Zebrafish housing system

我们用斑马鱼来研究基本的生物过程，并将其作为研究人类疾病的模式生物。我们的主要兴趣是试图了解发育中的胚胎中的细胞如何相互沟通，以及如果这种沟通中断会发生什么。我们的研究集中在一种特殊类型的细胞间通信，称为缝隙连接细胞间通信(GJIC)。GJIC通过称为缝隙连接的细胞表面结构发生，缝隙连接是直接连接接触的细胞内部的通道的集合。两个单元中的每一个将贡献间隙结的一半，即半沟道的集合。许多不同的、通常很小的分子可以通过这些通道传播，因此可以被细胞共享。当组织中的所有细胞以这种方式连接起来时，它们对环境变化或来自其他组织的信号的反应可以同步和协调。构成半通道的蛋白质被称为连接蛋白。斑马鱼基因组中可能至少有30多种不同的连接蛋白。由不同连接蛋白组成的通道具有不同的生理特性。连接蛋白编码基因的突变可能导致先天性畸形和疾病。例如，人类连接蛋白46和连接蛋白50基因的突变会导致眼睛晶状体中白内障的形成。目前，我们已经克隆了几个斑马鱼连接蛋白基因，并正在继续寻找更多的基因。在研究基因在胚胎发育中的作用时，斑马鱼有几个优势。它们产生大量的胚胎，生长非常快，它们在母体外发育，因此很容易获得和观察，而且胚胎是透明的，这使得在显微镜下很容易看到内脏的发育。本申请所要求的斑马鱼住房系统设备将促进旨在进一步了解连接蛋白在体内的功能以及连接蛋白基因表达如何调控的实验。

We use zebrafish to study basic biological processes, and as a model organism for the study of human disease. Our main interest is in trying to understand how the cells in the developing embryo communicate with each other, and what happens if this communication is disrupted. Our research is focused on one particular type of intercellular communication called gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC). GJIC occurs through cell surface structures known as gap junctions, which are collections of channels that directly connect the interiors of cells that are in contact. Each of the two cells will contribute one half of the gap junction, i.e. a collection of half channels. A number of different, generally small molecules can travel through these channels and can therefore be shared by the cells. When all the cells in a tissue are connected in this way their response to changes in their environment, or to signals from other tissues can be synchronized and coordinated. The proteins the half-channels are made of are called connexins. There are probably at least three dozen different connexins in the zebrafish genome. Channels made of different connexins have different physiological properties. Mutations in genes that code for the connexins can lead to congenital malformations and disease.  For example, mutations in the connexin46 and connexin50 genes in humans leads to the formation of cataracts in the lens of the eye. We have cloned several zebrafish connexin genes at this point and are continuing our search for more. The zebrafish has several advantages when it comes to the study of the role genes play in embryonic development. They produce large numbers of embryos, they grow very fast, they develop outside the mother so they are easily obtained and observed, and the embryos are transparent which makes it very easy to see the development of internal organs in the microscope. The zebrafish housing system equipment requested in this application will facilitate experiments aimed at furthering our understanding of the in vivo functions of connexins and how the expression of connexin genes is regulated.