The relationship between emerging neural crest cells and basement membranes in the trunk of the mouse embryo: a TEM and immunocytochemical study

Development ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-268
Author(s):  
J. Sternberg ◽  
S. J. Kimber

The earliest stage of neural crest cell (NCC) migration is characterized by an epitheliomesenchymal transformation, as the cells leave the neural tube. There is evidence that in a number of cell systems this transformation is accompanied by alteration or depletion of associated basement membranes. This study examines the ultrastructural relationship between mouse NCCs and adjacent basement membranes during the earliest stages of migration from the neural tube. Basement membranes were identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunofluorescence using antibodies to type-IV collagen. The ultrastructural features of NCCs and their relationship with surrounding tissues were also examined using TEM. In the dorsal region of the neural tube, from which NCCs originate, the basement membrane was depleted or absent, and with the immunofluorescence technique it was shown that this pattern was reflected in a deficit of type-IV collagen. TEM observations indicated that ultrastructurally NCCs differ from their neuroepithelial neighbours only in overall cell shape and their relationship to other cells and the extracellular matrix.

Development ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. Duband ◽  
J.P. Thiery

The distribution of type I, III and IV collagens and laminin during neural crest development was studied by immunofluorescence labelling of early avian embryos. These components, except type III collagen, were present prior to both cephalic and trunk neural crest appearance. Type I collagen was widely distributed throughout the embryo in the basement membranes of epithelia as well as in the extracellular spaces associated with mesenchymes. Type IV collagen and laminin shared a common distribution primarily in the basal surfaces of epithelia and in close association with developing nerves and muscle. In striking contrast with the other collagens and laminin, type III collagen appeared secondarily during embryogenesis in a restricted pattern in connective tissues. The distribution and fate of laminin and type I and IV collagens could be correlated spatially and temporally with morphogenetic events during neural crest development. Type IV collagen and lamin disappeared from the basal surface of the neural tube at sites where neural crest cells were emerging. During the course of neural crest cell migration, type I collagen was particularly abundant along migratory pathways whereas type IV collagen and laminin were distributed in the basal surfaces of the epithelia lining these pathways but were rarely seen in large amounts among neural crest cells. In contrast, termination of neural crest cell migration and aggregation into ganglia were correlated in many cases with the loss of type I collagen and with the appearance of type IV collagen and laminin among the neural crest population. Type III collagen was not observed associated with neural crest cells during their development. These observations suggest that laminin and both type I and IV collagens may be involved with different functional specificities during neural crest ontogeny. (i) Type I collagen associated with fibronectins is a major component of the extracellular spaces of the young embryo. Together with other components, it may contribute to the three-dimensional organization and functions of the matrix during neural crest cell migration. (ii) Type III collagen is apparently not required for tissue remodelling and cell migration during early embryogenesis. (iii) Type IV collagen and laminin are important components of the basal surface of epithelia and their distribution is consistent with tissue remodelling that occurs during neural crest cell emigration and aggregation into ganglia.


Zygote ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 457-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-tan Zhang ◽  
Guang Wang ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Manli Chuai ◽  
Kenneth Ka Ho Lee ◽  
...  

SummaryFibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling acts as one of modulators that control neural crest cell (NCC) migration, but how this is achieved is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of FGF signalling on NCC migration by blocking this process. Constructs that were capable of inducing Sprouty2 (Spry2) or dominant-negative FGFR1 (Dn-FGFR1) expression were transfected into the cells making up the neural tubes. Our results revealed that blocking FGF signalling at stage HH10 (neurulation stage) could enhance NCC migration at both the cranial and trunk levels in the developing embryos. It was established that FGF-mediated NCC migration was not due to altering the expression of N-cadherin in the neural tube. Instead, we determined that cyclin D1 was overexpressed in the cranial and trunk levels when Sprouty2 was upregulated in the dorsal neural tube. These results imply that the cell cycle was a target of FGF signalling through which it regulates NCC migration at the neurulation stage.


Development ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 809-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.N. Serbedzija ◽  
M. Bronner-Fraser ◽  
S.E. Fraser

To permit a more detailed analysis of neural crest cell migratory pathways in the chick embryo, neural crest cells were labelled with a nondeleterious membrane intercalating vital dye, DiI. All neural tube cells with endfeet in contact with the lumen, including premigratory neural crest cells, were labelled by pressure injecting a solution of DiI into the lumen of the neural tube. When assayed one to three days later, migrating neural crest cells, motor axons, and ventral root cells were the only cells types external to the neural tube labelled with DiI. During the neural crest cell migratory phase, distinctly labelled cells were found along: (1) a dorsolateral pathway, under the epidermis, as well adjacent to and intercalating through the dermamyotome; and (2) a ventral pathway, through the rostral portion of each sclerotome and around the dorsal aorta as described previously. In contrast to those cells migrating through the sclerotome, labelled cells on the dorsolateral pathway were not segmentally arranged along the rostrocaudal axis. DiI-labelled cells were observed in all truncal neural crest derivatives, including subepidermal presumptive pigment cells, dorsal root ganglia, and sympathetic ganglia. By varying the stage at which the injection was performed, neural crest cell emigration at the level of the wing bud was shown to occur from stage 13 through stage 22. In addition, neural crest cells were found to populate their derivatives in a ventral-to-dorsal order, with the latest emigrating cells migrating exclusively along the dorsolateral pathway.


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)


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.


