Grivas, DimitriosGonzález-Rajal, ÁlvaroGuerrero Rodríguez, CarlosGarcia, Ricardode la Pompa, Jose Luis2020-10-282020-10-282020-07Sci Rep. 2020; 10(1):128162045-2322http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/11256Caveolin-1 is the main structural protein of caveolae, small membrane invaginations involved in signal transduction and mechanoprotection. Here, we generated cav1-KO zebrafish lacking Cav1 and caveolae, and investigated the impact of this loss on adult heart function and response to cryoinjury. We found that cardiac function was impaired in adult cav1-KO fish, which showed a significantly decreased ejection fraction and heart rate. Using atomic force microscopy, we detected an increase in the stiffness of epicardial cells and cells of the cortical zone lacking Cav1/caveolae. This loss of cardiac elasticity might explain the decreased cardiac contraction and function. Surprisingly, cav1-KO mutants were able to regenerate their heart after a cryoinjury but showed a transient decrease in cardiomyocyte proliferation.engVoRhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Atribución 4.0 Internacional327330881011281610.1038/s41598-020-68802-9Scientific reportsopen access