Anatomy and Neuroscience - Research Publications

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    Expression and function of cell adhesion molecules during neural crest migration
    McKeown, SJ ; Wallace, AS ; Anderson, RB (ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE, 2013-01-15)
    Neural crest cells are highly migratory cells that give rise to many derivatives including peripheral ganglia, craniofacial structures and melanocytes. Neural crest cells migrate along defined pathways to their target sites, interacting with each other and their environment as they migrate. Cell adhesion molecules are critical during this process. In this review we discuss the expression and function of cell adhesion molecules during the process of neural crest migration, in particular cadherins, integrins, members of the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell adhesion molecules, and the proteolytic enzymes that cleave these cell adhesion molecules. The expression and function of these cell adhesion molecules and proteases are compared across neural crest emigrating from different axial levels, and across different species of vertebrates.
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    Colonizing while migrating: how do individual enteric neural crest cells behave?
    Young, HM ; Bergner, AJ ; Simpson, MJ ; McKeown, SJ ; Hao, MM ; Anderson, CR ; Enomoto, H (BMC, 2014-03-26)
    BACKGROUND: Directed cell migration is essential for normal development. In most of the migratory cell populations that have been analyzed in detail to date, all of the cells migrate as a collective from one location to another. However, there are also migratory cell populations that must populate the areas through which they migrate, and thus some cells get left behind while others advance. Very little is known about how individual cells behave to achieve concomitant directional migration and population of the migratory route. We examined the behavior of enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCCs), which must both advance caudally to reach the anal end and populate each gut region. RESULTS: The behavior of individual ENCCs was examined using live imaging and mice in which ENCCs express a photoconvertible protein. We show that individual ENCCs exhibit very variable directionalities and speed; as the migratory wavefront of ENCCs advances caudally, each gut region is populated primarily by some ENCCs migrating non-directionally. After populating each region, ENCCs remain migratory for at least 24 hours. Endothelin receptor type B (EDNRB) signaling is known to be essential for the normal advance of the ENCC population. We now show that perturbation of EDNRB principally affects individual ENCC speed rather than directionality. The trajectories of solitary ENCCs, which occur transiently at the wavefront, were consistent with an unbiased random walk and so cell-cell contact is essential for directional migration. ENCCs migrate in close association with neurites. We showed that although ENCCs often use neurites as substrates, ENCCs lead the way, neurites are not required for chain formation and neurite growth is more directional than the migration of ENCCs as a whole. CONCLUSIONS: Each gut region is initially populated by sub-populations of ENCCs migrating non-directionally, rather than stopping. This might provide a mechanism for ensuring a uniform density of ENCCs along the growing gut.