Important role of endocannabinoid signaling in the development of functional vision and locomotion in zebrafish.
The developmental role of the endocannabinoid system still remains to be fully understood. Here, we report the presence of a complete endocannabinoid system during zebrafish development and show that the genes that code for enzymes that catalyze the anabolism and catabolism (mgll and dagla) of the endocannabinoid, 2-AG (2-arachidonoylglycerol), as well as 2-AG main receptor in the brain, cannabinoid receptor type 1, are coexpressed in defined regions of axonal growth. By using morpholino-induced transient knockdown of the zebrafish Daglα homolog and its pharmacologic rescue, we suggest that synthesis of 2-AG is implicated in the control of axon formation in the midbrain-hindbrain region and that animals that lack Daglα display abnormal physiological behaviors in tests that measure stereotyped movement and motion perception. Our results suggest that the well-established role for 2-AG in axonal outgrowth has implications for the control of vision and movement in zebrafish and, thus, is likely common to all vertebrates.-Martella, A., Sepe, R. M., Silvestri, C., Zang, J., Fasano, G., Carnevali, O., De Girolamo, P., Neuhauss, S. C. F., Sordino, P., Di Marzo, V. Important role of endocannabinoid signaling in the development of functional vision and locomotion in zebrafish.
Endocannabinoid Research Group, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Pozzuoli, Italy.
Andrea
A
Martella
Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy.
Rosa M
RM
Sepe
Endocannabinoid Research Group, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Pozzuoli, Italy.
Cristoforo
C
Silvestri
Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Jingjing
J
Zang
Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy.
Giulia
G
Fasano
Department of Life and Environment Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy; and.
Oliana
O
Carnevali
Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria e Produzioni Animali, Universtity of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Paolo
P
De Girolamo
Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Stephan C F
SC
Neuhauss
Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy; paolo.sordino@szn.it.
Paolo
P
Sordino
Endocannabinoid Research Group, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Pozzuoli, Italy; vdimarzo@icb.cnr.it.
Vincenzo
V
Di Marzo
D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D063388:Endocannabinoids / Q000378:metabolism*; D008071:Lipoprotein Lipase / Q000378:metabolism*; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D015027:Zebrafish
D063388:Endocannabinoids; D008071:Lipoprotein Lipase
2-arachidonoylglycerol; CB1; DAGL; MAGL; axonal pathfinding