title: Sympatho-adrenal morphogenesis regulated by the dorsal aorta.
abstract: The autonomic nervous system, composed of sympathetic- and para-sympathetic neurons, plays essential roles in a variety of physiological functions including homeostasis and responses to external stimuli. We here present an overview of recent findings concerning how the sympathetic nervous system is formed during the early development, paying particular attention to the morphogenesis of those tissues derived from migrating neural crest cells. Neural crest cells, originally multipotent, are progressively specified to sympathetic ganglia neurons and adrenomedullary cells during their migration through the body. Importantly, the dorsal aorta, the first-forming blood vessel, acts as a signaling center for their migration and differentiation. BMP signals emanating from the dorsal aorta are essential for establishing environmental cues that directly act on the migrating cells. The mechanisms underlying these early neuro-vascular interactions provide insights into understanding diseases caused by malfunctions and malformations of the autonomic nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (FRIS), Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan; AMED Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (AMED-CREST), Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0004, Japan. Electronic address: yotayota@develop.zool.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000254:growth & development*; D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000254:growth & development*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000254:growth & development*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000254:growth & development*
keywords: Adrenal gland; Cell migration; Dorsal aorta; Neural crest cells; Sympathetic nervous system