[Natriuretic peptide precursor C coding gene contributes to zebrafish angiogenesis]

This study aimed to investigate the expression of the natriuretic peptide precursor C coding gene nppc and its role in angiogenesis during embryonic period of the zebrafish. Whole mount in situ hybridization was performed to detect the expression pattern of nppc. nppc specific morpholino and nppc mRNA were injected respectively into the one-cell stage embryo to specifically knock-down and rescue the expression of nppc in Tg (flk1:GFP) and Tg (fli1a:nGFP) transgenic lines. The morphology and endothelial cell number of intersegmental vessel (ISV) were analyzed after imaging using the laser scanning confocal microscope. The results revealed that nppc was expressed in the brain, heart and vasculature of zebrafish larvae at 24 and 48 hours post-fertilization (hpf). Knock-down of nppc affected the development of ISV. Endothelial cell number was reduced after the knock-down of nppc. These results suggest that nppc controls zebrafish angiogenesis by affecting the endothelial cell proliferation and migration.