Journal
PIGMENT CELL & MELANOMA RESEARCH
Volume 29, Issue 3, Pages 284-296Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/pcmr.12454
Keywords
iridophores; pigment cells; zebrafish; homotypic competition; leucocyte tyrosine kinase; tumorigenesis
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Funding
- Max-Planck Society
- ZF-HEALTH grant [242048]
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The zebrafish striped pattern results from the interplay among three pigment cell types; black melanophores, yellow xanthophores and silvery iridophores, making it a valuable model to study pattern formation invivo. It has been suggested that iridophore proliferation, dispersal and cell shape transitions play an important role during stripe formation; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using gain- and loss-of-function alleles of leucocyte tyrosine kinase (ltk) and a pharmacological inhibitor approach, we show that Ltk specifically regulates iridophore establishment, proliferation and survival. Mutants in shady/ltk lack iridophores and display an abnormal body stripe pattern. Moonstone mutants, ltk(mne), display ectopic iridophores, suggesting hyperactivity of the mutant Ltk. The dominant ltk(mne) allele carries a missense mutation in a conserved position of the kinase domain that highly correlates with neuroblastomas in mammals. Chimeric analysis suggests a novel physiological role of Ltk in the regulation of iridophore proliferation by homotypic competition.
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