ELISA based quantification of Pax6 expression in the developing Zebrafish embryos

Transcription factors are the key regulators of metabolic pathways in the cells, tissues and organ development during embryogenesis. Pax6 is a transcription factor involved in vertebrate eye, brain and central nervous system formation during development.

A reliable and sensitive assay for the spatiotemporal expression, quantification and detection of Pax6 is not available so far in zebrafish as a developmental model, hence the objective of this work is to develop quantitative assay in zebrafish embryos.

The Pax6 transcription factor was purified by heparin agarose affinity chromatography and DEAE cellulose chromatography techniques from the developing zebrafish embryos. The purity was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and western blotting using Pax6 mouse monoclonal antibody. The standard graph was plotted for Pax6 and the expressions in seventeen developmental stages were quantified by indirect ELISA.

The maximum expression of Pax6 was detected at 8 hpf (hours post fertilization) and it was quantified as 179 ng/embryo from the average total protein of 9.5 µg/embryo. The zebrafish Pax6 protein was detected as 48 kDa and confirmed by western blotting.

This study paves way to quantify the level of expression of proteins or transcription factors during early embryonic and larval development or embryogenesis using zebrafish as model system.