Meeting Abstract

131.5  Tuesday, Jan. 7 14:30  The skate, Leucoraja erinacea, as a novel model for understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of hematopoiesis and angiogenesis HERSH, T.; LUPICA, J. ; RUTH , B.; LUTTON, B.V. *; Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA; Portland High School, ME; Endicott College, Beverly, MA; Endicott College, Beverly, MA bram.lutton@gmail.com

In elasmobranchs, the epigonal and Leydig organs are the two primary sites of hematopoiesis (production and differentiation of blood cells). In this study, we have used hematoxylin and eosin staining to characterize the cyto-vascular architecture within these tissues of the skate, Leucoraja erinacea. For molecular analyses, primers for twenty genes involved in hematopoiesis and angiogenesis were designed using recently developed bioinformatics tools to acquire genome and transcriptome information in Leucoraja erinacea. Our observations indicate that the robust increase in angiogenesis and cellular proliferation we have seen may occur to activate hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) during the reproductive period. In addition, we have demonstrated expression of the chemotactic receptor and ligand pair, CXCR4 and CXCL12, known to be critical for HSC mobilization and homing in mammals. By studying the cyto-vascular architecture and developing a targeted knock-down approach to gene expression in these tissues, we hope to be able to gain a better functional understanding of the vascular relationship and HSC, which we believe to be directly linked. As characterization of the epigonal and Leydig organs continues, we intend to address questions that have not yet been answered due to limitations of current models.