Abstract
Neural crest cells (NCCs) are a transient population of multipotent progenitors that give rise to numerous cell types in the embryo. An unresolved issue is the degree to which the fate of NCCs is specified prior to their emigration from the neural tube. In chick embryos, we identified a subpopulation of NCCs that, upon delamination, crossed the dorsal midline to colonize spatially discrete regions of the contralateral dorsal root ganglia (DRG), where they later gave rise to nearly half of the nociceptor sensory neuron population. Our data indicate that before emigration, this NCC subset is phenotypically distinct, with an intrinsic lineage potential that differs from its temporally synchronized, but ipsilaterally migrating, cohort. These findings not only identify a major source of progenitor cells for the pain- and temperature-sensing afferents, but also reveal a previously unknown migratory pathway for sensory-fated NCCs that requires the capacity to cross the embryonic midline.
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Acknowledgements
We thank M. Wegner for his kind gift of the Sox10 antibody, R. Bradley for providing us with the CS2-Myc plasmid and P. Kulesa for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke R01 35714. (F.L.) and NRSA 7055571 (L.G.).
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L.G. conducted all experiments, imaging and data analyses. L.G. and F.L. supervised the project and wrote the manuscript. M.C. and V.T. assisted with injections, cryosectioning and immunocytochemistry. R.L. constructed the GFP retrovirus and edited the manuscript.
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George, L., Chaverra, M., Todd, V. et al. Nociceptive sensory neurons derive from contralaterally migrating, fate-restricted neural crest cells. Nat Neurosci 10, 1287–1293 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1962
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1962
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