scholarly journals Enteric nervous system can regenerate in zebrafish larva via migration into the ablated area and proliferation of neural crest-derived cells

Development ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. dev.195339
Author(s):  
Maria Ohno ◽  
Masataka Nikaido ◽  
Natsumi Horiuchi ◽  
Koichi Kawakami ◽  
Kohei Hatta

Enteric nervous system (ENS) which is derived from neural crest is essential for gut function and its deficiency causes severe congenital diseases. Since capacity of ENS regeneration in mammals is limited, additional complimentary models would be useful. Here, we show that the ENS in zebrafish larva at 10-15 days post-fertilization is highly regenerative. The number of enteric neurons (ENs) recovered to ∼50% of the control by 10 days post-ablation (dpa) after their laser ablation. Using transgenic lines in which enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCDCs) and ENs are labeled with fluorescent proteins, we live-imaged the regeneration process, and found covering by neurites extended from the unablated area and entry of ENCDCs in the ablated areas by 1-3 dpa. BrdU assay suggested that ∼80% of the ENs and ∼90% of the Sox10-positive ENCDCs therein at 7dpa are generated through proliferation. Thus the ENS regeneration involves proliferation, entrance and neurogenesis of ENCDCs. This is the first report regarding the regeneration process of the zebrafish ENS; our findings provide a basis for further in vivo research at single-cell resolution in the vertebrate.

Author(s):  
Laura E. Kuil ◽  
Rajendra K. Chauhan ◽  
William W. Cheng ◽  
Robert M. W. Hofstra ◽  
Maria M. Alves

The Enteric Nervous System (ENS) is a large network of enteric neurons and glia that regulates various processes in the gastrointestinal tract including motility, local blood flow, mucosal transport and secretion. The ENS is derived from stem cells coming from the neural crest that migrate into and along the primitive gut. Defects in ENS establishment cause enteric neuropathies, including Hirschsprung disease (HSCR), which is characterized by an absence of enteric neural crest cells in the distal part of the colon. In this review, we discuss the use of zebrafish as a model organism to study the development of the ENS. The accessibility of the rapidly developing gut in zebrafish embryos and larvae, enables in vivo visualization of ENS development, peristalsis and gut transit. These properties make the zebrafish a highly suitable model to bring new insights into ENS development, as well as in HSCR pathogenesis. Zebrafish have already proven fruitful in studying ENS functionality and in the validation of novel HSCR risk genes. With the rapid advancements in gene editing techniques and their unique properties, research using zebrafish as a disease model, will further increase our understanding on the genetics underlying HSCR, as well as possible treatment options for this disease.


Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (12) ◽  
pp. 2785-2796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan J. Burns ◽  
Jean-Marie M. Delalande ◽  
Nicole M. Le Douarin

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is derived from vagal and sacral neural crest cells (NCC). Within the embryonic avian gut, vagal NCC migrate in a rostrocaudal direction to form the majority of neurons and glia along the entire length of the gastrointestinal tract, whereas sacral NCC migrate in an opposing caudorostral direction, initially forming the nerve of Remak, and contribute a smaller number of ENS cells primarily to the distal hindgut. In this study, we have investigated the ability of vagal NCC, transplanted to the sacral region of the neuraxis, to colonise the chick hindgut and form the ENS in an experimentally generated hypoganglionic hindgut in ovo model. Results showed that when the vagal NC was transplanted into the sacral region of the neuraxis, vagal-derived ENS precursors immediately migrated away from the neural tube along characteristic pathways, with numerous cells colonising the gut mesenchyme by embryonic day (E) 4. By E7, the colorectum was extensively colonised by transplanted vagal NCC and the migration front had advanced caudorostrally to the level of the umbilicus. By E10, the stage at which sacral NCC begin to colonise the hindgut in large numbers, myenteric and submucosal plexuses in the hindgut almost entirely composed of transplanted vagal NCC, while the migration front had progressed into the pre-umbilical intestine, midway between the stomach and umbilicus. Immunohistochemical staining with the pan-neuronal marker, ANNA-1, revealed that the transplanted vagal NCC differentiated into enteric neurons, and whole-mount staining with NADPH-diaphorase showed that myenteric and submucosal ganglia formed interconnecting plexuses, similar to control animals. Furthermore, using an anti-RET antibody, widespread immunostaining was observed throughout the ENS, within a subpopulation of sacral NC-derived ENS precursors, and in the majority of transplanted vagal-to-sacral NCC. Our results demonstrate that: (1) a cell autonomous difference exists between the migration/signalling mechanisms used by sacral and vagal NCC, as transplanted vagal cells migrated along pathways normally followed by sacral cells, but did so in much larger numbers, earlier in development; (2) vagal NCC transplanted into the sacral neuraxis extensively colonised the hindgut, migrated in a caudorostral direction, differentiated into neuronal phenotypes, and formed enteric plexuses; (3) RET immunostaining occurred in vagal crest-derived ENS cells, the nerve of Remak and a subpopulation of sacral NCC within hindgut enteric ganglia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (18) ◽  
pp. E3709-E3718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhash Kulkarni ◽  
Maria-Adelaide Micci ◽  
Jenna Leser ◽  
Changsik Shin ◽  
Shiue-Cheng Tang ◽  
...  

