K-ras/PI3K-Akt signaling is essential for zebrafish hematopoiesis and angiogenesis

PLoS One. 2008 Aug 6;3(8):e2850. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002850.

Abstract

The RAS small GTPases orchestrate multiple cellular processes. Studies on knock-out mice showed the essential and sufficient role of K-RAS, but not N-RAS and H-RAS in embryonic development. However, many physiological functions of K-RAS in vivo remain unclear. Using wild-type and fli1:GFP transgenic zebrafish, we showed that K-ras-knockdown resulted in specific hematopoietic and angiogenic defects, including the impaired expression of erythroid-specific gene gata1 and sse3-hemoglobin, reduced blood circulation and disorganized blood vessels. Expression of either K-rasC40 that links to phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) activation, or Akt2 that acts downstream of PI3K, could rescue both hematopoietic and angiogenic defects in the K-ras knockdown. Consistently, the functional rescue by k-ras mRNA was significantly suppressed by wortmannin, a PI3K-specific inhibitor. Our results provide direct evidence that PI3K-Akt plays a crucial role in mediating K-ras signaling during hematopoiesis and angiogenesis in vivo, thus offering new targets and alternative vertebrate model for studying these processes and their related diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Hematopoiesis / physiology*
  • Neovascularization, Physiologic / physiology*
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / physiology*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / physiology*
  • Signal Transduction
  • Zebrafish
  • Zebrafish Proteins / physiology*
  • ras Proteins / physiology*

Substances

  • Zebrafish Proteins
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
  • ras Proteins