trkC-mediated NT-3 signaling is required for the early development of a subpopulation of neurogenic neural crest cells
Abstract
Soon after they segregate from the neural tube, trunk neural crest cells disperse on two spatially and temporally distinct pathways. Only crest cells that migrate early and ventromedially give rise to neurons of the peripheral nervous system. It is also known that neural crest cell-derived populations require appropriate environmental cues early in development in order to generate neurons, and for the subsequent survival of differentiated neurons. We examined whether neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), a survival factor for subsets of peripheral neurons, is also involved in the regulation of neurogenesis by neural crest cells. First, we found that premigratory and migrating neural crest cells on the medial migration pathway of Embryonic Day 2.5 (E 2.5) embryos express mRNAs encoding multiple isoforms of the NT-3 receptor, trkC, as do cells in the neural tube and epithelial dermamyotome. On E4, a subpopulation of neurons in nascent sensory ganglia express trkC message. Second, we demonstrate that trkC mRNA is only expressed in neural crest cell populations that possess neurogenic potential. Third, we show that the presence of NT-3, during the initial development of cultured neural crest cells, is required for neurogenesis by a subpopulation ...Continue Reading
Citations
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Cell Signaling by Tyrosine Kinases
Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are the high-affinity cell surface receptors for many polypeptide growth factors, cytokines, and hormones. RTKs have been shown not only to be key regulators of normal cellular processes but also to have a critical role in the development and progression of many types of cancer. Discover the latest research on cell signaling and RTK here.