Evolutionary Origins of the Neural Crest and Neural Crest Cells

I evaluate the lines of evidence—cell types, genes, gene pathways, fossils—in putative chordate ancestors—cephalochordates and ascidians—pertaining to the evolutionary origin of the vertebrate neural crest. Given the intimate relationship between the neural crest and the dorsal nervous system during development, I discuss the dorsal nervous system in living (extant) members of the two groups, especially the nature, and genes, and gene regulatory networks of the brain to determine whether any cellular and/or molecular precursors (latent homologues) of the neural may have been present in ancestral cephalochordates or urochordates. I then examine those fossils that have been interpreted as basal chordates or cephalochordates to determine whether they shed any light on the origins of neural crest cell (NCC) derivatives. Do they have, for example, elements of a head skeleton or pharyngeal arches, two fundamental vertebrate characters (synapomorphies)? The third topic recognizes that the origin of the neural crest in the first vertebrates accompanied the evolution of a brain, a muscular pharynx, and paired sensory organs. In a paradigm-breaking hypothesis—often known as the ‘new head hypothesis’—Carl Gans and Glen Northcutt linked these evolutionary innovations to the evolution of the neural crest and ectodermal placodes (Gans and Northcutt Science 220:268-274, 1983. doi:10.1126/science.220.4594.268; Northcutt and Gans The Quarterly Review of Biology 58:1–28, 1983. doi:10.1086/413055). I outline the rationale behind the new head hypothesis before turning to an examination of the pivotal role played by NCCs in the evolution of pharyngeal arches, in the context of the craniofacial skeleton. Integrations between the evolving vertebrate brain, muscular pharynx and paired sensory organs may have necessitated that the pharyngeal arch skeletal system—and subsequently, the skeleton of the jaws and much of the skull (the first vertebrates being jawless)—evolved from NCCs whose developmental connections were to neural ectoderm and neurons rather than to mesoderm and connective tissue; mesoderm produces much of the vertebrate skeleton, including virtually all the skeleton outside the head. The origination of the pharyngeal arch skeleton raises the issue of the group of organisms in which and how cartilage arose as a skeletal tissue. Did cartilage arise in the basal proto-vertebrate from a single germ layer, cell layer or tissue, or were cells and/or genes co-opted from several layers or tissues? Two recent studies utilizing comparative genomics, bioinformatics, molecular fingerprinting, genetic labeling/cell selection, and GeneChip Microarray technologies are introduced as powerful ways to approach the questions that are central to this review.     

Differentiation of Extracutaneous Melanocytes in Embryos of the Turtle,Trionyx sinensis japonicus

The present study investigates the mode of differentiation of neural crest-derived melanocytes in the embryos of the soft-shell turtle, Trionyx sinensis japonicus. DOPA reaction-positive melanoblasts were first detected in 10-day-old embryos. Melanocyte differentiation in terms of pigmentation takes place from the day 16 of development. Melanin pigments were found in the dorsal integument as well as in various extracutaneous tissues such as skeletal muscle, dorsal aorta, peritoneum, blood vessels, choroid, lung, bone marrow, fat tissues and in the connective tissue of the nose. These results suggest the presence of a specific environmental regulation of the melanoblast differentiation in the soft-shell turtle.     

Fibronectin Combined with Stem Cell Factor Plays an Important Role in Melanocyte Proliferation,Differentiation and Migration in Cultured Mouse Neural Crest Cells

Stem cell factor (SCF) is essential to the migration and differentiation of melanocytes during embryogenesis because mutations in either the SCF gene, or its ligand, KIT, result in defects in coat pigmentation in mice. Using a neural crest cell (NCC) primary culture system from wild‐type mice, we previously demonstrated that KIT‐positive and/or L ‐3, 4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA)‐positive melanocyte precursors proliferate following the addition of SCF to the culture medium. Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are considered to play a role in the migration and differentiation of various cells including melanocytes. We cultured mouse NCCs in the presence of SCF in individual wells coated with ECM; fibronectin (FN), collagen I (CLI), chondroitin sulphate, or dermatan sulphate. More KIT‐positive cells and DOPA‐positive cells were detected in the presence of SCF on ECM‐coated wells than on non‐coated wells. A statistically significant increase in DOPA‐positive cells was evident in FN and CLI wells. In contrast, in the absence of SCF, few DOPA‐positive cells and KIT‐positive cells were detected on either the ECM‐coated or non‐coated wells. We concluded that ECM affect melanocyte proliferation and development in the presence of SCF. To determine the key site of FN function, RGDS peptides in the FN sequence, which supports spreading of NCCs, were added to the NCC culture. The number of DOPA‐positive cells decreased with RGDS concentration in a dose‐dependent fashion. Immunohistochemical staining revealed the presence of integrin a5, a receptor of RGDS, in NCCs. These results suggest the RGDS domain of FN plays a contributory role as an active site in the induction of FN function in NCCs. In addition, we examined the effect of FN with SCF on the NCC migration by measuring cluster size, and found an increase in size following treatment with FN.     

Effects of Ultraviolet Light on Melanocyte Differentiation: Studies with Mouse Neural Crest Cells and Neural Crest‐derived Cell Lines

To evaluate the etiologic role of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in acquired dermal melanocytosis (ADM), we investigated the effects of UVA and UVB irradiation on the development and differentiation of melanocytes in primary cultures of mouse neural crest cells (NCC) by counting the numbers of cells positive for KIT (the receptor for stem cell factor) and for the L ‐3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) oxidase reaction. No significant differences were found in the number of KIT‐ or DOPA‐positive cells between the UV‐irradiated cultures and the non‐irradiated cultures. We then examined the effects of UV light on KIT‐positive cell lines derived from mouse NCC cultures. Irradiation with UVA but not with UVB inhibited the tyrosinase activity in a tyrosinase‐positive cell line (NCCmelan5). Tyrosinase activity in the cells was markedly enhanced by treatment with α‐melanocyte‐stimulating hormone (α‐MSH), but that stimulation was inhibited by UVA or by UVB irradiation. Irradiation with UVA or UVB did not induce tyrosinase activity in a tyrosinase‐negative cell line (NCCmelb4). Levels of KIT expression in NCCmelan5 cells and in NCCmelb4 cells were significantly decreased after UV irradiation. Phosphorylation levels of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 in cells stimulated with stem cell factor were also diminished after UV irradiation. These results suggest that UV irradiation does not stimulate but rather suppresses mouse NCC. Thus if UV irradiation is a causative factor for ADM lesions, it would not act directly on dermal melanocytes but may act in indirect manners, for instance, via the overproduction of melanogenic cytokines such as α‐MSH and/or endothelin‐1.     

Analysis of Neural Crest Migration and Differentiation by Cross-species Transplantation

Avian embryos provide a unique platform for studying many vertebrate developmental processes, due to the easy access of the embryos within the egg. Chimeric avian embryos, in which quail donor tissue is transplanted into a chick embryo in ovo, combine the power of indelible genetic labeling of cell populations with the ease of manipulation presented by the avian embryo.Quail-chick chimeras are a classical tool for tracing migratory neural crest cells (NCCs)^1-3. NCCs are a transient migratory population of cells in the embryo, which originate in the dorsal region of the developing neural tube⁴. They undergo an epithelial to mesenchymal transition and subsequently migrate to other regions of the embryo, where they differentiate into various cell types including cartilage^5-13, melanocytes^11,14-20, neurons and glia^21-32. NCCs are multipotent, and their ultimate fate is influenced by 1) the region of the neural tube in which they originate along the rostro-caudal axis of the embryo^11,33-37, 2) signals from neighboring cells as they migrate^38-44, and 3) the microenvironment of their ultimate destination within the embryo^45,46. Tracing these cells from their point of origin at the neural tube, to their final position and fate within the embryo, provides important insight into the developmental processes that regulate patterning and organogenesis.Transplantation of complementary regions of donor neural tube (homotopic grafting) or different regions of donor neural tube (heterotopic grafting) can reveal differences in pre-specification of NCCs along the rostro-caudal axis^2,47. This technique can be further adapted to transplant a unilateral compartment of the neural tube, such that one side is derived from donor tissue, and the contralateral side remains unperturbed in the host embryo, yielding an internal control within the same sample^2,47. It can also be adapted for transplantation of brain segments in later embryos, after HH10, when the anterior neural tube has closed⁴⁷.Here we report techniques for generating quail-chick chimeras via neural tube transplantation, which allow for tracing of migratory NCCs derived from a discrete segment of the neural tube. Species-specific labeling of the donor-derived cells with the quail-specific QCPN antibody^48-56 allows the researcher to distinguish donor and host cells at the experimental end point. This technique is straightforward, inexpensive, and has many applications, including fate-mapping, cell lineage tracing, and identifying pre-patterning events along the rostro-caudal axis⁴⁵. Because of the ease of access to the avian embryo, the quail-chick graft technique may be combined with other manipulations, including but not limited to lens ablation⁴⁰, injection of inhibitory molecules^57,58, or genetic manipulation via electroporation of expression plasmids^59-61, to identify the response of particular migratory streams of NCCs to perturbations in the embryo''s developmental program. Furthermore, this grafting technique may also be used to generate other interspecific chimeric embryos such as quail-duck chimeras to study NCC contribution to craniofacial morphogenesis, or mouse-chick chimeras to combine the power of mouse genetics with the ease of manipulation of the avian embryo.⁶²     

