Lecture 14

Outline of Lecture 14 Neural Crest Cells I. Embryology and anatomy of NCCs - Neural crest cells arise from dorsal ridge of neural fold and migrate to contribute to a wide variety of tissues - Major tissues formed by NCC include dorsal root ganglia, sympathetic chain ganglia, parasympathetic nervous system (e.g. enteric ganglia), melanocytes (see diagram p.6) - Combination of BMP (from neural tube) and Wnt6 (ectoderm) signals cause NCC fate - NCC can migrate to anterior half of a somite, but not to posterior half due to repellent ECM; this gives rise to segmented pattern of the peripheral nervous system - NCC cells migrate further to form DRG and SCG close to spinal cord (in contrast, parasympathetic components are close to the tissues they affect) II. Genes that control NCC development - Quail grafts in chicks can be used to track fate of NCCs,