1
|
Hejlesen R, Kjær-Sørensen K, Fago A, Oxvig C. Generation and validation of a myoglobin knockout zebrafish model. Transgenic Res 2023; 32:537-546. [PMID: 37847464 PMCID: PMC10713697 DOI: 10.1007/s11248-023-00369-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies using myoglobin (Mb) knockout mice and knockdown zebrafish have presented conflicting results about in vivo phenotypes resulting from the loss of this conserved and highly expressed protein, and therefore a new well-characterized knockout model is warranted. We here describe the generation of three distinct zebrafish mb knockout lines using the CRISPR/Cas system. None of the three lines exhibited any morphological phenotypes, changes in length, or lethality during embryonic and larval development. The adult homozygous knockout mb(Auzf13.2) zebrafish line were absent of Mb protein, had an almost complete degradation of mb mRNA, and showed no changes in viability, length, or heart size. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis of adult heart tissue showed that mb knockout did not cause altered expression of other genes. Lastly, no off-targeting was observed in 36 screened loci. In conclusion, we have generated three mb knockout lines with indistinguishable phenotypes during embryonic and larval development and validated one of these lines, mb(Auzf13.2), to have no signs of genetic compensation or off-target effects in the adult heart. These findings suggests that the mb(Auzf13.2) shows promise as a candidate for investigating the biological role of Mb in zebrafish.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rasmus Hejlesen
- Department of Biology, Zoophysiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Kasper Kjær-Sørensen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Angela Fago
- Department of Biology, Zoophysiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Claus Oxvig
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Christiansen MK, Kjær-Sørensen K, Clavsen NC, Dittmann S, Jensen MF, Guldbrandsen HØ, Pedersen LN, Sørensen RH, Lildballe DL, Müller K, Müller P, Vogel K, Rudic B, Borggrefe M, Oxvig C, Aalkjær C, Schulze-Bahr E, Matchkov V, Bundgaard H, Jensen HK. Genetic analysis identifies the SLC4A3 anion exchanger as a major gene for short QT syndrome. Heart Rhythm 2023; 20:1136-1143. [PMID: 36806574 DOI: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2023.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A variant in the SLC4A3 anion exchanger has been identified as a novel cause of short QT syndrome (SQTS), but the clinical importance of SLC4A3 as a cause of SQTS or sudden cardiac death remains unknown. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of potential disease-causing variants in SQTS patients using gene panels including SLC4A3. METHODS In this multicenter study, genetic testing was performed in 34 index patients with SQTS. The pathogenicity of novel SLC4A3variants was validated in a zebrafish embryo heart model. RESULTS Potentially disease-causing variants were identified in 9 (26%) patients and were mainly (15%) located in SLC4A3: 4 patients heterozygous for novel nonsynonymous SLC4A3 variants-p.Arg600Cys, p.Arg621Trp, p.Glu852Asp, and p.Arg952His-and 1 patient with the known p.Arg370His variant. In other SQTS genes, potentially disease-causing variants were less frequent (2× in KCNQ1, 1× in KCNJ2, and CACNA1C each). SLC4A3 variant carriers (n = 5) had a similar heart rate but shorter QT and J point to T wave peak intervals than did noncarriers (n = 29). Knockdown of slc4a3 in zebrafish resulted in shortened heart rate-corrected QT intervals (calculated using the Bazett formula) that could be rescued by overexpression of the native human SLC4A3-encoded protein (AE3), but neither by the mutated AE3 variants p.Arg600Cys, p.Arg621Trp, p.Glu852Asp nor by p.Arg952His, suggesting pathogenicity of these variants. Dysfunction in slc4a3/AE3 was associated with alkaline cytosol and shortened action potential of cardiomyocytes. CONCLUSION In about a quarter of patients with SQTS, a potentially disease-causing variant can be identified. Nonsynonymous variants in SLC4A3 represent the most common cause of SQTS, underscoring the importance of including SLC4A3 in the genetic screening of patients with SQTS or sudden cardiac death.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Kasper Kjær-Sørensen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Natacha C Clavsen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Sven Dittmann
- Institut für Genetik von Herzerkrankungen (IfGH), Universitätsklinikum Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Maja Fuhlendorff Jensen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | | | | | | | | | - Klara Müller
- Institut für Genetik von Herzerkrankungen (IfGH), Universitätsklinikum Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Patrick Müller
- Institut für Genetik von Herzerkrankungen (IfGH), Universitätsklinikum Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Kira Vogel
- Institut für Genetik von Herzerkrankungen (IfGH), Universitätsklinikum Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Boris Rudic
- First Department of Medicine, University Medical Centre Mannheim (UMM), Faculty of Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, European Center for AngioScience (ECAS), and DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research) partner site Heidelberg/Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Martin Borggrefe
- First Department of Medicine, University Medical Centre Mannheim (UMM), Faculty of Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, European Center for AngioScience (ECAS), and DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research) partner site Heidelberg/Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Claus Oxvig
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Eric Schulze-Bahr
- Institut für Genetik von Herzerkrankungen (IfGH), Universitätsklinikum Münster, Münster, Germany; ERN Reference Center GUARD-Heart, Münster, Germany
| | | | - Henning Bundgaard
- Unit for Inherited Cardiovascular Diseases, The Heart Centre, National University Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Henrik Kjærulf Jensen
- Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus N, Denmark; ERN Reference Center GUARD-Heart, Aarhus, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Skakkebæk A, Kjær-Sørensen K, Matchkov VV, Christensen LL, Just J, Cömert C, Andersen NH, Oxvig C, Gravholt CH. Dosage of the pseudoautosomal gene SLC25A6 is implicated in QTc interval duration. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12089. [PMID: 37495650 PMCID: PMC10372092 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38867-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The genetic architecture of the QT interval, defined as the period from onset of depolarisation to completion of repolarisation of the ventricular myocardium, is incompletely understood. Only a minor part of the QT interval variation in the general population has been linked to autosomal variant loci. Altered X chromosome dosage in humans, as seen in sex chromosome aneuploidies such as Turner syndrome (TS) and Klinefelter syndrome (KS), is associated with altered QTc interval (heart rate corrected QT), indicating that genes, located in the pseudoautosomal region 1 of the X and Y chromosomes may contribute to QT interval variation. We investigate the dosage effect of the pseudoautosomal gene SLC25A6, encoding the membrane ADP/ATP translocase 3 in the inner mitochondrial membrane, on QTc interval duration. To this end we used human participants and in vivo zebrafish models. Analyses in humans, based on 44 patients with KS, 44 patients with TS, 59 male and 22 females, revealed a significant negative correlation between SLC25A6 expression level and QTc interval duration. Similarly, downregulation of slc25a6 in zebrafish increased QTc interval duration with pharmacological inhibition of KATP channels restoring the systolic duration, whereas overexpression of SLC25A6 shortened QTc, which was normalized by pharmacological activation of KATP channels. Our study demonstrate an inverse relationship between SLC25A6 dosage and QTc interval indicating that SLC25A6 contributes to QT interval variation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne Skakkebæk
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark.
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Kasper Kjær-Sørensen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Lise-Lotte Christensen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jesper Just
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Cagla Cömert
- Research Unit for Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Claus Oxvig
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Claus Højbjerg Gravholt
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine and Medical Research Laboratories, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|