Cited by 1,541Zebrafish Biomedical Research ApplicationsWound Healing and TreatmentsRedox biology and oxidative stress

A tissue-scale gradient of hydrogen peroxide mediates rapid wound detection in zebrafish

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Niethammer, Philipp, Grabher, Clemens, Look, A. Thomas, Mitchison, Timothy J.·2009·Nature

Abstract

Barrier structures (for example, epithelia around tissues and plasma membranes around cells) are required for internal homeostasis and protection from pathogens. Wound detection and healing represent a dormant morphogenetic program that can be rapidly executed to restore barrier integrity and tissue homeostasis. In animals, initial steps include recruitment of leukocytes to the site of injury across distances of hundreds of micrometres within minutes of wounding. The spatial signals that direct this immediate tissue response are unknown. Owing to their fast diffusion and versatile biological activities, reactive oxygen species, including hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), are interesting candidates for wound-to-leukocyte signalling. Here we probe the role of H(2)O(2) during the early events of wound responses in zebrafish larvae expressing a genetically encoded H(2)O(2) sensor. This reporter revealed a sustained rise in H(2)O(2) concentration at the wound margin, starting approximately 3 min after wounding and peaking at approximately 20 min, which extended approximately 100-200 microm into the tail-fin epithelium as a decreasing concentration gradient. Using pharmacological and genetic inhibition, we show that this gradient is created by dual oxidase (Duox), and that it is required for rapid recruitment of leukocytes to the wound. This is the first observation, to our knowledge, of a tissue-scale H(2)O(2) pattern, and the first evidence that H(2)O(2) signals to leukocytes in tissues, in addition to its known antiseptic role.

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  • ROS can serve as immediate damage attractants to draw immune cells to wounds in zebrafish.

    “Currently, the most exciting insight from zebrafish studies of wound inflammation has been that ROS can serve as immediate damage attractants to draw immune cells to wounds (127).”

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  1. [31]Nusslein-Volhard C Dahm R Zebrafish 2002 Oxford University Press NY

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Authors
Niethammer, P., Grabher, C., Look, A. T., & Mitchison, T. J.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
Corresponding author
Niethammer, Philipp
Venue
Nature
Published
2009-06
Volume
459
Issue
7249
Pages
996-999
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2069463594
Cited by
1,541
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 65 · 2025: 69 · 2024: 68 · 2023: 83 · 2022: 95 · 2021: 101 · 2020: 118 · 2019: 94 · 2018: 85 · 2017: 100 · 2016: 99 · 2015: 88 · 2014: 111 · 2013: 107 · 2012: 84
FWCI
38.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM-023928, R01GM023928)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Wound Healing and Treatments
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Redox biology and oxidative stress
Keywords
hydrogen peroxide, wound detection, dual oxidase, leukocyte recruitment, wound healing, inflammation, reactive oxygen species, zebrafish larvae, epithelium, barrier integrity
MeSH terms
Animals, Diffusion, Hydrogen Peroxide, Larva, Leukocytes, Wound Healing, Wounds and Injuries, Zebrafish, NADPH Oxidases, Zebrafish Proteins

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