Genome editing of factor X in zebrafish reveals unexpected tolerance of severe defects in the common pathway.

Deficiency of factor X (F10) in humans is a rare bleeding disorder with a heterogeneous phenotype and limited therapeutic options. Targeted disruption of F10 and other common pathway factors in mice results in embryonic/neonatal lethality with rapid resorption of homozygous mutants, hampering additional studies. Several of these mutants also display yolk sac vascular defects, suggesting a role for thrombin signaling in vessel development. The zebrafish is a vertebrate model that demonstrates conservation of the mammalian hemostatic and vascular systems. We have leveraged these advantages for in-depth study of the role of the coagulation cascade in the developmental regulation of hemostasis and vasculogenesis. In this article, we show that ablation of zebrafish f10 by using genome editing with transcription activator-like effector nucleases results in a major embryonic hemostatic defect. However, widespread hemorrhage and subsequent lethality does not occur until later stages, with absence of any detectable defect in vascular development. We also use f10-/- zebrafish to confirm 5 novel human F10 variants as causative mutations in affected patients, providing a rapid and reliable in vivo model for testing the severity of F10 variants. These findings as well as the prolonged survival of f10-/- mutants will enable us to expand our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of hemostasis, including a platform for screening variants of uncertain significance in patients with F10 deficiency and other coagulation disorders. Further study as to how fish tolerate what is an early lethal mutation in mammals could facilitate improvement of diagnostics and therapeutics for affected patients with bleeding disorders.

Simple and rapid quantification of thrombocytes in zebrafish larvae.

Platelets are a critical component of hemostasis, with disorders of number or function resulting in coagulation disturbances. Insights into these processes have primarily been realized through studies using mammalian models or tissues. Increasingly, zebrafish embryos and larvae have been used to study the protein and cellular components of hemostasis and thrombosis, including the thrombocyte, a nucleated platelet analog. However, investigations of thrombocytes have been somewhat limited due to lack of a robust and simple methodology for quantitation, an important component of platelet studies in mammals. Using video capture, we have devised an assay that produces a rapid, reproducible, and precise measurement of thrombocyte number in zebrafish larvae by counting fluorescently tagged cells. Averaging 1000 frames, we were able to subtract background fluorescence, thus limiting assessment to circulating thrombocytes. This method facilitated rapid assessment of relative thrombocyte counts in a population of 372 zebrafish larvae by a single operator in less than 3 days. This technique requires basic microscopy equipment and rudimentary programming, lends itself to high throughput analysis, and will enhance future studies of thrombopoiesis in the zebrafish.

Targeted mutagenesis of zebrafish antithrombin III triggers disseminated intravascular coagulation and thrombosis, revealing insight into function.

Pathologic blood clotting is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed world, underlying deep vein thrombosis, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Genetic predisposition to thrombosis is still poorly understood, and we hypothesize that there are many additional risk alleles and modifying factors remaining to be discovered. Mammalian models have contributed to our understanding of thrombosis, but are low throughput and costly. We have turned to the zebrafish, a tool for high-throughput genetic analysis. Using zinc finger nucleases, we show that disruption of the zebrafish antithrombin III (at3) locus results in spontaneous venous thrombosis in larvae. Although homozygous mutants survive into early adulthood, they eventually succumb to massive intracardiac thrombosis. Characterization of null fish revealed disseminated intravascular coagulation in larvae secondary to unopposed thrombin activity and fibrinogen consumption, which could be rescued by both human and zebrafish at3 complementary DNAs. Mutation of the human AT3-reactive center loop abolished the ability to rescue, but the heparin-binding site was dispensable. These results demonstrate overall conservation of AT3 function in zebrafish, but reveal developmental variances in the ability to tolerate excessive clot formation. The accessibility of early zebrafish development will provide unique methods for dissection of the underlying mechanisms of thrombosis.

Detection of non-PCR amplified S. enteritidis genomic DNA from food matrices using a gold-nanoparticle DNA biosensor: a proof-of-concept study.

Bacterial pathogens pose an increasing food safety and bioterrorism concern. Current DNA detection methods utilizing sensitive nanotechnology and biosensors have shown excellent detection, but require expensive and time-consuming polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify DNA targets; thus, a faster, more economical method is still essential. In this proof-of-concept study, we investigated the ability of a gold nanoparticle-DNA (AuNP-DNA) biosensor to detect non-PCR amplified genomic Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. enteritidis) DNA, from pure or mixed bacterial culture and spiked liquid matrices. Non-PCR amplified DNA was hybridized into sandwich-like structures (magnetic nanoparticles/DNA/AuNPs) and analyzed through detection of gold voltammetric peaks using differential pulse voltammetry. Our preliminary data indicate that non-PCR amplified genomic DNA can be detected at a concentration as low as 100 ng/mL from bacterial cultures and spiked liquid matrices, similar to reported PCR amplified detection levels. These findings also suggest that AuNP-DNA biosensors are a first step towards a viable detection method of bacterial pathogens, in particular, for resource-limited settings, such as field-based or economically limited conditions. Future efforts will focus on further optimization of the DNA extraction method and AuNP-biosensors, to increase sensitivity at lower DNA target concentrations from food matrices comparable to PCR amplified DNA detection strategies.

A multiplex nanoparticle-based bio-barcoded DNA sensor for the simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens.

A highly amplified, nanoparticle-based, bio-barcoded electrochemical biosensor for the simultaneous multiple detection of the protective antigen A (pagA) gene (accession number, M22589) of Bacillus anthracis and the insertion element (Iel) gene (accession number, Z83734) of Salmonella enteritidis is reported in this paper. The biosensor system is mainly composed of three nanoparticles: gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), and nanoparticle tracers (NTs, such as PbS and CdS). The AuNPs are coated with the first target-specific DNA probe (1pDNA), which can recognize one end of the target DNA sequence (tDNA), and many NT-terminated bio-barcode ssDNA (bDNA-NT), which act as signal reporter and amplifier. The MNPs are coated with the second target-specific DNA probe (2pDNA) that can recognize the other end of the target gene. After binding the nanoparticles with the target DNA, the following sandwich structure is formed: MNP-2pDNA/tDNA/1pDNA-AuNP-bDNA-NTs. A magnetic field is applied to separate the sandwich structure from the unreacted materials. Because the AuNPs have a large number of nanoparticle tracers per DNA probe binding event, there is substantial amplification. After the nanoparticle tracer is dissolved in 1M nitric acid, the NT(2+) ions are detected by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) on screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) chips. The results show that the detection limit of this multiplex bio-barcoded DNA sensor are 0.5 ng/mL of the insertion element (Iel) gene of S. enteritidis using CdS, and 50 pg/mL of the pagA gene of B. anthracis using PbS NTs. The nanoparticle-based bio-barcoded DNA sensor has potential application in rapid detection of multiple pathogenic agents in the same sample.