Development of vascular regulation in the zebrafish embryo.

Bahrami, Nabila

Development of vascular regulation in the zebrafish embryo.

dc.contributor.advisor	Childs, Sarah J.
dc.contributor.author	Bahrami, Nabila
dc.contributor.committeemember	Cole, William C.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Gordon, Grant Robert J.
dc.date	2019-11
dc.date.accessioned	2019-09-23T20:10:36Z
dc.date.available	2019-09-23T20:10:36Z
dc.date.issued	2019-09-19
dc.description.abstract	The vascular system is placed under enormous stress at the onset of cardiac contractility and blood flow. Nascent blood vessel tubes initially consist of a thin endothelial wall and rapidly acquire support from mural cells (pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells; vSMCs). Following their association with vessels, mural cells acquire vasoactive ability (contraction and relaxation). However, we have little information as to when this vasoactivity first develops, and the extent to which each mural cell type contributes to vascular tone regulation during development. For the first time in an in vivo system, we highlight the dynamic changes in mural cell vasoactivity during development. We assess mural cell vasoactivity in the early zebrafish (Danio rerio) cerebral vasculature in response to pharmacological agents. We determine that pericyte-covered vessels constrict and dilate at 4 days post fertilization (dpf) but not at 6 dpf. The prostaglandin EP4 receptor contributes to pericyte-covered vessel dilation at 4 dpf. In contrast, vSMC-covered vessels constrict but do not dilate at 4 dpf. At 6 dpf, vSMC-covered vessels continue to constrict but only dilate from a pre-constricted state. Using genetic ablation, we demonstrate that mural cell contraction and relaxation is an active response by pericytes and vSMCs. Thus, we show that both pericytes and vSMCs have the ability to regulate cerebral vascular tone but at different stages of development. Pericytes are involved in regulating vessel diameters prior to the maturation of the vSMCs. Once vSMCs mature, pericytes are no longer active, and only vSMCs mediate vasomotor activity in the developing embryonic brain of zebrafish. The onset of vSMC vasoactivity corresponds to the development of increased neuronal activity and neurovascular coupling.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Bahrami, N. (2019). Development of vascular regulation in the zebrafish embryo. (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/37105
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111043
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Cumming School of Medicine	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	pericyte	en_US
dc.subject	vascular smooth muscle cell	en_US
dc.subject	cerebral vasculature	en_US
dc.subject	dilation	en_US
dc.subject	constriction	en_US
dc.subject	contraction	en_US
dc.subject	relaxation	en_US
dc.subject	microscopy	en_US
dc.subject	vasoactive agents	en_US
dc.subject	vascular tone	en_US
dc.subject	vasoactivity	en_US
dc.subject	mural cells	en_US
dc.subject	genetic ablation	en_US
dc.subject	nitric oxide (NO)	en_US
dc.subject	adrenergic	en_US
dc.subject	zebrafish	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Biology--Molecular	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Biochemistry	en_US
dc.title	Development of vascular regulation in the zebrafish embryo.	en_US
dc.type	master thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Medicine – Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US