Increased expression levels of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 inhibits the development of the nervous system

Introduction: Preeclampsia (PE) remains a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity. At present, only limited options are available for the treatments of preeclampsia. Consequently, many patients need to terminate their pregnancy to relieve the disease. Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) is a decoy receptor of placental growth factor (PIGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which can promote angiogenesis. Throughout pregnancy, the expression level of sFlt-1 continues to increase in both the mother with PE and her offspring. Material and methods: In this experiment, we generated a zebrafish line expressing high levels of sFlt-1 and investigated changes in behavior and development of the nervous system. Results: At 96 hours post-fertilization (hpf), the brain volume area of zebrafish in the experimental group (zFLT1+CasRx) was significantly smaller after injection than in the WT group (P<0.05) and the negative control group (CasRx) (P<0.05). At 96 hpf, compared with the WT group, the cerebral blood vessels in the CasRx control group and experimental group (zFLT1-sgRNA+CasRx) were significantly lower after injection (P<0.05). Compared with the CasRx control group, the track movement distance, and the mean track speed of zebrafish in the experimental group (zFLT1-sgRNA+CasRx) after the 6th injection were significantly decreased (P<0.05). Conclusions: the increased expression levels of sFlt-1 in zebrafish inhibited the development of the cerebral blood vessels, influenced brain volumes, and inhibited behavioral activities. Our data suggest that the elevation of sFlt-1 in the pathological state of PE can inhibit the development of the nervous system in offspring.