The dorsal aorta initiates a molecular cascade that instructs sympatho-adrenal specification.
The autonomic nervous system, which includes the sympathetic neurons and adrenal medulla, originates from the neural crest. Combining avian blood vessel-specific gene manipulation and mouse genetics, we addressed a long-standing question of how neural crest cells (NCCs) generate sympathetic and medullary lineages during embryogenesis. We found that the dorsal aorta acts as a morphogenetic signaling center that coordinates NCC migration and cell lineage segregation. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) produced by the dorsal aorta are critical for the production of the chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF -1) and Neuregulin 1 in the para-aortic region, which act as chemoattractants for early migration. Later, BMP signaling is directly involved in the sympatho-medullary segregation. This study provides insights into the complex developmental signaling cascade that instructs one of the earliest events of neurovascular interactions guiding embryonic development.
Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, Nara, Japan.
Daisuke
D
Saito
Yuta
Y
Takase
Hidetaka
H
Murai
Yoshiko
Y
Takahashi
D000302:Adrenal Cortex / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D000313:Adrenal Medulla / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology; D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D030161:Avian Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002465:Cell Movement; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12 / Q000378:metabolism; D002630:Chemotactic Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D002642:Chick Embryo; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D047108:Embryonic Development; D005728:Ganglia, Sympathetic / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009024:Morphogenesis; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D020890:Neuregulin-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology
D030161:Avian Proteins; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12; D002630:Chemotactic Factors; C490582:NRG1 protein, Gallus gallus; D020890:Neuregulin-1; C490581:Nrg1 protein, mouse