Abstract
The iron regulatory hormone hepcidin is transcriptionally up-regulated in response to iron loading, but the mechanisms by which iron levels are sensed are not well understood. Large-scale genetic screens in the zebrafish have resulted in the identification of hypochromic anemia mutants with a range of mutations affecting conserved pathways in iron metabolism and heme synthesis. We hypothesized that transferrin plays a critical role both in iron transport and in regulating hepcidin expression in zebrafish embryos. Here we report the identification and characterization of the zebrafish hypochromic anemia mutant, gavi, which exhibits transferrin deficiency due to mutations in transferrin-a. Morpholino knockdown of transferrin-a in wild-type embryos reproduced the anemia phenotype and decreased somite and terminal gut iron staining, while coinjection of transferrin-a cRNA partially restored these defects. Embryos with transferrin-a or transferrin receptor 2 (TfR2) deficiency exhibited low levels of hepcidin expression, however anemia, in the absence of a defect in the transferrin pathway, failed to impair hepcidin expression. These data indicate that transferrin-a transports iron and that hepcidin expression is regulated by a transferrin-a-dependent pathway in the zebrafish embryo.
Publication types
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Comparative Study
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Anemia, Hypochromic / chemically induced
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Anemia, Hypochromic / embryology
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Anemia, Hypochromic / genetics
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Animals
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Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / biosynthesis*
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Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / genetics
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Cation Transport Proteins / genetics
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Embryo, Nonmammalian / drug effects
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Embryo, Nonmammalian / metabolism
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Erythropoiesis / drug effects
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Erythropoiesis / genetics
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Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / drug effects
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Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / physiology*
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Gene Knockdown Techniques
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Hepcidins / biosynthesis
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Hepcidins / deficiency
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Hepcidins / genetics
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Hepcidins / physiology*
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Humans
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Iron / metabolism*
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Iron / pharmacology
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Mutation
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Organ Specificity
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Phenylhydrazines / toxicity
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Receptors, Transferrin / antagonists & inhibitors
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Receptors, Transferrin / genetics
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Receptors, Transferrin / physiology
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Sequence Alignment
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Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
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Species Specificity
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Transferrin / deficiency
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Transferrin / genetics
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Transferrin / physiology*
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Zebrafish / embryology
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Zebrafish Proteins / biosynthesis
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Zebrafish Proteins / deficiency
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Zebrafish Proteins / genetics
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Zebrafish Proteins / physiology*
Substances
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Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
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Cation Transport Proteins
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HAMP protein, human
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Hepcidins
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Phenylhydrazines
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Receptors, Transferrin
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Transferrin
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Zebrafish Proteins
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hamp protein, zebrafish
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solute carrier family 11- (proton-coupled divalent metal ion transporters), member 2
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tfa protein, zebrafish
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tfr2 protein, zebrafish
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phenylhydrazine
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Iron
Associated data
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GENBANK/EU360800
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GENBANK/EU360801