Analysis of developmentally homogeneous neural crest cell populations in vitro

1981 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne Loring ◽  
Bengt Glimelius ◽  
Carol Erickson ◽  
James A. Weston
Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (10) ◽  
pp. 2181-2189 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. Eickholt ◽  
S.L. Mackenzie ◽  
A. Graham ◽  
F.S. Walsh ◽  
P. Doherty

Collapsin-1 belongs to the Semaphorin family of molecules, several members of which have been implicated in the co-ordination of axon growth and guidance. Collapsin-1 can function as a selective chemorepellent for sensory neurons, however, its early expression within the somites and the cranial neural tube (Shepherd, I., Luo, Y., Raper, J. A. and Chang, S. (1996) Dev. Biol. 173, 185–199) suggest that it might contribute to the control of additional developmental processes in the chick. We now report a detailed study on the expression of collapsin-1 as well as on the distribution of collapsin-1-binding sites in regions where neural crest cell migration occurs. collapsin-1 expression is detected in regions bordering neural crest migration pathways in both the trunk and hindbrain regions and a receptor for collapsin-1, neuropilin-1, is expressed by migrating crest cells derived from both regions. When added to crest cells in vitro, a collapsin-1-Fc chimeric protein induces morphological changes similar to those seen in neuronal growth cones. In order to test the function of collapsin-1 on the migration of neural crest cells, an in vitro assay was used in which collapsin-1-Fc was immobilised in alternating stripes consisting of collapsin-Fc/fibronectin versus fibronectin alone. Explanted neural crest cells derived from both trunk and hindbrain regions avoided the collapsin-Fc-containing substratum. These results suggest that collapsin-1 signalling can contribute to the patterning of neural crest cell migration in the developing chick.


1983 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 462-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
R A Rovasio ◽  
A Delouvee ◽  
K M Yamada ◽  
R Timpl ◽  
J P Thiery

Cells of the neural crest participate in a major class of cell migratory events during embryonic development. From indirect evidence, it has been suggested that fibronectin (FN) might be involved in these events. We have directly tested the role of FN in neural crest cell adhesion and migration using several in vitro model systems. Avian trunk neural crest cells adhered readily to purified plasma FN substrates and to extracellular matrices containing cellular FN. Their adhesion was inhibited by antibodies to a cell-binding fragment of FN. In contrast, these cells did not adhere to glass, type I collagen, or to bovine serum albumin in the absence of FN. Neural crest cell adhesion to laminin (LN) was significantly less than to FN; however, culturing of crest cells under conditions producing an epithelioid phenotype resulted in cells that could bind equally as well to LN as to FN. The migration of neural crest cells appeared to depend on both the substrate and the extent of cell interactions. Cells migrated substantially more rapidly on FN than on LN or type I collagen substrates; if provided a choice between stripes of FN and glass or LN, cells migrated preferentially on the FN. Migration was inhibited by antibodies against the cell-binding region of FN, and the inhibition could be reversed by a subsequent addition of exogenous FN. However, the migration on FN was random and displayed little persistence of direction unless cells were at high densities that permitted frequent contacts. The in vitro rate of migration of cells on FN-containing matrices was 50 microns/h, similar to their migration rates along the narrow regions of FN-containing extracellular matrix in migratory pathways in vivo. These results indicate that FN is important for neural crest cell adhesion and migration and that the high cell densities of neural crest cells in the transient, narrow migratory pathways found in the embryo are necessary for effective directional migration.


1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (5) ◽  
pp. 1822-1830 ◽  
Author(s):  
J C Boucaut ◽  
T Darribère ◽  
T J Poole ◽  
H Aoyama ◽  
K M Yamada ◽  
...  

We describe a new method for analyzing embryonic events dependent on a specific peptide recognition signal. A short, specific amino acid sequence in fibronectin has been implicated as a recognition site in fibronectin-mediated interactions. Fibroblast adhesion to fibronectin is competitively inhibited by certain synthetic peptides, including the decapeptide Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser-Pro-Ala-Ser-Ser-Lys-Pro, which appears to contain the cell recognition sequence. We found that this peptide inhibited both amphibian gastrulation and avian neural crest cell migration in vivo, as well as the attachment and migration of neural crest cells in vitro. These processes are major cell migratory events previously suggested to involve fibronectin. Negative controls included another conserved fibronectin peptide from the collagen-binding region containing the sequence Cys-Gln-Asp-Ser-Glu-Thr-Arg-Thr-Phe-Tyr and another peptide. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using synthetic peptides directed at recognition sites in extracellular proteins as probes of morphogenetic processes, and they provide further support for the hypothesis that fibronectin is involved in gastrulation and neural crest cell migration.


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