matrix mineralization, is associated with the sclerotic phenotype. However, the functions of OMD remain poorly understood, specifically in vivo. We used Omd knockout and overexpressing male mice and mutant zebrafish to study its roles in bone and cartilage metabolism and in the development of OA. The expression of Omd is deeply correlated with bone and cartilage microarchitectures affecting the bone volume and the onset of subchondral bone sclerosis and spontaneous cartilage lesions. Mechanistically, OMD binds to RANKL and inhibits osteoclastogenesis, thus controlling the balance of bone remodeling. In conclusion, OMD is a key factor in subchondral bone sclerosis associated with OA. It participates in bone and cartilage homeostasis by acting on the regulation of osteoclastogenesis. Targeting OMD may be a promising new and personalized approach for OA.

Article	Year
Regenerating zebrafish scales express a subset of evolutionary conserved genes involved in human skeletal disease. BMC biology\| PubMed ID: 35057801	2022
Osteomodulin downregulation is associated with osteoarthritis development. Bone research\| PubMed ID: 37730805	2023

Qiao Tong

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