rapgef1-knockdown induced vascular defects and abnormal somitogenesis
Both the E2I2-MO and ATG-MO effectively knocked down the expression ofrapgef1a and caused abnormal vessel structure and somitogenesis (Figure 6 (A) and (B)). By using Tg(fli1a:EGFP) zebrafish embryos, we observed irregular vascular microstructure including a lower number of incomplete ISV (intersegmental vessel) and ectopic sprouts (Figure 6 (A)). Meanwhile, rapgef1a -knockdown caused the gross somite morphology alteration, from a normal V-shape to an abnormal U-shape (Figure 6 (B)). As expected, the co-injection of E2I2-MO and human wildtype RAPGEF1 mRNA rescued the abnormal phenotype of vascular structure and somitogenesis, however, the co-injection with human mutant RAPGEF1 mRNA did not rescue the phenotype (Figure 6 (C) and (D)).