Development ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-282
Author(s):  
J. Sternberg ◽  
S. J. Kimber

The distribution of the extracellular matrix molecules fibronectin, laminin and entactin was studied in frozen sections of 9½-day mouse embryos in order to relate their presence to neural crest cell migration. It was found that all three components were present in basement membranes, laminin and entactin being mainly restricted to these. Fibronectin was present at high levels in basement membranes and extracellular spaces throughout the embryo, including the regions of neural crest cell migration. Fibronectin is known to affect migration in a variety of cell systems, so its presence in the embryo at the time of migration may indicate that it is influencing cell movement. This influence is likely to be via the cell surface through interactions with other matrix components such as glycosaminoglycans, and possibly entactin and laminin.


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 ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 787-798
Author(s):  
G. Morriss-Kay ◽  
F. Tuckett

Studies on cell behaviour in vitro have indicated that the chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (CSPG) family of molecules can participate in the control of cell proliferation, differentiation and adhesion, but its morphogenetic functions had not been investigated in intact embryos. Chondroitin/chondroitin sulphates have been identified in rat embryos at low levels at the start of neurulation (day 9) and at much higher levels on day 10. In this study we have sought evidence for the morphogenetic functions of CSPGs in rat embryos during the period of neurulation and neural crest cell migration by a combination of two approaches: immunocytochemical localization of CSPG by means of an antibody, CS-56, to the chondroitin sulphate component of CSPG, and exposure of embryos to the enzyme chondroitinase ABC. Staining of the CS-56 epitope was poor at the beginning of cranial neurulation; bright staining was at first confined to the primary mesenchyme under the convex neural folds late on day 9. In day 10 embryos, all mesenchyme cells were stained, but at different levels of intensity, so that primary mesenchyme, neural crest and sclerotomal cells could be distinguished from each other. Basement membranes were also stained, particularly bright staining being present where two epithelial were basally apposed, e.g., neural/surface ectoderms, dorsal aorta/neural tube, prior to migration of a population of cells between them. Staining within the neural epithelium was first confined to the dorsolateral edge region, and associated with the onset of neural crest cell emigration; after neural tube closure, neuroepithelial staining was more general. Neural crest cells were stained during migration, but the reaction was absent in areas associated with migration end-points (trigeminal ganglion anlagen, frontonasal mesenchyme). Embryos exposed to chondroitinase ABC in culture showed no abnormalities until early day 10, when cranial neural crest cell emigration from the neural epithelium was inhibited and neural tube closure was retarded. Sclerotomal cells failed to take their normal pathway between the dorsal aorta and neural tube. Correlation of the results of these two methods suggests: (1) that by decreasing adhesiveness within the neural epithelium at specific stages, CSPG facilitates the emigration of neural crest cells and the migratory movement of neuroblasts, and may also provide increased flexibility during the generation of epithelial curvatures; (2) that by decreasing the adhesiveness of fibronectin-containing extracellular matrices, CSPG facilitates the migration of neural crest and sclerotomal cells. This second function is particularly important when migrating cells take pathways between previously apposed tissues.


Development ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (24) ◽  
pp. 5055-5067 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.P. Liu ◽  
T.M. Jessell

The differentiation of neural crest cells from progenitors located in the dorsal neural tube appears to involve three sequential steps: the specification of premigratory neural crest cell fate, the delamination of these cells from the neural epithelium and the migration of neural crest cells in the periphery. BMP signaling has been implicated in the specification of neural crest cell fate but the mechanisms that control the emergence of neural crest cells from the neural tube remain poorly understood. To identify molecules that might function at early steps of neural crest differentiation, we performed a PCR-based screen for genes induced by BMPs in chick neural plate cells. We describe the cloning and characterization of one gene obtained from this screen, rhoB, a member of the rho family GTP-binding proteins. rhoB is expressed in the dorsal neural tube and its expression persists transiently in migrating neural crest cells. BMPs induce the neural expression of rhoB but not the more widely expressed rho family member, rhoA. Inhibition of rho activity by C3 exotoxin prevents the delamination of neural crest cells from neural tube explants but has little effect on the initial specification of premigratory neural crest cell fate or on the later migration of neural crest cells. These results suggest that rhoB has a role in the delamination of neural crest cells from the dorsal neural tube.


Development ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Martins-Green ◽  
C.A. Erickson

One of the factors proposed to control initiation of migration of neural crest (NC) cells is disruption of the basal lamina (BL) that is presumed to exist over the dorsal portion of the neural tube. Previously, we discovered that, in the mouse embryo, a continuous BL is not deposited over the dorsal portion of the neural tube until emigration of the NC cells is terminated. Here, we show that the pattern of BL deposition in chick embryos is similar, but not identical, to that in the mouse. In particular, (i) patches of BL are deposited on the premigratory NC cells in the chick but not in the mouse and (ii) BL is thicker and more interstitial matrix is deposited at the same stage of development in the chick. In addition, immunofluorescent and immunogold labelling of collagen IV, laminin and fibronectin show that (i) patches of young BL contain all three molecules; (ii) collagen IV and laminin are present in BL throughout neurulation but fibronectin either disappears or becomes masked in more mature BL and (iii) collagen IV and especially fibronectin are present in the interstitial matrix, but the relative abundance of fibronectin changes with time. The simultaneous use of immunolabelling for both light and TEM sections has allowed us to determine unambiguously that presence of a basement membrane (light microscopy) does not necessarily imply presence of basal lamina. We conclude that, as in mouse, the BL cannot be involved in the timing of the initiation of migration of NC cells. Our evidence in both the mouse and the chick, together with work in the axolotl, suggests that the basic pattern of BL deposition during neurulation may be a general phenomenon in embryonic development. Moreover, these results, in conjunction with the work of others, suggest that the critical step for initiation of migration of NC cells may be the loss of adhesions between cells.


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