Genetic analysis of the sushi domain protein Ccdc80 ub zebrafish heart development

心脏生物学中的一个基本问题是，这个器官是如何发育并呈现出成熟的成人形态的。心脏必须继续在发育中的胚胎中保持血液流动，同时仍在生长和经历协调的细胞运动，将线性心管转变为复杂的结构。由于其光学清晰度，快速的外部发育，以及对遗传方法的适应性，斑马鱼已经成为研究基因如何调控心脏发育的有力工具。在对心脏发育起重要作用的基因的大规模筛选中，我发现了一种突变，它会影响心内膜(心脏的内层)和心肌(心脏的肌层)如何沟通，以确保心脏具有适当的形状和功能。这种突变阻止了一种名为Ccdc80的蛋白质的产生。令人感兴趣的是，Ccdc80是一种新的、可能分泌的、功能未知的蛋白质。

A fundamental question in heart biology is how this organ develops and assumes its mature, adult form. The heart must continue to maintain blood flow in the developing embryo while still growing and undergoing concerted cell movements that convert a linear heart tube into a complex structure. Due to its optical clarity, rapid external development, and amenability to genetic approaches, the zebrafish has become a powerful tool to study how genes regulate heart development. In a large-scale screen for genes that play important roles in heart development I have identified a mutation that affects how the endocardium (inner lining of the heart) and myocardium (muscular layer of the heart) communicate to ensure that the heart assumes proper shape and function. This mutation blocks production of a protein called Ccdc80. Of great interest is the fact that Ccdc80 is a novel, potentially secreted, protein of unknown function.