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Multiciliated cells (MCCs) serve many important functions, including fluid propulsion and chemo- and mechanosensing. Diseases ranging from rare conditions to the recent COVID-19 global health pandemic have been linked to MCC defects. In recent years, the zebrafish has emerged as a model to investigate the biology of MCCs. Here, we review the major events in MCC formation including centriole biogenesis and basal body docking. Then, we discuss studies on the role of MCCs in diseases of the brain, respiratory, kidney and reproductive systems, as well as recent findings about the link between MCCs and SARS-CoV-2. Next, we explore why the zebrafish is a useful model to study MCCs and provide a comprehensive overview of previous studies of genetic components essential for MCC development and motility across three major tissues in the zebrafish: the pronephros, brain ependymal cells and nasal placode. Taken together, here we provide a cohesive summary of MCC research using the zebrafish and its future potential for expanding our understanding of MCC-related disease states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmaceutical drugs and other chemicals can impact organogenesis, either during pregnancy or by postnatal exposure of very preterm infants. Corticosteroids are administered to pregnant women at risk of preterm delivery in order to reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality. In addition, high-dose corticosteroid exposure of very preterm infants regularly serves to maintain blood pressure and to prevent and treat bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a form of chronic lung disease in prematurely born infants. Despite clinical benefits, there is increasing evidence of corticosteroid-mediated short- and long-term detrimental developmental effects, especially in the kidney. Here, we performed a detailed morphological and functional analysis of corticosteroid-mediated effects on pronephros development in larval zebrafish. About 24-h postfertilization (hpf) transgenic Tg(wt1b: EGFP) zebrafish larvae were exposed to a set of natural and synthetic corticosteroids (hydrocortisone, dexamethasone, 6α-methylprednisolone, betamethasone, prednisolone, fludrocortisone, 11-deoxycorticosterone) with varying glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid potency for 24 h at different concentrations. A semiautomated, multiparametric in vivo workflow enabled simultaneous assessment of kidney morphology, renal FITC-inulin clearance, and heart rate within the same larva. All corticosteroids exerted significant morphological and functional effects on pronephros development, including a significant hypertrophy of the pronephric glomeruli as well as dose-dependent increases in FITC-inulin clearance as a marker of glomerular filtration rate. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates a significant impact of corticosteroid exposure on kidney development and function in larval zebrafish. Hence, these studies underline that corticosteroid exposure of the fetus and the preterm neonate should be carefully considered due to potential short- and long-term harm to the kidney. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition of the erythron of the head kidney (pronephros) and circulating blood of the cold-loving European flounder (Platichthys flesus L., 1758) has been studied throughout its annual cycle. The erythron of the pronephros is represented mainly by erythroblasts (EBs) and basophilic normoblasts (BNs). The content of polychromatophilic normoblasts (PNs) is low (less than 2%). The maximum size of the erythroid germ of hematopoiesis in the pronephros has been recorded during the postspawning period (April–July). It reaches 17% of the cellular mass of the prints. BNs and PNs, which were not capable of proliferation, generally prevailed in the blood. The maximum content of these cell forms was also recorded during the postspawning period. Cells of earlier generations (EBs) were not detected at all in the blood. The increase in the production of erythroid cells by hematopoietic tissue coincided with an increase in the number of circulating erythrocytes in the blood of European flounder (R2 = 0.608 and 0.991), which indicated a shift in the erythrocyte balance in the red blood system towards production processes. Factors responsible for the generation of erythrocytes by the hematopoietic tissue in the fish in a spawning state are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of a comparative study of the leukocyte formula of the bream Abramis brama, living in the Ivankovo, Uglich and Rybinsk reservoirs, have been presented. Significant differences in the content of band neutrophils and eosinophils in the peripheral blood, pronephros and spleen between individuals of all studied reservoirs were recorded. The highest leukocyte abundance index was observed in bream from the Uglich Reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiciliated cells (MCCs) serve many important functions, including fluid propulsion and chemo- and mechanosensing. Diseases ranging from rare conditions to the recent COVID-19 global health pandemic have been linked to MCC defects. In recent years, the zebrafish has emerged as a model to investigate the biology of MCCs. Here, we review the major events in MCC formation including centriole biogenesis and basal body docking. Then, we discuss studies on the role of MCCs in diseases of the brain, respiratory, kidney and reproductive systems, as well as recent findings about the link between MCCs and SARS-CoV-2. Next, we explore why the zebrafish is a useful model to study MCCs and provide a comprehensive overview of previous studies of genetic components essential for MCC development and motility across three major tissues in the zebrafish: the pronephros, brain ependymal cells and nasal placode. Taken together, here we provide a cohesive summary of MCC research using the zebrafish and its future potential for expanding our understanding of MCC-related disease states.