Nox4-Mediated Cell Signaling Regulates Differentiation and Survival of Neural Crest Stem Cells

The function of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as second messengers in cell differentiation has been demonstrated only for a limited number of cell types. Here, we used a well-established protocol for BMP2-induced neuronal differentiation of neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) to examine the function of BMP2-induced ROS during the process. We first show that BMP2 indeed induces ROS generation in NCSCs and that blocking ROS generation by pretreatment of cells with diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) as NADPH oxidase (Nox) inhibitor inhibits neuronal differentiation. Among the ROS-generating Nox isozymes, only Nox4 was expressed at a detectable level in NCSCs. Nox4 appears to be critical for survival of NCSCs at least in vitro as down-regulation by RNA interference led to apoptotic response from NCSCs. Interestingly, development of neural crest-derived peripheral neural structures in Nox4−/− mouse appears to be grossly normal, although Nox4−/− embryos were born at a sub-Mendelian ratio and showed delayed over-all development. Specifically, cranial and dorsal root ganglia, derived from NCSCs, were clearly present in Nox4−/− embryo at embryonic days (E) 9.5 and 10.5. These results suggest that Nox4-mediated ROS generation likely plays important role in fate determination and differentiation of NCSCs, but other Nox isozymes play redundant function during embryogenesis.     

Feeder-free Derivation of Neural Crest Progenitor Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have great potential for studying human embryonic development, for modeling human diseases in the dish and as a source of transplantable cells for regenerative applications after disease or accidents. Neural crest (NC) cells are the precursors for a large variety of adult somatic cells, such as cells from the peripheral nervous system and glia, melanocytes and mesenchymal cells. They are a valuable source of cells to study aspects of human embryonic development, including cell fate specification and migration. Further differentiation of NC progenitor cells into terminally differentiated cell types offers the possibility to model human diseases in vitro, investigate disease mechanisms and generate cells for regenerative medicine. This article presents the adaptation of a currently available in vitro differentiation protocol for the derivation of NC cells from hPSCs. This new protocol requires 18 days of differentiation, is feeder-free, easily scalable and highly reproducible among human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines as well as human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines. Both old and new protocols yield NC cells of equal identity.     

Silencing Trisomy 21 with XIST in Neural Stem Cells Promotes Neuronal Differentiation

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转录因子WSTF对肺癌细胞增殖和侵袭的实验研究

目的:研究转录因子WSTF对肺癌细胞增殖和侵袭作用的影响。方法:采用慢病毒介导的基因转染方法建立A549细胞WSTF高表达细胞系A549-WSTF和空质粒对照细胞系A549-control。细胞增殖实验和克隆形成实验观察ING5过表达对肺癌A549细胞增殖能力的影响;Trans-well迁移实验和侵袭实验观察WSTF对肺癌细胞迁移和侵袭能力的影响。结果:Western blot验证A549-WSTF细胞WSTF蛋白水平显著高于对照细胞A549-control,P=0.0004。WSTF高表达明显促进了肺癌细胞的增殖能力(1-4天P值分别为0.002、0.0004、0.0002和3.21×10-5)和克隆形成能力(P=0.004);WSTF过表达还显著促进了肺癌细胞从trans-well小室迁移到下室的作用,其OD570值分别为0.626±0.013(A549-WSTF)和0.322±0.010(A549-control),P=2.37×10-5;WSTF还促进肺癌细胞穿透基质胶迁移到下室,其OD570值分别为0.600±0.027(A549-WSTF)和0.333±0.017(A549-control),P=0.0004。结论:WSTF可以促进肺癌细胞的增殖和侵袭能力而发挥促癌作用。     

谷胱甘肽－硫转移酶在肺癌细胞耐药中的作用

将反义ＧＳＴ－πＲＮＡ通过逆转录病毒载体介导的基因转移技术,导入人肺腺癌阿霉素耐受株细胞中,经Ｇ４１８筛选,克隆出抗性克隆,测定ＧＳＴ总酶活性,对活性最低的一株克隆,进行阿霉素药敏分析和ＧＳＴ－π基因表达的原位杂交分析．结果发现,ＧＳＴ－π基因表达受到明显抑制,总酶活性也大大降低,对阿霉素的抗药性下降了２０％．     

