Confocal Microscope-Based Laser Ablation and Regeneration Assay in Zebrafish Interneuromast Cells

Hair cells are mechanosensory cells that mediate the sense of hearing. These cells do not regenerate after damage in humans, but they are naturally replenished in non-mammalian vertebrates such as zebrafish. The zebrafish lateral line system is a useful model for characterizing sensory hair cell regeneration. The lateral line is comprised of hair cell-containing organs called neuromasts, which are linked together by a string of interneuromast cells (INMCs). INMCs act as progenitor cells that give rise to new neuromasts during development. INMCs can repair gaps in the lateral line system created by cell death. A method is described here for selective INMC ablation using a conventional laser-scanning confocal microscope and transgenic fish that express green fluorescent protein in INMCs. Time-lapse microscopy is then used to monitor INMC regeneration and determine the rate of gap closure. This represents an accessible protocol for cell ablation that does not require specialized equipment, such as a high-powered pulsed ultraviolet laser. The ablation protocol may serve broader interests, as it could be useful for the ablation of additional cell types, employing a tool set that is already available to many users. This technique will further enable the characterization of INMC regeneration under different conditions and from different genetic backgrounds, which will advance the understanding of sensory progenitor cell regeneration.