Segment-dependent Gene Expression Profiling of the Cartilaginous Fish Nephron Using Laser Microdissection for Functional Characterization of Nephron at Segment Levels

For adaptation to a high salinity marine environment, cartilaginous fishes have evolved a ureosmotic strategy. They have a highly elaborate four-loop nephron in the kidney, which is considered to be important for reabsorption of urea from the glomerular filtrate to maintain a high concentration of urea in the body. However, the function and regulation, generally, of the fourloop nephron are still largely unknown due to the complicated configuration of the nephron and its many subdivided segments. Laser microdissection (LMD) followed by RNA-sequencing (RNAseq) analysis is a powerful technique to obtain segment-dependent gene expression profiles. In the present study, using the kidney of cloudy catshark, Scyliorhinus torazame, we tested several formaldehyde-free and formaldehyde-based fixatives to optimize the fixation methods. Fixation by 1% neutral buffered formalin for 15 min resulted in sufficient RNA and structural integrities, which allowed LMD clipping of specific nephron segments and subsequent RNA-seq analysis. RNA-seq from the LMD samples of the second-loop, the fourth-loop, and the five tubular segments in the bundle zone revealed a number of specific membrane transporter genes that can characterize each segment. Among them, we examined expressions of the Na + - coupled cotransporters abundantly expressed in the second loop samples. Although the proximal II segment of the second loop is known for the elimination of excess solutes, the present results imply that the PII segment is also crucial for reabsorption of valuable solutes. Looking ahead to future studies, the segmentdependent gene expression profiling will be a powerful technique for unraveling the renal mechanisms and regulation in euryhaline elasmobranchs.

Automated summary

To adapt to a high salinity marine environment, cartilaginous fishes have evolved a ureosmotic strategy which involves a complex four-loop nephron in the kidney. However, the function and regulation of the four-loop nephron are still largely unknown. In this study, the researchers optimized fixation methods for laser microdissection and RNA-seq analysis, and found specific membrane transporter genes that characterize each segment of the nephron.