2. Academic Validation
  3. Gli2 is required for the induction and migration of Xenopus laevis neural crest

Gli2 is required for the induction and migration of Xenopus laevis neural crest

  • Mech Dev. 2018 Dec;154:219-239. doi: 10.1016/j.mod.2018.07.010.
Santiago Cerrizuela 1,  Guillermo A Vega-López 2,  María Belén Palacio 3,  Celeste Tríbulo 4,  Manuel J Aybar 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO, CONICET-UNT), San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. Electronic address: scerrizuela@fbqf.unt.edu.ar.
  • 2 Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO, CONICET-UNT), San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina; Instituto de Biología "Dr. Francisco D. Barbieri", Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. Electronic address: gvegalopez@fbqf.unt.edu.ar.
  • 3 Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO, CONICET-UNT), San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina.
  • 4 Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO, CONICET-UNT), San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina; Instituto de Biología "Dr. Francisco D. Barbieri", Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. Electronic address: celtrib@fbqf.unt.edu.ar.
  • 5 Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO, CONICET-UNT), San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina; Instituto de Biología "Dr. Francisco D. Barbieri", Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. Electronic address: mjaybar@fbqf.unt.edu.ar.
PMID: 30086335 DOI: 10.1016/j.mod.2018.07.010
Abstract

The neural crest (NC) is a multipotent migratory embryonic population that is formed during late gastrulation and gives rise to a wide array of derivatives, including cells from the peripheral nervous system (PNS), the craniofacial bones and cartilages, peripheral glial cells, and melanocyte cells, among Others. In this work we analyzed the role of the Hedgehog signaling pathway effector gli2 in Xenopus NC. We provide evidence that the gli2 gene is expressed in the prospective, premigratory and migratory NC. The use of a specific morpholino against gli2 and the pharmacological specific inhibitor GANT61 in different experimental approaches allowed us to determine that gli2 is required for the induction and specification of NC cells as a transcriptional activator. Moreover, gli2 also acts by reducing Apoptosis in the NC without affecting its cell proliferation status. We also demonstrated that gli2 is required cell-autonomously for NC migration, and for the formation of NC derivatives such as the craniofacial cartilages, melanocytes and the cranial ganglia. Altogether, our results showed that gli2 is a key transcriptional activator to accomplish the proper specification and development of Xenopus NC cells.

Keywords

Cell signaling; Cell specification, cell migration; GANT61; Hh; Neural crest.

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