Determining the Role of Gabaergic Signaling in The
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DETERMINING THE ROLE OF GABAERGIC SIGNALING IN THE CRANIOFACIAL DEVELOPMENT OF LARVAL ZEBRAFISH by LINDSEY L. BEEBE (Under the Direction of James D. Lauderdale) ABSTRACT Although best known as an inhibitory neurotransmitter, intriguing evidence has implicated GABA as a key signaling molecule in craniofacial development in mammals. Glutamate is converted to GABA by an enzyme called glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), which exists in two isoforms, GAD67 and GAD65. The GAD1 and GAD2 genes encode these isoforms, respectively. A decrease in GAD activity in the human brain is often associated with epilepsy, schizophrenia and related neurological disorders. In mice and humans, mutations in gad1, but not gad2, result in defects in palate development, and mutations in the Gabrb3 gene, which encodes the β3 subunit of the GABAA receptor, exhibit a comparable phenotype to gad1 mutations. These results suggest that GABA signaling, through the GABAA receptor, can play an important and conserved role in craniofacial development. However, the mechanism of this process is not known and cannot be easily investigated in a mammalian system. In this work, translation-blocking morpholinos against the GAD genes were used to alter expression within the larval zebrafish. While gad2 morphants looked phenotypically normal, gad1 morphant animals exhibited altered cranial structures at 1 and 7 dpf. Yet, both gad1 and gad2 morphants exhibited spontaneous seizure-like neural activity. Through the use of photoactivatable caged-morpholinos, the craniofacial deformities could be bypassed when photolysis was carried out at 24 hpf. Electrophysiological recordings showed that while dark-raised CyHQ-gad1 morphant animals looked phenotypically comparable to wild-type animals, they exhibited abnormal, seizure-like neural activity. These findings support the idea that gad1 exhibits a novel function in craniofacial development, independent of its activity in GABA synthesis. INDEX WORDS: GABA, gad1, gad2, GAD67, GAD65, zebrafish, knockdown, translation blocking morpholinos, neural activity, seizures, cleft palate DETERMINING THE ROLE OF GABAERGIC SIGNALING IN THE CRANIOFACIAL DEVELOPMENT OF LARVAL ZEBRAFISH by LINDSEY L. BEEBE BS, Michigan State University, 2010 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2015 © 2015 Lindsey L. Beebe All Rights Reserved DETERMINING THE ROLE OF GABAERGIC SIGNALING IN THE CRANIOFACIAL DEVELOPMENT OF LARVAL ZEBRAFISH by LINDSEY L. BEEBE Major Professor: James D. Lauderdale Committee: Brian Condie Scott Dougan Douglas Menke John Wagner Electronic Version Approved: Julie Coffield Interim Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2015 DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my parents and to my husband, Steve. They have been my biggest support throughout my graduate career. My parents and Steve have continued to encourage and motivate my work and progress, and I know that I would not have made it through the rough spots without their support. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my mentor and major professor Dr. James D. Lauderdale for all of the guidance and insights that he has given me throughout my undertakings as a graduate student. He has not only helped me develop and carry out my research projects, but he has also given continued support in helping me reach my goals as an educator. He has not only stood in the stead of an academic advisor, but he has been a mentor to whom I could truly confide in. Without his continued support, I would not have made it thus far in my graduate career. I would also like to thank all of the members of my lab, especially Vani Hariharan, Kenji Johnson, Tyler page, Ariel VanLeuven, Ana Bobilov, Vijay Kalaskar and Rebecca Ball. You all have not only been there to discuss my experiments, but you have also made my time in the Lauderdale lab fun and filled with laughter. Rebecca has been instrumental in teaching and helping me carry out many of my experiments. She has not only been there to give me advice, but she has also helped me turn into the scientist that I am today. I’d like to thank Dr. Andrew Sornborger for serving as a mentor and continued help with analyses. I also would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Brian Condie, Dr. Scott Dougan, Dr. Douglas Menke and Dr. John Wagner for their critical and helpful advice and guidance along the way. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................... 1 GABA and its function as a neurotransmitter ............................................. 1 GABA’s functions during embryonic development .................................... 3 GABA dysregulation in epilepsy and other neurological disorders ............ 5 Nonneural functions of GABA .................................................................... 7 GABA’s functions in craniofacial development ......................................... 8 Determining the function of GABA: neurotransmission and craniofacial development ................................................................................................ 9 Figures ....................................................................................................... 12 2 RECORDING FIELD POTENTIALS IN ISOLATED WHOLE BRAIN FROM ADULT ZEBRAFISH ........................................................................ 23 Abstract ...................................................................................................... 24 Introduction ............................................................................................... 25 Materials and Methods .............................................................................. 29 Experimental .............................................................................................. 33 Results ....................................................................................................... 35 vi Discussion and Conclusions ...................................................................... 39 Figures ....................................................................................................... 46 References ................................................................................................. 51 Supplementary Methods ............................................................................ 58 3 ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDING IN THE BRAIN OF INTACT ADULT ZEBRAFISH ..................................................................................... 60 Short Abstract and Long Abstract ............................................................. 61 Introduction ............................................................................................... 62 Protocol ...................................................................................................... 63 Procedure ................................................................................................... 69 Representative Results ............................................................................... 72 Discussion .................................................................................................. 73 Figures ....................................................................................................... 78 References ................................................................................................. 83 Materials List ............................................................................................. 86 4 A COMPARISON OF EVOKED SEIZURE ACTIVITY IN THE MATURE AND IMMATURE ZEBRAFISH BRAINS ................................................... 88 Abstract ...................................................................................................... 89 Introduction ............................................................................................... 90 Materials and Methods .............................................................................. 92 Results ....................................................................................................... 98 Discussion ................................................................................................ 105 Figures ..................................................................................................... 114 vii References ............................................................................................... 122 Supplementary Data ................................................................................ 135 5 LITERATURE REVIEW: CRANIOFACIAL DEVELOPMENT ............... 136 Craniofacial elements are derived from neural crest cells ....................... 136 Mammalian craniofacial development .................................................... 138 Craniofacial development in the zebrafish .............................................. 140 Craniofacial defects ................................................................................. 143 Figures ..................................................................................................... 146 6 DETERMINING THE ROLE OF GABAERGIC SIGNALING IN THE CRANIOFACIAL DEVELOPMENT OF LARVAL ZEBRAFISH ............. 156 Abstract