EPSA1 and VPF genes expression during embryonic and larval development period of Beluga, Huso huso

Background: The Endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1 (EPSA1) is the key transcriptional regulator of hypoxic response and Vascular Permeability Factor (VPF) is an important growth factor for vascular development and angiogenesis. OBJECTIVES: In the present study, the levels of the EPSA1 coding gene and VPF transcripts were evaluated during Larval development of Beluga, Huso huso. METHODS: Samples at 12 developmental time-points including 1, 2, 4 days before hatch (eyed eggs), fresh hatched larvae (0), and larvae 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 50 days post-hatching were collected and  stored in a −80 °C freezer until RNA extraction. Changes in EPSA1 and VPF mRNA expression were studied and differences in normalized mRNA expression levels among the different developmental stages of H. huso were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: The transcripts of EPSA1 and VPF were detected in all developmental time-points of H. huso from embryos to fingerling fish. Our results revealed that the mRNA expression of EPSA1 and VPF was low during embryonic development and then upregulated significantly at the time of hatch and early larval time-points, whereas in the late larval development stages they started to decline. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that there is an association between the EPSA1 and VPF mRNA expression during larval development of H. huso. The up regulation of EPSA1 and VPF transcripts at the time of hatch and during yolk sac fry development of H. huso is likely tied to the role of them in vasculogenesis and angiogenesis.