In the zebrafish embryo, the only known site of hemopoieisis is an intra-embryonic blood island at the junction between trunk and tail that gives rise to erythroid cells. Using video-enhanced differential interference contrast microscopy, as well as in-situ hybridization for the expression of two new hemopoietic marker genes, draculin and leucocyte-specific plastin, we show that macrophages appear in the embryo at least as early as erythroid cells, but originate from ventro-lateral mesoderm situated at the other end of the embryo, just anterior to the cardiac field. These macrophage precursors migrate to the yolksac, and differentiate. From the yolksac, many invade the mesenchyme of the head, while others join the blood circulation. Apart from phagocytosing apoptotic corpses, these macrophages were observed to engulf and destroy large amounts of bacteria injected intravenously; the macrophages also sensed the presence of bacteria injected into body cavities that are isolated from the blood, migrated into these cavities and eradicated the microorganisms. Moreover, we observed that although only a fraction of the macrophage population goes to the site of infection, the entire population acquires an activated behaviour, similar to that of activated macrophages in mammals. Our results support the notion that in vertebrate embryos, macrophages endowed with proliferative capacity arise early from the hemopoietic lineage through a non-classical, rapid differentiation pathway, which bypasses the monocytic series that is well-documented in adult hemopoietic organs.

Ontogeny and behaviour of early macrophages in the zebrafish embryo

We have investigated the developmental relationship of the hemopoietic and endothelial lineages in the floor of the chicken aorta, a site of hemopoietic progenitor emergence in the embryo proper. We show that, prior to the onset of hemopoiesis, the aortic endothelium uniformly expresses the endothelium-specific membrane receptor VEGF-R2. The onset of hemopoiesis can be determined by detecting the common leukocyte antigen CD45. VEGF-R2 and CD45 are expressed in complementary fashion, namely the hemopoietic cluster-bearing floor of the aorta is CD45(+)/VEGF-R2(-), while the rest of the aortic endothelium is CD45(-)/VEGF-R2(+). To determine if the hemopoietic clusters are derived from endothelial cells, we tagged the E2 endothelial tree from the inside with low-density lipoproteins (LDL) coupled to DiI. 24 hours later, hemopoietic clusters were labelled by LDL. Since no CD45(+) cells were inserted among endothelial cells at the time of vascular labelling, hemopoietic clusters must be concluded to derive from precursors with an endothelial phenotype.

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Intraaortic hemopoietic cells are derived from endothelial cells during ontogeny

The cloche and spadetail genes differentially affect hematopoiesis and vasculogenesis.

Zebrafish Early Macrophages Colonize Cephalic Mesenchyme and Developing Brain, Retina, and Epidermis through a M-CSF Receptor-Dependent Invasive Process

Microglia-derived nerve growth factor causes cell death in the developing retina.

It is well established that hemopoietic cells arising from the yolk sac invade the avian embryo. To study the fate and role of these cells during the first 2.5-4.5 days of incubation, we constructed yolk sac chimeras (a chick embryo grafted on a quail yolk sac and vice versa) and immunostained them with antibodies specific to cells of quail hemangioblastic lineage (MB1 and QH1). This approach revealed that endothelial cells of the embryonic vessels are of intraembryonic origin. In contrast, numerous hemopoietic cells of yolk sac origin were seen in embryos ranging from 2.5 to 4.5 days of incubation. These cells were already present within the vessels and in the mesenchyme at the earliest developmental stages analyzed. Two hemopoietic cell types of yolk sac origin were distinguishable, undifferentiated cells and macrophage-like cells. The number of the latter cells increased progressively as development proceeded, and they showed marked acid phosphatase activity and phagocytic capacity, as revealed by the presence of numerous phagocytic inclusions in their cytoplasm. The macrophage-like cells were mostly distributed in the mesenchyme and also appeared within some organ primordia such as the neural tube, the liver anlage and the nephric rudiment. Comparison of the results in the two types of chimeras and the findings obtained with acid phosphatase/MB1 double labelling showed that some hemopoietic macrophage-like cells of intraembryonic origin were also present at the stages considered. These results support the existence in the early avian embryo of a phagocytic cell system of blood cell lineage, derived chiefly from the yolk sac. Cells belonging to this system perform phagocytosis in cell death and may also be involved in other morphogenetic processes.

M. Carmen Nieto

Papers

Demonstration of a phagocytic cell system belonging to the hemopoietic lineage and originating from the yolk sac in the early avian embryo.