Slits affect the timely migration of neural crest cells via Robo receptor.
BACKGROUND
Neural crest cells emerge by delamination from the dorsal neural tube and give rise to various components of the peripheral nervous system in vertebrate embryos. These cells change from non-motile into highly motile cells migrating to distant areas before further differentiation. Mechanisms controlling delamination and subsequent migration of neural crest cells are not fully understood. Slit2, a chemorepellant for axonal guidance that repels and stimulates motility of trunk neural crest cells away from the gut has recently been suggested to be a tumor suppressor molecule. The goal of this study was to further investigate the role of Slit2 in trunk neural crest cell migration by constitutive expression in neural crest cells.


RESULTS
We found that Slit gain-of-function significantly impaired neural crest cell migration while Slit loss-of-function favored migration. In addition, we observed that the distribution of key cytoskeletal markers was disrupted in both gain and loss of function instances.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that Slit molecules might be involved in the processes that allow neural crest cells to begin migrating and transitioning to a mesenchymal type.
Biology Department, California State University Northridge, Northridge, California, USA.
Dion
D
Giovannone
Michelle
M
Reyes
Rachel
R
Reyes
Lisa
L
Correa
Darwin
D
Martinez
Hannah
H
Ra
Gustavo
G
Gomez
Joshua
J
Kaiser
Le
L
Ma
Mary-Pat
MP
Stein
Maria Elena
ME
de Bellard
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000166:cytology*; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging; D000097905:Roundabout Proteins; D000098552:Slit Homolog 2 Protein
D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D000097905:Roundabout Proteins; D000098552:Slit Homolog 2 Protein