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This Article Accepted manuscript (PDF) Supplementary figures All Versions of this Article: JOE-08-0221v1 198/3/451    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Xie, J. Articles by Ning, G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Xie, J. Articles by Ning, G.

J Xie, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Disease, Shanghai Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ruijin Hospita, China
W Wang, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Disease, Shanghai Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ruijin Hospita, shanghai, China
T Liu, Laboratory of development and diseases, Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academ, shangahi, China
M Deng, Laboratory of development and diseases, Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academ, shangahi, China
G Ning, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Disease, Shanghai Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ruijin Hospita, shanghai, China

Correspondence: Jing Xie, Email: xiejing_stella{at}yahoo.com.cn

Abstract

Chromogranin A (CHGA), a protein participating in the biogenesis of dense core secretory granules in various neuroendocrine tissues, plays a critical role in the release of hormones/peptides and the pathogenesis of pheochromocytoma. However, little is known about the developmental origin of CHGA-expressing cells during embryogenesis. Here we report the structural characterization and spatio-temporal expression pattern of zebrafish (Danio rerio) orthologue of mammalian CHGA. The earliest expression of chga transcripts was observed at 16 hours post-fertilization (hpf) in the developing cranial ganglia as six distinct cellular masses arranged bilaterally as strings of beads in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) precursors along the dorsal trunk. With development advancing, the chga transcripts were expressed abundantly in diencephalon, mesencephalon and rhombencephalon as well as in the DRG. Interestingly, double in situ hybridization assay of chga with genes expressed in pronephros (Wilms' tumor suppressor 1, wt1), adrenal cortex (side-chain cleavage-enzyme, scc) and sympathoadrenal neuron/chromaffin cell (dopamine-β-hydroxylase, dβh) respectively, showed that the chga-expressing cells are spatially separated from wt1-, scc-, and dβh-positive cell populations during early embryonic development. The pronephros region does not express chga even up to 7 days post-fertilization (dpf), while chga positive-staining cells bound in the brain and DRG indicating that chga may play an important role in nervous system development during the early embryonic stages.