Alternating patterns of cell surface properties and neural crest cell migration during segmentation of the chick hindbrain

Development ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 9-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Lumsden ◽  
Sarah Guthrie

The developing chick hindbrain is transiently divided into a series of repeating units or rhombomeres. Recent work has shown that an alternating periodicity exists both in the cell surface properties of rhombomeres and in the segmental origin of hindbrain neural crest cells. Experiments in which rhombomeres from different axial levels were confronted in the absence of an interrhombomere boundary showed that odd-numbered segments 3 and 5 combined without generating a boundary, as did even-numbered segments 2, 4 and 6. When rhombomeres originating from adjacent positions, or three rhombomeres distant from one another were combined, a new boundary was regenerated. Mapping of the migration pathways of neural crest cells showed that odd-numbered and even-numbered rhombomeres share properties with respect to the production of neural crest cells. In the hindbrain region the neural crest is segregated into streams. Neural crest cells migrating from rhombomeres 1 and 2, rhombomere 4 and rhombomere 6 respectively populate distinct cranial nerve ganglia and branchial arches. In contrast, rhombomeres 3 and 5 are free of neural crest cells.

Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Trainor ◽  
Dorothy Sobieszczuk ◽  
David Wilkinson ◽  
Robb Krumlauf

Cranial neural crest cells are a pluripotent population of cells derived from the neural tube that migrate into the branchial arches to generate the distinctive bone, connective tissue and peripheral nervous system components characteristic of the vertebrate head. The highly conserved segmental organisation of the vertebrate hindbrain plays an important role in pattering the pathways of neural crest cell migration and in generating the distinct or separate streams of crest cells that form unique structures in each arch. We have used focal injections of DiI into the developing mouse hindbrain in combination with in vitro whole embryo culture to map the patterns of cranial neural crest cell migration into the developing branchial arches. Our results show that mouse hindbrain-derived neural crest cells migrate in three segregated streams adjacent to the even-numbered rhombomeres into the branchial arches, and each stream contains contributions of cells from three rhombomeres in a pattern very similar to that observed in the chick embryo. There are clear neural crest-free zones adjacent to r3 and r5. Furthermore, using grafting and lineage-tracing techniques in cultured mouse embryos to investigate the differential ability of odd and even-numbered segments to generate neural crest cells, we find that odd and even segments have an intrinsic ability to produce equivalent numbers of neural crest cells. This implies that inter-rhombomeric signalling is less important than combinatorial interactions between the hindbrain and the adjacent arch environment in specific regions, in the process of restricting the generation and migration of neural crest cells. This creates crest-free territories and suggests that tissue interactions established during development and patterning of the branchial arches may set up signals that the neural plate is primed to interpret during the progressive events leading to the delamination and migration of neural crest cells. Using interspecies grafting experiments between mouse and chick embryos, we have shown that this process forms part of a conserved mechanism for generating neural crest-free zones and contributing to the separation of migrating crest populations with distinct Hox expression during vertebrate head development.


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.


Development ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 127 (6) ◽  
pp. 1161-1172 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.M. Kulesa ◽  
S.E. Fraser

Hindbrain neural crest cells were labeled with DiI and followed in ovo using a new approach for long-term time-lapse confocal microscopy. In ovo imaging allowed us to visualize neural crest cell migration 2–3 times longer than in whole embryo explant cultures, providing a more complete picture of the dynamics of cell migration from emergence at the dorsal midline to entry into the branchial arches. There were aspects of the in ovo neural crest cell migration patterning which were new and different. Surprisingly, there was contact between neural crest cell migration streams bound for different branchial arches. This cell-cell contact occurred in the region lateral to the otic vesicle, where neural crest cells within the distinct streams diverted from their migration pathways into the branchial arches and instead migrated around the otic vesicle to establish a contact between streams. Some individual neural crest cells did appear to cross between the streams, but there was no widespread mixing. Analysis of individual cell trajectories showed that neural crest cells emerge from all rhombomeres (r) and sort into distinct exiting streams adjacent to the even-numbered rhombomeres. Neural crest cell migration behaviors resembled the wide diversity seen in whole embryo chick explants, including chain-like cell arrangements; however, average in ovo cell speeds are as much as 70% faster. To test to what extent neural crest cells from adjoining rhombomeres mix along migration routes and within the branchial arches, separate groups of premigratory neural crest cells were labeled with DiI or DiD. Results showed that r6 and r7 neural crest cells migrated to the same spatial location within the fourth branchial arch. The diversity of migration behaviors suggests that no single mechanism guides in ovo hindbrain neural crest cell migration into the branchial arches. The cell-cell contact between migration streams and the co-localization of neural crest cells from adjoining rhombomeres within a single branchial arch support the notion that the pattern of hindbrain neural crest cell migration emerges dynamically with cell-cell communication playing an important guidance role.


Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 935-945 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Birgbauer ◽  
J. Sechrist ◽  
M. Bronner-Fraser ◽  
S. Fraser

Neural crest cell migration in the hindbrain is segmental, with prominent streams of migrating cells adjacent to rhombomeres (r) r2, r4 and r6, but not r3 or r5. This migratory pattern cannot be explained by the failure of r3 and r5 to produce neural crest, since focal injections of the lipophilic dye, DiI, into the neural folds clearly demonstrate that all rhombomeres produce neural crest cells. Here, we examine the dynamics of hindbrain neural crest cell emigration and movement by iontophoretically injecting DiI into small numbers of cells. The intensely labeled cells and their progeny were repeatedly imaged using low-light-level epifluorescence microscopy, permitting their movement to be followed in living embryos over time. These intravital images definitively show that neural crest cells move both rostrally and caudally from r3 and r5 to emerge as a part of the streams adjacent to r2, r4, and/or r6. Within the first few hours, cells labeled in r3 move within and/or along the dorsal neural tube surface, either rostrally toward the r2/3 border or caudally toward the r3/4 border. The labeled cells exit the surface of the neural tube near these borders and migrate toward the first or second branchial arches several hours after initial labeling. Focal DiI injections into r5 resulted in neural crest cell contributions to both the second and third branchial arches, again via rostrocaudal movements of the cells before migration into the periphery. These results demonstrate conclusively that all rhombomeres give rise to neural crest cells, and that rostrocaudal rearrangement of the cells contributes to the segmental migration of neural crest cells adjacent to r2, r4, and r6. Furthermore, it appears that there are consistent exit points of neural crest cell emigration; for example, cells arising from r3 emigrate almost exclusively from the rostral or caudal borders of that rhombomere.


1986 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 432-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
R B Runyan ◽  
G D Maxwell ◽  
B D Shur

Migrating embryonic cells have high levels of cell surface galactosyltransferase (GalTase) activity. It has been proposed that GalTase participates during migration by recognizing and binding to terminal N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) residues on glycoconjugates within the extracellular matrix (Shur, B. D., 1982, Dev. Biol. 91:149-162). We tested this hypothesis using migrating neural crest cells as an in vitro model system. Cell surface GalTase activity was perturbed using three independent sets of reagents, and the effects on cell migration were analyzed by time-lapse microphotography. The GalTase modifier protein, alpha-lactalbumin (alpha-LA), was used to inhibit surface GalTase binding to terminal GlcNAc residues in the underlying substrate. alpha-LA inhibited neural crest cell migration on basal lamina-like matrices in a dose-dependent manner, while under identical conditions, alpha-LA had no effect on cell migration on fibronectin. Control proteins, such as lysozyme (structurally homologous to alpha-LA) and bovine serum albumin, did not effect migration on either matrix. Second, the addition of competitive GalTase substrates significantly inhibited neural crest cell migration on basal lamina-like matrices, but as above, had no effect on migration on fibronectin. Comparable concentrations of inappropriate sugars also had no effect on cell migration. Third, addition of the GalTase catalytic substrate, UDPgalactose, produced a dose-dependent increase in the rate of cell migration. Under identical conditions, the inappropriate sugar nucleotide, UDPglucose, had no effect. Quantitative enzyme assays confirmed the presence of GalTase substrates in basal lamina matrices, their absence in fibronectin matrices, and the ability of alpha-LA to inhibit GalTase activity towards basal lamina substrates. Laminin was found to be a principle GalTase substrate in the basal lamina, and when tested in vitro, alpha-LA inhibited cell migration on laminin. Together, these experiments show that neural crest cells have at least two distinct mechanisms for interacting with the substrate during migration, one that is fibronectin-dependent and one that uses GalTase recognition of basal lamina glycoconjugates.


Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (8) ◽  
pp. 2303-2312 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.M. Landolt ◽  
L. Vaughan ◽  
K.H. Winterhalter ◽  
D.R. Zimmermann

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans have been implicated in the regulation of cell migration and pattern formation in the developing peripheral nervous system. To identify whether the large aggregating proteoglycan versican might be mediating these processes, we prepared monospecific antibodies against a recombinant core protein fragment of chick versican. The purified antibodies recognize the predominant versican splice-variants V0 and V1. Using these antibodies, we revealed a close correlation between the spacio-temporal expression of versican and the formation of molecular boundaries flanking or transiently blocking the migration pathways of neural crest cells or motor and sensory axons. Versican is present in the caudal sclerotome, the early dorsolateral tissue underneath the ectoderm, the pelvic girdle precursor and to a certain extent in the perinotochordal mesenchyme. Versican is completely absent from tissues invaded by neural crest cells and extending axons. Upon completion of neural crest cell migration and axon outgrowth, versican expression is shifted to pre-chondrogenic areas. Since versican inhibits cellular interactions with fibronectin, laminin and collagen I in vitro, the selective expression of versican within barrier tissues may be linked to a functional role of versican in the guidance of migratory neural crest cells and outgrowing axons.


Development ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.H. Epperlein ◽  
W. Halfter ◽  
R.P. Tucker

It is generally assumed that in amphibian embryos neural crest cells migrate dorsally, where they form the mesenchyme of the dorsal fin, laterally (between somites and epidermis), where they give rise to pigment cells, and ventromedially (between somites and neural tube), where they form the elements of the peripheral nervous system. While there is agreement about the crest migratory routes in the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), different opinions exist about the lateral pathway in Xenopus. We investigated neural crest cell migration in Xenopus (stages 23, 32, 35/36 and 41) using the X. laevis-X. borealis nuclear marker system and could not find evidence for cells migrating laterally. We have also used immunohistochemistry to study the distribution of the extracellular matrix (ECM) glycoproteins fibronectin (FN) and tenascin (TN), which have been implicated in directing neural crest cells during their migrations in avian and mammalian embryos, in the neural crest migratory pathways of Xenopus and the axolotl. In premigratory stages of the crest, both in Xenopus (stage 22) and the axolotl (stage 25), FN was found subepidermally and in extracellular spaces around the neural tube, notochord and somites. The staining was particularly intense in the dorsal part of the embryo, but it was also present along the visceral and parietal layers of the lateral plate mesoderm. TN, in contrast, was found only in the anterior trunk mesoderm in Xenopus; in the axolotl, it was absent. During neural crest cell migration in Xenopus (stages 25–33) and the axolotl (stages 28–35), anti-FN stained the ECM throughout the embryo, whereas anti-TN staining was limited to dorsal regions. There it was particularly intense medially, i.e. in the dorsal fin, around the neural tube, notochord, dorsal aorta and at the medial surface of the somites (stage 35 in both species). During postmigratory stages in Xenopus (stage 40), anti-FN staining was less intense than anti-TN staining. In culture, axolotl neural crest cells spread differently on FN- and TN-coated substrata. On TN, the onset of cellular outgrowth was delayed for about 1 day, but after 3 days the extent of outgrowth was indistinguishable from cultures grown on FN. However, neural crest cells in 3-day-old cultures were much more flattened on FN than on TN. We conclude that both FN and TN are present in the ECM that lines the neural crest migratory pathways of amphibian embryos at the time when the neural crest cells are actively migrating. FN is present in the embryonic ECM before the onset of neural crest migration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


1992 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
HJ Hathaway ◽  
BD Shur

