title: Wnt11 is required for oriented migration of dermogenic progenitor cells from the dorsomedial lip of the avian dermomyotome.
abstract: The embryonic origin of the dermis in vertebrates can be traced back to the dermomyotome of the somites, the lateral plate mesoderm and the neural crest. The dermal precursors directly overlying the neural tube display a unique dense arrangement and are the first to induce skin appendage formation in vertebrate embryos. These dermal precursor cells have been shown to derive from the dorsomedial lip of the dermomyotome (DML). Based on its expression pattern in the DML, Wnt11 is a candidate regulator of dorsal dermis formation. Using EGFP-based cell labelling and time-lapse imaging, we show that the Wnt11 expressing DML is the source of the dense dorsal dermis. Loss-of-function studies in chicken embryos show that Wnt11 is indeed essential for the formation of dense dermis competent to support cutaneous appendage formation. Our findings show that dermogenic progenitors cannot leave the DML to form dense dorsal dermis following Wnt11 silencing. No alterations were noticeable in the patterning or in the epithelial state of the dermomyotome including the DML. Furthermore, we show that Wnt11 expression is regulated in a manner similar to the previously described early dermal marker cDermo-1. The analysis of Wnt11 mutant mice exhibits an underdeveloped dorsal dermis and strongly supports our gene silencing data in chicken embryos. We conclude that Wnt11 is required for dense dermis and subsequent cutaneous appendage formation, by influencing the cell fate decision of the cells in the DML.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Department of Molecular Embryology, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany; Faculty of Biology, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Morosan-Puopolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Department of Molecular Embryology, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany; Faculty of Biology, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ajeesh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balakrishnan-Renuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yusuf
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Jingchen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Embryology, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Fangping
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zoidl
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Biology, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Timo H-W
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Lüdtke
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Biology, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kispert
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Theiss
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Faculty of Biology, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdelsabour-Khalaf
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Department of Molecular Embryology, Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brand-Saberi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D002465:Cell Movement; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism*; D020405:Dermis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000166:cytology; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D034622:RNA Interference; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D051153:Wnt Proteins