The International Journal of Developmental Biology

ABSTRACT

The Spanish Society for Developmental Biology (SEBD) organized its 18^th meeting in October 2024 (hereafter SEBD2024), coinciding with the society’s 30^th anniversary and serving as the stage for its celebrations. This article provides an overview of the event, including the speakers, scientific sessions and the different activities related to the anniversary.

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the role of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) in angiogenesis during zebrafish embryogenesis by inhibiting COX2 activity with etoricoxib. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis confirmed the successful penetration of etoricoxib into zebrafish embryos, leading to selective inhibition of COX2 without affecting COX1 activity. COX2 inhibition caused a significant reduction in prostaglandin E₂ levels throughout development. Phenotypically, treated embryos exhibited pericardial edema, bradycardia, and defective vascular development, including delays in intersegmental vessel (ISV) sprouting, incomplete dorsal longitudinal anastomotic vessel (DLAV) formation by 48 hpf, and impaired vascular networks by 72 hpf. Confocal imaging and AngioTool analysis revealed reduced vessel length, area and increased lacunarity. Molecular analysis showed significant downregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor A (vegfa), kdr, pi3k and akt transcripts, as well as reduced VEGFA, EP4 and Akt protein levels, disrupting VEGFA-PI3K-Akt signaling. Additionally, reduced expression of ephrinb and prox1 affected...

ABSTRACT

The Transient Receptor Potential superfamily of proteins (TRPs) form cation channels that are abundant in animal sensory systems. Amongst TRPs, the Melastatin-related family (TRPMs) is composed of members that respond to temperature, pH, sex hormones, and various other stimuli. Some TRPMs exhibit enriched expression in the gonads of vertebrate and invertebrate species, but their contributions to germline development remain to be determined. We identified twenty-one potential TRPMs in the planarian flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea and analyzed their anatomical distribution of expression by whole-mount in situ hybridization. Enriched expression of two TRPMs (Smed-TRPM-c and Smed-TRPM-l) was detected in testis, whereas eight TRPM genes had detectable expression in patterns representative of neuronal and/or sensory cell types. Functional analysis of TRPM homologs by RNA-interference (RNAi) revealed that disruption of normal levels of Smed-TRPM-c expression impaired sperm development, indicating a role for this receptor in supporting spermatogenesis. Smed-TRPM-l RNAi alone did not result in a detectable phenotype, but it did increase...

ABSTRACT

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is increasingly recognized as a significant risk factor for metabolic disorders in adulthood. Employing a multi-faceted approach encompassing histopathological, immunohistochemical, biochemical, Western-blotting, and metabolomics analyses, this study aimed to elucidate potential metabolite markers of IUGR, and catch-up growth-related metabolic disturbances and the underlying metabolic pathways implicated in IUGR pathogenesis. This study cohort comprised 54 male siblings from 20 Sprague-Dawley female young rats. On the 19th day of gestation, half of the pregnant rats underwent bilateral uterine artery ligation, while the remaining half underwent a simulated surgical intervention involving solely peritoneal incisions. Blood and liver samples were collected from the pups after attaining catch-up growth at the postnatal weeks 2, 4, and 8. IUGR rats exhibited a spectrum of changes including histological abnormalities, altered apoptosis rates, oxidative stress markers, and mitochondrial energy metabolism. Metabolomic analysis revealed dysregulation in multiple metabolic pathways encompassing galactose, propanoate, glycerolipid, cysteine,...

ABSTRACT

This study aims to analyze the pathways and the placental brain axis genes of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affecting offspring neurodevelopment. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified through transcriptome sequencing of placental tissues. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were performed on DEGs. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed and annotated using the STRING online software. The expression of neurodevelopment-related genes was analyzed by qPCR. Hubgenes were analyzed using Cytoscape 3.7.1 software. The correlation between Hubgenes and placental brain axis genes was analyzed through literatures alignment. The pathways of GDM affecting offspring neural development were predicted using the KEGG database. The placental transcriptome revealed that there were 404 DEGs between GDM and Normal groups. Among these DEGs, 125 were upregulated and 279 were downregulated. GO analysis indicated that DEGs were mainly involved in intracellular calcium activated chloride channel activity, anion channel activity, G protein-coupled peptide receptors, etc. Additionally, KEGG analysis revealed that...