Mechanisms driving neural crest induction and migration in the zebrafish and Xenopus laevis.
The neural crest is an evolutionary adaptation, with roots in the formation of mesoderm. Modification of neural crest behavior has been is critical for the evolutionary diversification of the vertebrates and defects in neural crest underlie a range of human birth defects. There has been a tremendous increase in our knowledge of the molecular, cellular, and inductive interactions that converge on defining the neural crest and determining its behavior. While there is a temptation to look for simple models to explain neural crest behavior, the reality is that the system is complex in its circuitry. In this review, our goal is to identify the broad features of neural crest origins (developmentally) and migration (cellularly) using data from the zebrafish (teleost) and Xenopus laevis (tetrapod amphibian) in order to illuminate where general mechanisms appear to be in play, and equally importantly, where disparities in experimental results suggest areas of profitable study.
University of Colorado Denver, School of Dental Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA.
Michael W
MW
Klymkowsky
Christy Cortez
CC
Rossi
Kristin Bruk
KB
Artinger
D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000378:metabolism; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics
D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D051153:Wnt Proteins