The human Ewing's Sarcoma oncoprotein EWS-FLI1 causes developmental defects in zebrafish embryos. Danio rerio

The fusion oncoprotein EWS-FLI1 arises from a t(11;22)(q24;q12) chromosomal translocation and causes Ewing's Sarcoma, a malignant bone tumor. The mechanism whereby EWS-FLI1 transforms cells is unknown. We made germline transgenic zebrafish expressing human EWS-FLI1 under the control of the heat shock promoter. Induction of EWS-FLI1 expression causes multiple defects in embryonic development. We compared gene expression in control and transgenic EWS-FLI1 zebrafish. The results identify a conserved set of EWS-FLI1-regulated genes, and provide insight into the pathogenesis of Ewing's Sarcoma tumors. Overall design: We performed heat shock and isolated total RNA for microarray studies comparing wildtype AB strain zebrafish with transgenic zebrafish expressing human EWS-FLI1 [Tg(HSP:EWS-FLI1)]. RNA was biotin-lableled and hybridized to zebrafish-specific Affymetrix arrays.