The extracellular matrix is a vital component of the cardiovascular system, in that, it not only provides structural support but also plays a critical role in the maintenance of cellular stability. One of the major components of the vascular matrix is elastin, which confers vessels with the specialized property of stretch and recoil. Elastin deficiency has been implicated in many vascular diseases and determined experimentally to be a negative regulator of smooth muscle cell proliferation. In zebrafish, two elastin genes have been identified, which are actively expressed during development. Based on this finding, protein production and spatial localization for the two elastin proteins was studied by immunohistochemistry with specific antibodies. Results revealed a global distribution for elastin 1 in the ventral aorta and swim bladder, whereas elastin 2 was preferentially localized to the bulbus arteriosus indicating a possible specialized function of elastin 2 in this structure. This observation, and the unique physiological property of this structure, suggests a possible reason for the preservation of both elastin genes during evolution. / In the second part of this study, elastin-null mice were studied to uncover the impact of the loss of elastin on the expression of other elastic fiber-associated proteins. The expression of fibrillin-1, the major component of microfibrils, was not altered in the absence of elastin, implying that elastin is not necessary for the formation of microfibrils. On the other hand, both fibulin-2 and -5 were upregulated in the absence of elastin, suggesting that expression of these genes are controlled by elastin. Overall, this study highlights the importance of elastin in evolution, as well as its potential role in the regulation of expression of other matrix molecules.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.111938 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Bhanji, Tania. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002653532, proquestno: AAIMR38389, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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