Project description:Neural crest defects lead to congenital heart disease involving outflow tract (OFT) malformation. Integrin-linked-Kinase (ILK) plays important roles in multiple cellular processes and embryogenesis. ILK is expressed in neural crest cells (NCC), but its role in NCC and OFT morphogenesis remains unknown. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression underlying the morphogenesis of the cardiac neural crest and outflow tract. The outflow tract of control and ILK mutant mouse embryos at E10.5 were dissected and dissociated. Neural crest cells were FACS sorted and used for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays.
Project description:Neural crest defects lead to congenital heart disease involving outflow tract (OFT) malformation. Integrin-linked-Kinase (ILK) plays important roles in multiple cellular processes and embryogenesis. ILK is expressed in neural crest cells (NCC), but its role in NCC and OFT morphogenesis remains unknown. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression underlying the morphogenesis of the cardiac neural crest and outflow tract.
Project description:The degree to which populations of cardiac progenitors (CPCs) persist in the postnatal heart remains a controversial issue in cardiobiology. To address this question, we conducted a spatiotemporally resolved analysis of CPC deployment dynamics, tracking cells expressing the pan-CPC gene Isl1 Most CPCs undergo programmed silencing during early cardiogenesis through proteasome-mediated and PRC2 (Polycomb group repressive complex 2)-mediated Isl1 repression, selectively in the outflow tract. A notable exception is a domain of cardiac neural crest cells (CNCs) in the inflow tract. These "dorsal CNCs" are regulated through a Wnt/β-catenin/Isl1 feedback loop and generate a limited number of trabecular cardiomyocytes that undergo multiple clonal divisions during compaction, to eventually produce ~10% of the biventricular myocardium. After birth, CNCs continue to generate cardiomyocytes that, however, exhibit diminished clonal amplification dynamics. Thus, although the postnatal heart sustains cardiomyocyte-producing CNCs, their regenerative potential is likely diminished by the loss of trabeculation-like proliferative properties.
Project description:The autonomic nervous system is derived from the neural crest and supplies motor innervation to the smooth muscle of visceral organs, including the lower urinary tract (bladder and urethra, LUT). In rodents, autonomic innervation of the LUT is supplied by the major pelvic ganglia (PG) that lie near the neck of the bladder and proximal urethra. Compared to other autonomic ganglia, the PG are unique in that they harbor both sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons. The coordinated activity of PG neurons is critical for normal functioning of the LUT – however, surprisingly little is known about how PG neuronal diversity is established or what molecular factors control PG development. In this study we conducted transcriptome profiling of Sox10-H2BVenus+ sacral neural crest (NC) progenitors to discover candidate genes involved in PG neurogenesis.
Project description:We utilized quantitative analyses of the proteome, transcriptome, and ubiquitinome to study how ubiquitination and NEDD4 control neural crest cell survival and stem-cell-like properties. We report 276 novel NEDD4 targets in neural crest cells and show that loss of NEDD4 leads to a striking global reduction in specific ubiquitin lysine linkages.
Project description:Neural cest cells are a transient stem cell-like population appearing during vertebrate embryonic development. Generation of the cranial neural crest is known to require a balanced combination of FGF and BMP levels. However, it is poorly understood how the functions of such growth factors are controlled in the extracellular spaces. Here we identifiy the extracelluar matrix protein anosmin (Gga.14976.1.S1_at, clone ChEST132d10) as a novel molecule synthesized locally in the cranial neural crest of chicken embryos. Cranial neural folds (NF) and ventral neural plates (NP) were dissected from Hamburger & Hamilton stage 8 (HH8) embryos (80 to 14 embryos, n=4), and total RNA was analyzed using a GeneChip chicken genome arrays (Affymetrix)
Project description:Cells were isolated from mouse embryonic neural crest stem cells at culture day 2 (NCSC), from day 7 in vitro differentiated progeny (NCP) and day 2 epidermal neural crest stem cells from bulge explants of adult whisker follicles (EPI-NCSC). Keywords: LongSAGE embryonic neural crest stem cells at culture day 2 (NCSC), from day 7 in vitro differentiated progeny (NCP) and day 2 epidermal neural crest stem cells from bulge explants of adult whisker follicles (EPI-NCSC).
