Fig. 2

wt1b:gfp expressing notochord sheath cells populate the site of injury in the damaged notochords.

(a) Schematic diagram of the notochord and transgenic lines used in this study. The notochord is composed of an inner population of highly vacuolated cells (green arrow; SAGFF214A:gfp), surrounded by a layer of epithelial-like sheath cells (red arrow; R2col2a1a:mCherry), encapsulated by a thick layer of extracellular basement membrane (grey arrow). (b) Schematic of experimental design: 3dpf Tg(wt1b:gfp; R2-col2a1a:mCherry); casper larvae were needle-injured and imaged at 0, 24 and 72 hpi. (c) Needle damage led to the formation of a cell-free gap in the layer of notochord sheath cells (0 hpi – injured; dashed line). GFP expression can be observed in the notochord sheath cells surrounding the area of damage by 24 hpi (inset: cross-sectional view) and these appear to engulf the injured area by 72 hpi (inset). n > 10; experimental replicates >10. Scale bar: 100 µm. (d) Multiphoton time-lapse imaging of wound site. Initial upregulation of GFP occurs at eight hpi in the R2-col2a1a:mCherry positive cells (arrow) and propagates across the injured area over the next 40 hr to form a seal in the notochord. n = 8; experimental replicates = 1. Scale bar: 100 µm. (e) Representative example of FACS analysis of cell populations in injured and non-injured zebrafish trunk tissue. GFP⁺mCherry⁺ double positive cells are present in injured Tg(wt1b:gfp; col2a1a:mCherry) at 72 hpi. Percentage of fluorescent cells are reported. Note that the dissected tissue can also encompass wt1b:gfp expressing cells in the posterior end of the pronephric duct (see also Figure 1c). n = 35 larvae per group; experimental replicates = 4. dpf = days post fertilization; hpi = hours post injury.