Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
Development. 2010 Dec;137(23):3973-84. doi: 10.1242/dev.056473. Epub 2010 Oct 27.
Cranial dermis develops from cephalic mesoderm and neural crest cells, but what signal(s) specifies the dermal lineage is unclear. Using genetic tools to fate map and manipulate a cranial mesenchymal progenitor population in the supraorbital region, we show that the dermal progenitor cells beneath the surface ectoderm process canonical Wnt signaling at the time of specification. We show that Wnt signaling/β-catenin is absolutely required and sufficient for Dermo1 expression and dermal cell identity in the cranium. The absence of the Wnt signaling cue leads to formation of cartilage in craniofacial and ventral trunk regions at the expense of dermal and bone lineages. Dermo1 can be a direct transcription target and may mediate the functional role of Wnt signaling in dermal precursors. This study reveals a lineage-specific role of canonical Wnt signaling/β-catenin in promoting dermal cell fate in distinct precursor populations.
颅骨真皮由头侧中胚层和神经嵴细胞发育而来，但什么信号指定真皮谱系尚不清楚。使用遗传工具对眶上区的颅间质祖细胞群体进行命运映射和操作，我们表明，在特化时，表皮下的真皮祖细胞会处理经典的 Wnt 信号。我们表明，Wnt 信号/β-连环蛋白对于颅骨中 Dermo1 的表达和真皮细胞特性是绝对必需和充分的。缺乏 Wnt 信号提示会导致颅面和腹侧躯干区域形成软骨，而牺牲真皮和骨骼谱系。Dermo1 可以是直接转录靶标，并且可能介导 Wnt 信号在真皮前体中的功能作用。这项研究揭示了经典 Wnt 信号/β-连环蛋白在促进不同前体群体中真皮细胞命运中的谱系特异性作用。