According to current dogma, there is little or no ongoing neurogenesis in the fully developed adult enteric nervous system. This lack of neurogenesis leaves unanswered the question of how enteric neuronal populations are maintained in adult guts, given previous reports of ongoing neuronal death. Here, we confirm that despite ongoing neuronal cell loss because of apoptosis in the myenteric ganglia of the adult small intestine, total myenteric neuronal numbers remain constant. This observed neuronal homeostasis is maintained by new neurons formed in vivo from dividing precursor cells that are located within myenteric ganglia and express both Nestin and p75NTR, but not the pan-glial marker Sox10. Mutation of the phosphatase and tensin homolog gene in this pool of adult precursors leads to an increase in enteric neuronal number, resulting in ganglioneuromatosis, modeling the corresponding disorder in humans. Taken together, our results show significant turnover and neurogenesis of adult enteric neurons and provide a paradigm for understanding the enteric nervous system in health and disease.


Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (12) ◽  
pp. 2785-2797 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Taraviras ◽  
C.V. Marcos-Gutierrez ◽  
P. Durbec ◽  
H. Jani ◽  
M. Grigoriou ◽  
...  

RET is a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) superfamily, which can transduce signalling by glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and neurturin (NTN) in cultured cells. In order to determine whether in addition to being sufficient, RET is also necessary for signalling by these growth factors, we studied the response to GDNF and NTN of primary neuronal cultures (peripheral sensory and central dopaminergic neurons) derived from wild-type and RET-deficient mice. Our experiments show that absence of a functional RET receptor abrogates the biological responses of neuronal cells to both GDNF and NTN. Despite the established role of the RET signal transduction pathway in the development of the mammalian enteric nervous system (ENS), very little is known regarding its cellular mechanism(s) of action. Here, we have studied the effects of GDNF and NTN on cultures of neural crest (NC)-derived cells isolated from the gut of rat embryos. Our findings suggest that GDNF and NTN promote the survival of enteric neurons as well as the survival, proliferation and differentiation of multipotential ENS progenitors present in the gut of E12.5-13.5 rat embryos. However, the effects of these growth factors are stage-specific, since similar ENS cultures established from later stage embryos (E14. 5–15.5), show markedly diminished response to GDNF and NTN. To examine whether the in vitro effects of RET activation reflect the in vivo function(s) of this receptor, the extent of programmed cell death was examined in the gut of wild-type and RET-deficient mouse embryos by TUNEL histochemistry. Our experiments show that a subpopulation of enteric NC undergoes apoptotic cell death specifically in the foregut of embryos lacking the RET receptor. We suggest that normal function of the RET RTK is required in vivo during early stages of ENS histogenesis for the survival of undifferentiated enteric NC and their derivatives.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (18) ◽  
pp. 8026-8036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayumi Jijiwa ◽  
Toshifumi Fukuda ◽  
Kumi Kawai ◽  
Akari Nakamura ◽  
Kei Kurokawa ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Ret receptor tyrosine kinase plays a crucial role in the development of the enteric nervous system and the kidney. Tyrosine 1062 in Ret represents a binding site for the phosphotyrosine-binding domains of several adaptor and effector proteins that are important for the activation of intracellular signaling pathways, such as the RAS/ERK, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT, and Jun-associated N-terminal kinase pathways. To investigate the importance of tyrosine 1062 for organogenesis in vivo, knock-in mice in which tyrosine 1062 in Ret was replaced with phenylalanine were generated. Although homozygous knock-in mice were born normally, they died by day 27 after birth and showed growth retardation. The development of the enteric nervous system was severely impaired in homozygous mutant mice, about 40% of which lacked enteric neurons in the whole intestinal tract, as observed in Ret-deficient mice. The rest of the mutant mice developed enteric neurons in the intestine to various extents, although the size and number of ganglion cells were significantly reduced. Unlike Ret-deficient mice, a small kidney developed in all knock-in mice, accompanying a slight histological change. The reduction of kidney size was due to a decrease of ureteric bud branching during embryogenesis. Thus, these findings demonstrated that the signal via tyrosine 1062 plays an important role in histogenesis of the enteric nervous system and nephrogenesis.