Project description:The lysine methyltransferase NSD3 is required for the expression of key neural crest transcription factors and the migration of neural crest cells. Nevertheless, a complete view of the genes dependent upon NSD3 for expression and the developmental processes impacted by NSD3 in the neural crest was lacking. We used RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to profile transcripts differentially expressed after NSD3 knockdown in chick premigratory neural crest cells, identifying 674 genes. Gene Ontology and gene set enrichment analyses further support a requirement for NSD3 during neural crest development and show that NSD3 knockdown also upregulates ribosome biogenesis. To validate our results, we selected three genes not previously associated with neural crest development, Astrotactin-1 (Astn1), Dispatched-3 (Disp3), and Tropomyosin-1 (Tpm1). Using whole mount in situ hybridization, we show that premigratory neural crest cells express these genes and that NSD3 knockdown downregulates (Astn1 and Disp3) and upregulates (Tpm1) their expression, consistent with RNA-seq results. Altogether, this study identifies novel putative regulators of neural crest development and provides insight into the transcriptional consequences of NSD3 in the neural crest, with implications for cancer.
Project description:Neural crest development is orchestrated by a complex and still poorly understood gene regulatory network. Premigratory neural crest is induced at the lateral border of the neural plate by the combined action of signaling molecules and transcription factors such as AP2, Gbx2, Pax3 and Zic1. Among them, Pax3 and Zic1 are both necessary and sufficient to trigger a complete neural crest developmental program. However, their gene targets in the neural crest regulatory network remain unknown. Here, through a transcriptome analysis of frog microdissected neural border, we identified an extended gene signature for the premigratory neural crest, and we defined novel potential members of the regulatory network. This signature includes 34 novel genes, as well as 44 known genes expressed at the neural border. Using another microarray analysis which combined Pax3 and Zic1 gain-of-function and protein translation blockade, we uncovered 25 Pax3 and Zic1 direct targets within this signature. We demonstrated that the neural border specifiers Pax3 and Zic1 are direct upstream regulators of neural crest specifiers Snail1/2, Foxd3, Twist1, and Tfap2b. In addition, they may modulate the transcriptional output of multiple signaling pathways involved in neural crest development (Wnt, Retinoic Acid) through the induction of key pathway regulators (Axin2 and Cyp26c1). We also found that Pax3 could maintain its own expression through a positive autoregulatory feedback loop. These hierarchical inductions, feedback loops, and pathway modulation provide novel tools to understand the neural crest induction network. The transcriptomes of neural border samples (stage 14 and 18) were compared to the transcriptome of anterior neural fold (stage 18), early neural plate (stage 12), and animal cap explants (stage14) to identify genes expressed specifically in neural border samples. Tissue samples from Xenopus laevis embryos were dissected, then total RNA was extracted and hybridized on Affymetrix microarrays. Selected tissue samples encompass the neural crest at different stages of its induction (early neural plate at stage 12, neural border at stage 14, neural border at stage 18), as well as reference tissues (anterior neural fold at stage 18, a tissue that belongs to the neural border but does not produce neural crest, and animal cap grown until stage 14 that differentiates into epidermis).
Project description:Neural cest cells are a transient stem cell-like population appearing during vertebrate embryonic development. Generation of the cranial neural crest is known to require a balanced combination of FGF and BMP levels. However, it is poorly understood how the functions of such growth factors are controlled in the extracellular spaces. Anosmin is an extracellular matrix protein implicated in FGF signaling and mutated in Kallmann syndrome. Here, we demonstrate that anosmin (Gga.14976.1.S1_at, clone ChEST132d10) is synthesized locally in the cranial neural crest of chicken embryos and is essential for cranial neural crest formation. Anosmin upregulates FGF8 and BMP5 gene expression; it also enhances FGF8 activity while inhibiting BMP5 and WNT3a signaling. Taken together, our data establish that the matrix protein anosmin is required for cranial neural crest formation, with funtional modulation of FGF, BMP, and WNT.