In vertebrates, the neural plate border (NPB) is established by a group of transcription factors including Dlx3, Msx1 and Zic1. The crosstalk between these NPB specifiers governs the separation of the NPB region into placode and neural crest (NC) territories and also their further differentiation. Understanding the mechanisms of NPB formation and NC development is critical for our knowledge of ...

Origin and migration of neural crest derived cells in the gut The neurones and glial cells of the enteric nervous system (ENS) are derived from the neural crest (fig 1). While they are migrating, neural crest cells are morphologically indistinguishable from mesenchymal cells through which they migrate, and thus a variety of experimental approaches have been used to examine colonisation of the g...

The transcription factor Sox10 is required for proper development of various neural crest-derived cell types. Several lineages including melanocytes, autonomic and enteric neurons, and all subtypes of peripheral glia are missing in mice homozygous for Sox10 mutations. Moreover, haploinsufficiency of Sox10 results in neural crest defects that cause Waardenburg/Hirschsprung disease in humans. We ...

The vertebrate neural crest is a pluripotent cell population that generates a large variety of cell types, including peripheral neurons, cartilage and pigment cells. Mechanisms that control the patterning of the neural crest toward specific cell fates remain only partially understood. Zebrafish homozygous for the sympathetic mutation 1 (sym1) have defects in a subset of neural crest derivatives...

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 fo...

The neural crest is a multipotent stem cell population that arises from the dorsal aspect of the neural tube and generates both non-ectomesenchymal (melanocytes, peripheral neurons and glia) and ectomesenchymal (skeletogenic, odontogenic, cartilaginous and connective tissue) derivatives. In amniotes, only cranial neural crest generates both classes, with trunk neural crest restricted to non-ect...

Neural crest is induced at the junction of epidermal ectoderm and neural plate by the mutual interaction of these tissues. In previous studies, BMP4 has been shown to pattern the ectodermal tissues, and BMP4 can induce neural crest cells from the neural plate. In this study, we show that epidermally expressed Delta1, which encodes a Notch ligand, is required for the activation and/or maintenanc...

Neural crest cells, which generate peripheral nervous system and facial skeleton, arise at the neural plate/ectodermal border via an inductive interaction between these tissues. Wnts and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play roles in neural crest induction in amphibians and zebrafish. Here, we show that, in avians, Wnt6 is localized in ectoderm and in vivo inhibition of Wnt signaling perturbs...

Myc interacting zinc finger protein-1 (Miz1) is a transcription factor known to regulate cell cycle- and cell adhesion-related genes in cancer. Here we show that Miz1 also plays a critical role in neural crest development. In the chick, Miz1 is expressed throughout the neural plate and closing neural tube. Its morpholino-mediated knockdown affects neural crest precursor survival, leading to red...