Mesenchymal cell migration and neurite outgrowth are mediated in part by binding of cell surface beta 1,4-galactosyltransferase (GalTase) to N-linked oligosaccharides within the E8 domain of laminin. In this study, we determined whether cell surface GalTase functions during neural crest cell migration and neural development in vivo using antibodies raised against affinity-purified chicken serum GalTase. The antibodies specifically recognized two embryonic proteins of 77 and 67 kD, both of which express GalTase activity. The antibodies also immunoprecipitated and inhibited chick embryo GalTase activity, and inhibited neural crest cell migration on laminin matrices in vitro. Anti-GalTase antibodies were microinjected into the head mesenchyme of stage 7-9 chick embryos or cranial to Henson's node of stage 6 embryos. Anti-avian GalTase IgG decreased cranial neural crest cell migration on the injected side but did not cross the embryonic midline and did not affect neural crest cell migration on the uninjected side. Anti-avian GalTase Fab crossed the embryonic midline and perturbed cranial neural crest cell migration throughout the head. Neural fold elevation and neural tube closure were also disrupted by Fab fragments. Cell surface GalTase was localized to migrating neural crest cells and to the basal surfaces of neural epithelia by indirect immunofluorescence, whereas GalTase was undetectable on neural crest cells prior to migration. These results suggest that, during early embryogenesis, cell surface GalTase participates during neural crest cell migration, perhaps by interacting with laminin, a major component of the basal lamina. Cell surface GalTase also appears to play a role in neural tube formation, possibly by mediating neural epithelial adhesion to the underlying basal lamina.


Development ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 237-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.J. Mackie ◽  
R.P. Tucker ◽  
W. Halfter ◽  
R. Chiquet-Ehrismann ◽  
H.H. Epperlein

The distribution of the extracellular matrix (ECM) glycoprotein, tenascin, has been compared with that of fibronectin in neural crest migration pathways of Xenopus laevis, quail and rat embryos. In all species studied, the distribution of tenascin, examined by immunohistochemistry, was more closely correlated with pathways of migration than that of fibronectin, which is known to be important for neural crest migration. In Xenopus laevis embryos, anti-tenascin stained the dorsal fin matrix and ECM along the ventral route of migration, but not the ECM found laterally between the ectoderma and somites where neural crest cells do not migrate. In quail embryos, the appearance of tenascin in neural crest pathways was well correlated with the anterior-to-posterior wave of migration. The distribution of tenascin within somites was compared with that of the neural crest marker, HNK-1, in quail embryos. In the dorsal halves of quail somites which contained migrating neural crest cells, the predominant tenascin staining was in the anterior halves of the somites, codistributed with the migrating cells. In rat embryos, tenascin was detectable in the somites only in the anterior halves. Tenascin was not detectable in the matrix of cultured quail neural crest cells, but was in the matrix surrounding somite and notochord cells in vitro. Neural crest cells cultured on a substratum of tenascin did not spread and were rounded. We propose that tenascin is an important factor controlling neural crest morphogenesis, perhaps by modifying the interaction of neural crest cells with fibronectin.


1988 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-122
Author(s):  
E.J. Sanders ◽  
E. Cheung

The sclerotome portion of the differentiating embryonic chick somite becomes infiltrated by neural crest cells prior to its dispersal towards the embryonic axis. This means that sclerotome cells explanted into culture for the purpose of examining their interactions in vitro are contaminated with a proportion of neural crest cells. The purpose of this study was to explore the neural crest cell adhesion epitope recognized by the HNK-1 monoclonal antibody and ways in which this antibody can be used to eliminate neural crest cells from mixed culture by selective cytotoxicity. Immunofluorescence technique, under the conditions used here, indicated that the antibody appeared to stain all the mesenchymal (i.e. neural crest) cells emigrating from pieces of embryonic neural tube in culture. Examination of the effects of HNK-1 suggests that the antibody interacts with substratum-binding sites on the neural crest cell surface. On fibronectin-coated substrata the antibody tended to inhibit neurite outgrowth but left the cells relatively well spread, while on laminin substrata the effect was to discourage both neurite extension and cell spreading, causing cell retraction. These results suggest that the cell surface epitope recognized by HNK-1 influences neurite outgrowth, neurite adhesiveness or both. Failure of cell spreading on laminin suggests interaction with the laminin binding sites on the cell body. Elimination of the crest cells from mixed culture with sclerotome was achieved by culturing the cells in the presence of HNK-1 antibody and complement during the period required for complete cell outgrowth from the sclerotome explant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


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