title: Isolation of the zebrafish homologues for the tie-1 and tie-2 endothelium-specific receptor tyrosine kinases.
abstract: Several characteristics of the zebrafish embryo make it an attractive model in which to study the development of the cardiovascular system. The utility of the zebrafish as a model of mammalian vascular development will depend on the conservation of molecular and morphogenetic mechanisms of vessel growth. Here, we report the cloning of the zebrafish homologues of the endothelium-specific receptor tyrosine kinases tie-1 and tie-2. The Z tie-2 clone represents the first report of a full-length zebrafish endothelium-specific gene. The zebrafish tie family members have significant structural homology with their murine and human counterparts. In addition, like the murine tie-1 and tie-2 genes, expression was found predominantly in endothelial cells. At 24-hr postfertilization (HPF), Z tie-1 was expressed in all observed populations of endothelial cells. Interestingly, Z tie-2 exhibited a similar, although slightly more restricted, expression pattern. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that mechanisms of vascular development are highly conserved across species and that zebrafish will continue to be a useful model for the investigation of vertebrate embryonic vascular development.
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stainier
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000196:embryology / Q000201:enzymology*; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D042810:Receptor, TIE-1; D042787:Receptor, TIE-2; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics*; D042764:Receptors, TIE; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015027:Zebrafish; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D042810:Receptor, TIE-1; D042787:Receptor, TIE-2; D042764:Receptors, TIE; C468146:tek protein, zebrafish; C467973:tie1 protein, zebrafish