title: Cadherin-mediated differential cell adhesion controls slow muscle cell migration in the developing zebrafish myotome.
abstract: Slow-twitch muscle fibers of the zebrafish myotome undergo a unique set of morphogenetic cell movements. During embryogenesis, slow-twitch muscle derives from the adaxial cells, a layer of paraxial mesoderm that differentiates medially within the myotome, immediately adjacent to the notochord. Subsequently, slow-twitch muscle cells migrate through the entire myotome, coming to lie at its most lateral surface. Here we examine the cellular and molecular basis for slow-twitch muscle cell migration. We show that slow-twitch muscle cell morphogenesis is marked by behaviors typical of cells influenced by differential cell adhesion. Dynamic and reciprocal waves of N-cadherin and M-cadherin expression within the myotome, which correlate precisely with cell migration, generate differential adhesive environments that drive slow-twitch muscle cell migration through the myotome. Removing or altering the expression of either protein within the myotome perturbs migration. These results provide a definitive example of homophilic cell adhesion shaping cellular behavior during vertebrate development.
authors.affiliation: Comparative and Developmental Genetics Section, MRC Human Genetics Unit, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cortés
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Daggett
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Bryson-Richardson
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Neyt
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maule
authors.forename: Phillipe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gautier
authors.forename: Georgina E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Hollway
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Keenan
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Currie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018657:Muscle Fibers, Slow-Twitch / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; C070896:M-cadherin