Overexpression of Wld(S) or Nmnat2 in mauthner cells by single-cell electroporation delays axon degeneration in live zebrafish

J Neurosci Res. 2010 Nov 15;88(15):3319-27. doi: 10.1002/jnr.22498.

Abstract

Axon degeneration is supposed to be a therapeutic target for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Mauthner cells (M-cells) are ideal for studying axons in vivo because of their limited numbers, large size, and long axons. In this study, we labeled M-cells by single-cell electroporation with plasmids expressing DsRed2 or EGFP. Injury-induced axon degeneration in labeled M-cell was imaged under a confocal microscope, and we found that the Mauthner axons started to degenerate about 24 hr after lesion. The Wld(S) protein containing full-length Nmnat1 is well-known for its axon-protective function in many systems. Overexpression of Wld(S) in M-cells also greatly delayed axon degeneration in live zebrafish. Nmnat2 is the only Nmnat highly expressed in brain. Here we demonstrated that overexpression of Nmnat2 in M-cells significantly delayed axon degeneration in vivo, and disruption of the NAD synthesis activity of Nmnat2 markedly attenuated its axon-protective function. All these data show that injury-induced axon degeneration of M-cell has a mechanism similar to that in mammalians and would be a valuable model for studying axon degeneration in vivo.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Axons / metabolism*
  • Axons / pathology
  • Electroporation
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Immunoprecipitation
  • Microscopy, Confocal
  • Nerve Degeneration / genetics
  • Nerve Degeneration / metabolism*
  • Nerve Degeneration / pathology
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism*
  • Nicotinamide-Nucleotide Adenylyltransferase / genetics
  • Nicotinamide-Nucleotide Adenylyltransferase / metabolism*
  • Zebrafish

Substances

  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • NMNAT2 protein, human
  • Nicotinamide-Nucleotide Adenylyltransferase