Taneyhill Lisa A
University of Maryland, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
Cell Adh Migr. 2008 Oct-Dec;2(4):223-30. doi: 10.4161/cam.2.4.6835. Epub 2008 Oct 21.
The modulation of cell adhesion is fundamental to the morphogenesis that accompanies proper embryonic development. Cadherins are a large family of calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules whose spatial and temporal expression is critical to the formation of the neural crest, a unique, multipotent cell type that contributes to the patterning of the vertebrate body plan. Neural crest cells arise from the embryonic ectoderm through inductive interactions and reside in the dorsal aspect of the neural tube. These cells under go an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and migrate to precise destinations in the embryo, where they go on to differentiate into such diverse structures as melanocytes, elements of the peripheral nervous system and the craniofacial skeleton. Distinct cadherins are expressed during the induction, migration and differentiation of the neural crest. With the advent of genomic sequencing, assembly and annotation for various model organisms, it has become possible to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying cadherin expression, and how these cadherins function, during neural crest development. This review explores the known roles of cadherins and details, where relevant, how different cadherins are regulated during the formation of the neural crest.
细胞黏附的调节对于伴随正常胚胎发育的形态发生至关重要。钙黏蛋白是一大类依赖钙的细胞黏附分子，其时空表达对于神经嵴的形成至关重要，神经嵴是一种独特的多能细胞类型，对脊椎动物身体结构的形成有贡献。神经嵴细胞通过诱导相互作用从胚胎外胚层产生，并位于神经管的背侧。这些细胞经历上皮-间充质转化，迁移到胚胎中的精确目的地，在那里它们继续分化为多种结构，如黑素细胞、周围神经系统的组成部分和颅面骨骼。在神经嵴的诱导、迁移和分化过程中表达不同的钙黏蛋白。随着各种模式生物基因组测序、组装和注释的出现，阐明神经嵴发育过程中钙黏蛋白表达的分子机制以及这些钙黏蛋白如何发挥作用成为可能。本综述探讨了钙黏蛋白的已知作用，并在相关情况下详细介绍了神经嵴形成过程中不同钙黏蛋白是如何被调节的。
