title: Angiopoietin 2 signaling plays a critical role in neural crest cell migration.
abstract: Collective neural crest cell migration is critical to the form and function of the vertebrate face and neck, distributing bone, cartilage, and nerve cells into peripheral targets that are intimately linked with head vasculature. The vasculature and neural crest structures are ultimately linked, but when and how these patterns develop in the early embryo are not well understood.
  
  
  
  Using in vivo imaging and sophisticated cell behavior analyses, we show that quail cranial neural crest and endothelial cells share common migratory paths, sort out in a dynamic multistep process, and display multiple types of motion. To better understand the underlying molecular signals, we examined the role of angiopoietin 2 (Ang2), which we found expressed in migrating cranial neural crest cells. Overexpression of Ang2 causes neural crest cells to be more exploratory as displayed by invasion of off-target locations, the widening of migratory streams into prohibitive zones, and differences in cell motility type. The enhanced exploratory phenotype correlates with increased phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase activity in migrating neural crest cells. In contrast, loss of Ang2 function reduces neural crest cell exploration. In both gain and loss of function of Ang2, we found disruptions to the timing and interplay between cranial neural crest and endothelial cells.
  
  
  
  Together, these data demonstrate a role for Ang2 in maintaining collective cranial neural crest cell migration and suggest interdependence with endothelial cell migration during vertebrate head patterning.
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 E. 50th St., Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA.
authors.forename: Mary Cathleen
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: McKinney
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 E. 50th St., Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McLennan
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 E. 50th St., Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA. pmk@stowers.org.|Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS, 64157, USA. pmk@stowers.org.
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Kulesa
mesh_terms: D042702:Angiopoietin-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011784:Quail; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D042702:Angiopoietin-2; D019476:Insect Proteins
keywords: Angiopoietin 2; Chick; Cranial; Endothelial cells; Migration; Neural crest; Transgenic quail