Two-Photon Laser-Mediated Ablation of Osteoblasts in Developing Zebrafish Larvae

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have an outstanding capacity to regenerate different organs and appendages. Bone regeneration in zebrafish has been studied using different methods such as fin amputation, scale plucking, skull trepanation, and microscopic approaches. Using a confocal laser scanning setup equipped with a two-photon laser, a laser ablation method was developed as a lesion paradigm to ablate bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) in the developing opercle of zebrafish larvae. The method described here allows the ablation of cells in a precise manner, as the area, shape, and depth can be finely adjusted. In addition, this method allows imaging of the area before and just after the ablation, so that short-term effects of the injury can be analyzed. In this experimental setup, the immune response after ablation of osteoblasts in the injured area was studied. An increase in the recruitment of macrophages was observed after ablation, indicating the relevance of their presence during bone regeneration.