CPI researcher João Cardeira-da-Silva and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research uncovered positive roles of antigen presentation during zebrafish cardiac regeneration, providing an important basis for immunomodulation strategies.
Over the last decade, zebrafish have become an excellent model to study human cardiovascular diseases. In contrast to the adult mammalian heart, the adult zebrafish heart exhibits the remarkable ability to fully regenerate. Following cardiac injury, a dysregulated immune response, including in the adaptive immune compartment, hampers regeneration and can further exacerbate tissue damage. It is yet unclear which components of the immune response are required during regeneration.
In this study, Cardeira-da-Silva and colleagues show that in the regenerating zebrafish heart, endocardial cells activate the expression of MHC class II antigen presentation genes and come into proximity with T-cells. Notably, the expression of antigen presentation genes, especially Cd74, becomes activated in endocardial cells from regenerating neonatal mouse hearts.
Importantly, targeting antigen presentation by blocking cd74 genes in zebrafish leads to impaired cardiac regeneration. These findings reveal the significant positive role of antigen presentation in cardiac regeneration and highlight the potential of harnessing adaptive immune processes to sustain regenerative programs and minimize tissue damage in the heart.
Find the full article here: