PUBLICATION

Harmonin (Ush1c) is required in zebrafish Muller glial cells for photoreceptor synaptic development and function

Authors
Phillips, J.B., Blanco-Sanchez, B., Lentz, J.J., Tallafuss, A., Khanobdee, K., Sampath, S., Jacobs, Z.G., Han, P.F., Mishra, M., Williams, D.S., Keats, B.J., Washbourne, P., and Westerfield, M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-110719-25
Date
2011
Source
Disease models & mechanisms   4(6): 786-800 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Blanco, Bernardo, Phillips, Jennifer, Tallafuss, Alexandra, Westerfield, Monte
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/drug effects
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • Hair Cells, Auditory/drug effects
  • Hair Cells, Auditory/metabolism
  • Hearing/drug effects
  • Larva/drug effects
  • Lateral Line System/drug effects
  • Lateral Line System/metabolism
  • Lateral Line System/physiopathology
  • Life Cycle Stages/drug effects
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Morpholinos/pharmacology
  • Mutation/genetics
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism*
  • Neuroglia/metabolism*
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate/drug effects
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate/metabolism*
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate/pathology
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate/ultrastructure
  • Protein Transport/drug effects
  • Subcellular Fractions/drug effects
  • Subcellular Fractions/metabolism
  • Synapses/drug effects
  • Synapses/metabolism*
  • Synapses/pathology
  • Synapses/ultrastructure
  • Vision, Ocular/drug effects
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/growth & development*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
PubMed
21757509 Full text @ Dis. Model. Mech.
Abstract

Usher syndrome is the most prevalent cause of hereditary deaf-blindness, characterized by congenital sensorineural hearing impairment and progressive photoreceptor degeneration beginning in childhood or adolescence. Diagnosis and management of this disease are complex, and the molecular changes underlying sensory cell impairment remain poorly understood. Here we characterize two zebrafish models for a severe form of Usher syndrome, Usher syndrome type 1C (USH1C): one model is a mutant with a newly identified ush1c nonsense mutation, and the other is a morpholino knockdown of ush1c. Both have defects in hearing, balance and visual function from the first week of life. Histological analyses reveal specific defects in sensory cell structure that are consistent with these behavioral phenotypes and could implicate Müller glia in the retinal pathology of Usher syndrome. This study shows that visual defects associated with loss of ush1c function in zebrafish can be detected from the onset of vision, and thus could be applicable to early diagnosis for USH1C patients.

Genes / Markers
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping