Cited by 96Zebrafish Biomedical Research ApplicationsGenetics and Neurodevelopmental DisordersDevelopmental Biology and Gene Regulation

Altered behavioral performance and live imaging of circuit-specific neural deficiencies in a zebrafish model for psychomotor retardation

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Zada, David, Tovin, Adi, Lerer-Goldshtein, Tali, Vatine, Gad David, Appelbaum, Lior·2014·PLoS Genetics

Abstract

The mechanisms and treatment of psychomotor retardation, which includes motor and cognitive impairment, are indefinite. The Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome (AHDS) is an X-linked psychomotor retardation characterized by delayed development, severe intellectual disability, muscle hypotonia, and spastic paraplegia, in combination with disturbed thyroid hormone (TH) parameters. AHDS has been associated with mutations in the monocarboxylate transporter 8 (mct8/slc16a2) gene, which is a TH transporter. In order to determine the pathophysiological mechanisms of AHDS, MCT8 knockout mice were intensively studied. Although these mice faithfully replicated the abnormal serum TH levels, they failed to exhibit the neurological and behavioral symptoms of AHDS patients. Here, we generated an mct8 mutant (mct8-/-) zebrafish using zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN)-mediated targeted gene editing system. The elimination of MCT8 decreased the expression levels of TH receptors; however, it did not affect the expression of other TH-related genes. Similar to human patients, mct8-/- larvae exhibited neurological and behavioral deficiencies. High-throughput behavioral assays demonstrated that mct8-/- larvae exhibited reduced locomotor activity, altered response to external light and dark transitions and an increase in sleep time. These deficiencies in behavioral performance were associated with altered expression of myelin-related genes and neuron-specific deficiencies in circuit formation. Time-lapse imaging of single-axon arbors and synapses in live mct8-/- larvae revealed a reduction in filopodia dynamics and axon branching in sensory neurons and decreased synaptic density in motor neurons. These phenotypes enable assessment of the therapeutic potential of three TH analogs that can enter the cells in the absence of MCT8. The TH analogs restored the myelin and axon outgrowth deficiencies in mct8-/- larvae. These findings suggest a mechanism by which MCT8 regulates neural circuit assembly, ultimately mediating sensory and motor control of behavioral performance. We also propose that the administration of TH analogs early during embryo development can specifically reduce neurological damage in AHDS patients.

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Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004615

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  • These results align with reduced synaptophysin expression in post-mortem human brain and neuronal deficiencies in Mct8/Oatp1c1 dKO mouse and zebrafish Mct8 mutant.

    “These results align with several findings in MCT8 deficiency, including reduced synaptophysin expression in the post-mortem human brain (López-Espíndola et al., 2014) and neuronal deficiencies observed in the Mct8/Oatp1c1 double KO (dKO) mouse (Mayerl et al., 2014) and zebrafish Mct8 mutant model (Zada et al., 2014).”

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Authors
Zada, D., Tovin, A., Lerer-Goldshtein, T., Vatine, G. D., & Appelbaum, L.
Affiliations
  • Bar-Ilan University (IL)
  • Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Appelbaum, Lior
Venue
PLoS Genetics
Published
2014-09-25
Volume
10
Issue
9
Pages
e1004615
ISSN
  • 1553-7390 (ISSN-L)
  • 1553-7404
OpenAlex
W1999728382
Cited by
92
References
108
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2
FWCI
4.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS Genetics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • E-Rare
  • European Commission (274333)
  • Bar-Ilan University
  • Israel Science Foundation (366/11)
  • Ministry of Health, State of Israel
  • FP7 People: Marie-Curie Actions (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
Keywords
Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome, MCT8, thyroid hormone transport, zebrafish mutants, behavioral deficits, locomotor activity, sleep, myelin genes, axon branching, sensory neurons, motor neurons, synaptic density, live imaging, thyroid hormone analogs, neural circuit assembly, intellectual disability
MeSH terms
Animals, Disease Models, Animal, Gene Expression Regulation, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Motor Activity, Muscle Hypotonia, Muscular Atrophy, Mutation, Myelin Sheath, Neurons, Phenotype, Pseudopodia, Thyroid Gland, Thyroid Hormones, Zebrafish, Zinc Fingers, Photoperiod, Gene Targeting, Gene Order, Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters, Animals, Genetically Modified, Thyroid Hormone Receptors alpha, Mental Retardation, X-Linked, X-Linked Intellectual Disability, Neurogranin, Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors, Gene Knockout Techniques

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