神经干细胞的分化影响其对肝细胞生长因子的趋化性迁移

神经干细胞（neural stem cells,NSCs）的定向迁移对神经系统发育和损伤后修复至关重要,但NSCs的定向迁移与NSCs的分化之间的关系鲜有研究。该研究以此为切入点,以肝细胞生长因子（hepatocyte growth factor,HGF）为趋化因子,神经干细胞系C17．2为研究对象,首先,建立了不同分化阶段的NSCs（分别分化0,12,24,72h）的分化模型;其次,运用Boyden chamber和Dunn chamber研究了不同分化状态下的NSCs对HGF的趋化性迁移。Boyden chamber结果显示：下室加入HGF后,分化12,24h的NSCs迁移至膜下方的细胞数目显著高于分化0,72h的NSCs;Dunn chamber结果显示：分化12,24h的NSCs迁移效率显著高于分化0,72h的NSCs。这些结果表明,NSCs的分化影响其对HGF的趋化性迁移,为在临床上更有效地利用NSCs治疗各种神经系统退行性疾病提供了理论依据。     

抑制MTM1表达促进胚胎干细胞分化

应用随机RNAi文库,筛选了与胚胎干细胞自我更新和分化调控相关基因,发现了多个阳性候选基因,对其中的1个阳性候选基因肌管素1（myotubularin, MTM1）基因进行了深入研究．MTM1是属于蛋白酪氨酸磷酸酶（PTPase）蛋白家族的蛋白,其基因突变导致肌管性肌病．MTM1在胚胎干细胞中的功能到目前为止还不清楚．研究证实,MTM1在小鼠胚胎干细胞系CCE和R1均有表达．应用RNA干扰及集落形成实验证明,MTM1表达抑制后,处于自我更新状况胚胎干细胞集落的比例显著增加,提示MTM1在胚胎干细胞自我更新和分化的调控中起了重要的作用．     

miR-29a靶向调控PDGFB促进非小细胞肺癌细胞凋亡

为了探究miR-29a对非小细胞肺癌细胞增殖和凋亡的影响及分子机制,本研究通过荧光定量PCR检测肺癌组织、癌旁组织、肺癌细胞以及人正常肺支气管上皮细胞BEAS-2B中miR-29a的表达,在肺癌A549转染miR-29a mimics后,使用荧光定量PCR和CCK-8法分别检测miR-29a的表达以及各组细胞的活力,使用流式细胞术检测A549细胞凋亡;通过荧光定量PCR检测肺癌组织、癌旁组织PDGFB m RNA的表达,采用Western blot检测PDGFB蛋白的表达;使用双荧光素酶报告基因检测miR-29a可能的靶基因;在肺癌A549细胞转染miR-29a mimics后继续转染PDGFB过表达质粒,通过qPCR和Western blotting分别检测PDGFB mRNA和蛋白的表达。结果表明,与癌旁组织相比,miR-29a在肺癌组织的表达显著下调(p<0.01),PDGFB在肺癌组织的表达显著增加(p<0.01);转染miR-29a mimics后,肺癌A549细胞中miR-29a表达显著增加(p<0.01);CCK-8法结果显示miR-29a mimics组A549肺癌细胞在24 h和48 h后细胞增值率较miR-NC对照组显著降低(p<0.01);流式细胞术结果显示miR-29a mimics组的细胞凋亡率较miR-NC对照组显著增加(p<0.01);与miR-NC+PDGFB 3’UTR WT组相比,miR-29a mimics+PDGFB 3’UTR WT组的荧光强度显著降低(p<0.01);荧光定量PCR和Western blotting显示miR-29a mimics+PDGFB组PDGFB m RNA和蛋白表达量与miR-29a mimics+vector组相比显著增加(p<0.01)。本研究结果表明miR-29a在肺癌组织和肺癌细胞株中低表达,及抑制PDGFB的表达并且促进肺癌细胞凋亡。     

Temporal Expression of HNK-1-Reactive Sulfoglucuronyl Glycolipid in Cultured Quail Trunk Neural Crest Cells: Comparison with Other Developmentally Regulated Glycolipids

Monoclonal antibody HNK-1 is an important marker for embryonic neural crest cells and some of their differentiated derivatives. We have identified 3-sulfoglucuronylneolactotetraosylceramide (SGGL-1) as one of the HNK-1 antigens present in cultures of trunk neural crest cells. This lipid was present at 2 days in vitro and increased in amount with time in culture. Other major HNK-1-reactive antigens present in the culture were glycoproteins of apparent molecular masses of 120, 180, and 200 kDa. The 180- and 200-kDa bands were present at 2, 7, and 17 days in vitro, whereas the 120-kDa band was present only at 17 days in vitro. Gangliosides GD3, LD1, and LM1 were also found in the cultures and exhibited distinct temporal patterns of expression. Ganglioside GD3 was present at all stages examined and its expression peaked at 7 days in vitro. In contrast, LD1 was present only at 2 days in vitro and was not detectable at later times. Ganglioside LM1 increased in amount with time in culture in a pattern similar to that seen for SGGL-1. Taken together, these results indicate that several HNK-1-reactive molecules are expressed in neural crest cultures in a temporally regulated manner along with several glycolipids that do not bear this epitope.     

microRNA499 慢病毒载体转染诱导大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞 向心肌样细胞分化*

目的:探讨microRNA 499(miR-499)慢病毒转染对诱导大鼠骨髓来源间充质干细胞(BM-MSCs)向心肌样细胞分化的作用。方法:取第四代Wistar大鼠骨髓来源间充质干细胞进行流式细胞检测,鉴定干细胞表面特异标记物。使用符合干细胞鉴定标准的细胞批次用于后续实验。实验设置miR499慢病毒转染、慢病毒空白转染2个处理组,分别于处理后即日、1d,3d,5d,7d收集细胞进行下列实验:实时荧光定量PCR检测心肌重要转录因子GATA4、NKx2.5和MEF2C的mRNA表达,western-blot检测心肌特异蛋白I(cTnI)的表达。结果:培养第四代Wistar大鼠骨髓来源间充质干细胞表达干细胞表面特异标记物,可用于实验。大鼠骨髓来源间充质干细胞microRNA 499慢病毒载体转染后microRNA 499表达明显升高,且转染后1d,3d,5d,7d,GATA4、NKx2.5和MEF2C的mRNA表达逐渐增强。慢病毒空白转染组未见明显变化。western-blot检测自第3天开始可见cTnI阳性表达条带,慢病毒空白转染组未检测到明显阳性表达条带。结论:microRNA 499可诱导大鼠骨髓来源间充质干细胞向心肌样细胞分化。     

Melatonin Regulates the Viability and Differentiation of Rat Midbrain Neural Stem Cells

(1) Neurogenesis driven by neural stem cells (NSCs) is regulated by physiological and pathological factors. Melatonin (MT) has profound neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects. Hence, we studied the role of MT in regulating the viability and differentiation of NSCs derived from rat ventral midbrain. (2) NSCs were isolated from the rat ventral midbrain. The viability of NSCs was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-ulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay. The differentiation of NSCs was examined by analyzing the expression of the neural markers, MT receptors, brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) with semi-quantitative RT-PCR, immunofluorescence cytochemistry, and Western blot. (3) Our results showed that MT could promote the viability of NSCs. In addition, MT could significantly elevate the mRNA and protein levels of tyroxine hydroxylase (TH), a marker of dopaminergic neurons, and decrease the expression of the astrocytes maker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). MT also increased the production of BDNF and GDNF in the cultured NSCs. Meanwhile, we first found that two subtypes of MT receptors, MT1 and MT2, were expressed in the ventral midbrain NSCs. (4) These results demonstrated that MT could induce NSCs to differentiate into dopaminergic neurons and decrease astrocyte production. These findings also suggest that MT could offer a beneficial tool in guiding directional differentiation of NSCs.     

The Effects of Co-Culture of Embryonic Stem Cells with Neural Stem Cells on Differentiation

Researching the technology for in vitro differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into neural lineages is very important in developmental biology, regenerative medicine, and cell therapy. Thus, studies on in vitro differentiation of ESCs into neural lineages by co-culture are expected to improve our understanding of this process. A co-culture system has long been used to study interactions between cell populations, improve culture efficiency, and establish synthetic interactions between populations. In this study, we investigated the effect of a co-culture of ESCs with neural stem cells (NSCs) in two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) culture conditions. Furthermore, we examined the effect of an NSC-derived conditioned medium (CM) on ESC differentiation. OG2-ESCs lost the specific morphology of colonies and Oct4-GFP when co-cultured with NSC. Additionally, real-time PCR analysis showed that ESCs co-cultured with NSCs expressed higher levels of ectoderm markers Pax6 and Sox1 under both co-culture conditions. However, the differentiation efficiency of CM was lower than that of the non-conditioned medium. Collectively, our results show that co-culture with NSCs promotes the differentiation of ESCs into the ectoderm.