Kulesa Paul M, Lefcort Frances, Kasemeier-Kulesa Jennifer C
Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA.
Auton Neurosci. 2009 Nov 17;151(1):3-9. doi: 10.1016/j.autneu.2009.08.013. Epub 2009 Sep 23.
The neural crest is an excellent model system to study cell fate and cell guidance signaling. Neural crest cells emerge from a common multipotent subpopulation and follow stereotypical migratory pathways to contribute to many diverse peripheral structures throughout the vertebrate embryo. The neural tube and diverse embryonic microenvironments from which the neural crest originate and migrate through are important sources of signals, yet it is still unclear how a common pool of neural crest stem and progenitor cells diversify and become distributed along specific stereotypical migratory paths. In the post-otic hindbrain and trunk, the neural crest emerge and contribute to the autonomic nervous system, and failure of proper cell navigation and differentiation often leads to congenital disorders that include dysautonomias, Hirschprung's disease, and neuroblastoma cancer. Recent exciting studies of neural crest cell behaviors have revealed the interplay of several molecular signaling pathways that guide and shape autonomic precursor cells to and into proper target structures, suggesting further work may help to better understand autonomic nervous system assembly, derived from a convergence of time-lapse imaging and molecular analyses. In this mini-review, we summarize recent fluorescent cell labeling strategies and cell behavior analyses that elucidate the role of molecular signals on the migration of autonomic precursor cells. We highlight advances in our understanding of the autonomic precursor cell behaviors and fate determination studied within the embryonic microenvironment.
神经嵴是研究细胞命运和细胞导向信号传导的优秀模型系统。神经嵴细胞源自一个共同的多能亚群，并沿着刻板的迁移途径移动，从而对整个脊椎动物胚胎中的许多不同外周结构做出贡献。神经管以及神经嵴起源并迁移通过的各种胚胎微环境是重要的信号来源，但目前仍不清楚神经嵴干细胞和祖细胞的共同群体是如何多样化并沿着特定的刻板迁移路径分布的。在耳后后脑和躯干中，神经嵴出现并对自主神经系统做出贡献，而细胞导航和分化不当往往会导致先天性疾病，包括自主神经功能障碍、先天性巨结肠和神经母细胞瘤。最近对神经嵴细胞行为的令人兴奋的研究揭示了几种分子信号通路之间的相互作用，这些信号通路引导并塑造自主神经前体细胞到达并进入适当的靶结构，这表明进一步的研究可能有助于更好地理解自主神经系统的组装，这源于延时成像和分子分析的结合。在这篇小型综述中，我们总结了最近的荧光细胞标记策略和细胞行为分析，这些分析阐明了分子信号在自主神经前体细胞迁移中的作用。我们强调了在胚胎微环境中研究自主神经前体细胞行为和命运决定方面取得的进展。
