Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 20.1 Migration of sympathogenic neural crest cells in wild-type and Nrg1, ErbB2
or ErbB3 mutant embryos. In control embryos, neural crest cells (red) are released from the
dorsal neural tube and migrate in a ventral direction towards the dorsal aorta (DA), where
they form the primary sympathetic ganglion chain (left). In Nrg1, ErbB2 or ErbB3 mutant
embryos, sympathogenic neural crest cells stop their migration prematurely and are stuck
at dorsal positions (right)
Nrg1, the ErbB2/ErbB3 receptors and migration of neural
crest cells
The best evidence for a role of Nrg1 in migration of neural crest cells stems
from a careful analysis of the neural crest cell population that forms the
sympathetic nervous system (Britsch et al., 1998). Sympathogenic neural crest
cells of the trunk migrate along the medial path in the embryo to the
mesenchyme lateral of the dorsal aorta (Figure 20.1), where they form the
primary sympathetic ganglion chain; the differentiation into sympathetic
neurons at this site requires signals provided by members of the BMP family
(Shah et al., 1996; Reismann et al., 1996). In mice with mutations in Nrg1,
ErbB2 or ErbB3, sympathogenic neural crest cells in the trunk migrate in an