Development ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 127 (20) ◽  
pp. 4383-4393
Author(s):  
D.S. Worley ◽  
J.M. Pisano ◽  
E.D. Choi ◽  
L. Walus ◽  
C.A. Hession ◽  
...  

The development of the enteric nervous system is dependent upon the actions of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on neural crest-derived precursor cells in the embryonic gut. GDNF treatment of cultured enteric precursor cells leads to an increase in the number of neurons that develop and/or survive. Here we demonstrate that, although GDNF promoted an increase in neuron number at all embryonic ages examined, there was a developmental shift from a mitogenic to a trophic response by the developing enteric neurons. The timing of this shift corresponded to developmental changes in gut expression of GFR alpha-1, a co-receptor in the GDNF-Ret signaling complex. GFR alpha-1 was broadly expressed in the gut at early developmental stages, at which times soluble GFR alpha-1 was released into the medium by cultured gut cells. At later times, GFR alpha-1 became restricted to neural crest-derived cells. GFR alpha-1 could participate in GDNF signaling when expressed in cis on the surface of enteric precursor cells, or as a soluble protein. The GDNF-mediated response was greater when cell surface, compared with soluble, GFR alpha-1 was present, with the maximal response seen the presence of both cis and trans forms of GFR alpha-1. In addition to contributing to GDNF signaling, cell-surface GFR alpha-1 modulated the specificity of interactions between GDNF and soluble GFR alphas. These experiments demonstrate that complex, developmentally regulated, signaling interactions contribute to the GDNF-dependent development of enteric neurons.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichiro Yoshimaru ◽  
Takayoshi Yamaza ◽  
Shunichi Kajioka ◽  
Soichiro Sonoda ◽  
Yusuke Yanagi ◽  
...  

Abstract Hirschsprung’s disease is a congenital entero-neuropathy that causes chronic constipation and intestinal obstruction. New treatments for entero-neuropathy are needed because current surgical strategies have limitations5. Entero-neuropathy results from enteric nervous system dysfunction due to incomplete colonization of the distal intestine by neural crest-derived cells. Impaired cooperation between the enteric nervous system and intestinal pacemaker cells may also contribute to entero-neuropathy. Stem cell therapy to repair these multiple defects represents a novel treatment approach. Dental pulp stem cells derived from deciduous teeth (dDPSCs) are multipotent cranial neural crest-derived cells, but it remains unknown whether dDPSCs have potential as a new therapy for entero-neuropathy. Here we show that intravenous transplantation of dDPSCs into the Japanese Fancy-1 mouse, an established model of hypoganglionosis and entero-neuropathy, improves large intestinal structure and function and prolongs survival. Intravenously injected dDPSCs migrate to affected regions of the intestine through interactions between stromal cell-derived factor-1α and C-X-C chemokine receptor type-4. Transplanted dDPSCs differentiate into both pacemaker cells and enteric neurons in the proximal colon to improve electrical and peristaltic activity. Our findings indicate that transplanted dDPSCs can differentiate into different cell types to correct entero-neuropathy-associated defects.


2000 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. A595
Author(s):  
Jolanta E. Pitera ◽  
Virpi V. Smith ◽  
Peter J. Milia

2006 ◽  
Vol 235 (5) ◽  
pp. 1413-1432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen K. Deal ◽  
V. Ashley Cantrell ◽  
Ronald L. Chandler ◽  
Thomas L. Saunders ◽  
Douglas P. Mortlock ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (18) ◽  
pp. 3642-3651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria M. Alves ◽  
Grzegorz Burzynski ◽  
Jean-Marie Delalande ◽  
Jan Osinga ◽  
Annemieke van der Goot ◽  
...  

Abstract Goldberg–Shprintzen syndrome (GOSHS) is a rare clinical disorder characterized by central and enteric nervous system defects. This syndrome is caused by inactivating mutations in the Kinesin Binding Protein (KBP) gene, which encodes a protein of which the precise function is largely unclear. We show that KBP expression is up-regulated during neuronal development in mouse cortical neurons. Moreover, KBP-depleted PC12 cells were defective in nerve growth factor-induced differentiation and neurite outgrowth, suggesting that KBP is required for cell differentiation and neurite development. To identify KBP interacting proteins, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen and found that KBP binds almost exclusively to microtubule associated or related proteins, specifically SCG10 and several kinesins. We confirmed these results by validating KBP interaction with one of these proteins: SCG10, a microtubule destabilizing protein. Zebrafish studies further demonstrated an epistatic interaction between KBP and SCG10 in vivo . To investigate the possibility of direct interaction between KBP and microtubules, we undertook co-localization and in vitro binding assays, but found no evidence of direct binding. Thus, our data indicate that KBP is involved in neuronal differentiation and that the central and enteric nervous system defects seen in GOSHS are likely caused by microtubule-related defects.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document