Le Douarin N M, Catala M, Batini C
Institut d'Embryologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire du CNRS, Nogent-sur-Marne, France.
Int Rev Cytol. 1997;175:241-309. doi: 10.1016/s0074-7696(08)62128-2.
Construction of neural chimeras between quail and chick embryos has been employed since 1969 when the unique nucleolar structure of the quail nucleus and its use to devise a cell marking technique by associating quail and chick cells in ovo were described in the "Bulletin Biologique de la France et de la Belgique." This method was first applied to the ontogeny of the neural crest, a structure whose development involves extensive cell migration, and, since 1984, to that of the central nervous system (CNS). This chapter highlights some of the most significant findings provided by this approach concerning the CNS, such as (i) demonstration of the common origin of the floor plate and notochord from a group of cells localized in the "organizer", i.e., Hensen's node, and the way in which these two structures become positioned respectively within and under the neural tube during gastrulation and neurulation in Amniotes; (ii) the neural crest origin of the skull vault and the facial and hypobranchial skeleton. This means that the mesodermal contribution to the skull is limited to the occipital and otic regions and extends only to the rostral limit of the notochord. A correlation can be drawn between the development of the telencephalon and the mesectodermally derived skull in the vertebrate phylum; (iii) demonstration that the midbrain-hindbrain junction, at the stage of the encephalic vesicles, acts as an organizing center for tectal and cerebellar structures. This function was correlated with the activity of several developmental genes, thus providing insight into their function during neurogenesis; (iv) the pattern of morphogenetic movements and cell migration taking place in defined brain-to-be areas, as well as the origin of various cell types of nervous tissues; and (v) a new avenue for studying brain localization of either behavioral traits or genetically encoded brain disorders.
自1969年起，人们就开始构建鹌鹑和鸡胚胎之间的神经嵌合体。当年，《法国与比利时生物学通报》描述了鹌鹑细胞核独特的核仁结构，并介绍了通过在卵内将鹌鹑和鸡的细胞结合来设计一种细胞标记技术的方法。这种方法最初应用于神经嵴的个体发育研究，神经嵴的发育涉及广泛的细胞迁移，自1984年起，该方法也被应用于中枢神经系统（CNS）的研究。本章重点介绍了这种方法在中枢神经系统研究方面取得的一些最重要的发现，例如：（i）证明底板和脊索起源于位于“组织者”即亨氏结中的一组细胞，以及在羊膜动物原肠胚形成和神经胚形成过程中，这两种结构如何分别定位在神经管内和神经管下方；（ii）颅顶以及面部和鳃下骨骼起源于神经嵴。这意味着中胚层对颅骨的贡献仅限于枕部和耳部区域，并且仅延伸到脊索的头端界限。在脊椎动物门中，可以得出端脑发育与中胚层衍生的颅骨之间的相关性；（iii）证明在脑泡阶段，中脑 - 后脑交界处作为顶盖和小脑结构的组织中心。这种功能与几个发育基因的活性相关，从而为它们在神经发生过程中的功能提供了见解；（iv）在特定的未来脑区发生的形态发生运动和细胞迁移模式，以及神经组织中各种细胞类型的起源；（v）研究行为特征或基因编码的脑部疾病脑定位的新途径。
