ANALYSIS OF THE EXPRESSION PATTERNS OF ZEBRAFISH NICOTINIC ACETYLCHOLINE RECEPTOR SUBUNITS AT THE EFFERENT-LATERAL LINE SYNAPSE

TAIS CASTAGNOLA; LUCIA SALATINO; PAOLA PLAZAS; AGUSTÍN CARPANETO; ANA BELÉN ELGOYHEN; SABINA DOMENE; VIVIANA DALAMON

Buenos Aires

Congreso; Reunion Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias; 2017

The alpha9 alpha10 (a9a10) nicotinic acetylcholine receptor mediates transmission at the synapse between efferent fibers and outer hair cells of the cochlea, controlling the activity of auditory afferent fibers. Fishes and amphibians have a superficial mechanosensory system, the lateral line (LL), which detects hydromechanical variations around their body. It comprises clusters of hair cells, called neuromasts, which share structural, functional and molecular similarities with hair cells of the cochlea. As in the cochlea, LL efferent innervation is mediated by acetylcholine and its stimulation leads to inhibition of afferent transmission. However the molecular actors at the LL efferent synapse remain unknown.The Genome Reference GRCz10 describes for Danio rerio (zebrafish) two CHRNA9, located in chromosomes 1 (a9-1) and 14 (a9-14), and two CHRNA10, located in chromosomes 15 (a10-15) and 21 (a10-21). To decipher the molecular identity at the LL efferent synapse we are studying the spatiotemporal expression pattern of alternative zebrafish a9 and a10 RNAs, performing RT-PCR and wholemount in situ hybridization. Our results show that all a9 and a10 subunits are expressed from early developmental stages up to 7 days post fertilization (dpf), and in adult tissues. Moreover, a9-1 and a10-15 expression is localized to neuromasts in 5 dpf embryos. We aim to extend the analysis to a9-14 and a10-21 subunits, performing wholemount in situ hybridization at different developmental stages.