PUBLICATION

Meis3 is required for neural crest invasion of the gut during zebrafish enteric nervous system development

Authors
Uribe, R.A., Bronner, M.E.
ID
ZDB-PUB-150912-13
Date
2015
Source
Molecular biology of the cell   26(21): 3728-40 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Bronner-Fraser, Marianne, Uribe, Rosa
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation/physiology
  • Enteric Nervous System/embryology*
  • Enteric Nervous System/metabolism*
  • Homeodomain Proteins/metabolism*
  • Neural Crest/embryology*
  • Neural Crest/metabolism*
  • Neurons
  • Organogenesis
  • Zebrafish
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
PubMed
26354419 Full text @ Mol. Biol. Cell
Abstract
During development, vagal neural crest cells fated to contribute to the enteric nervous system migrate ventrally away from the neural tube toward and along the primitive gut. The molecular mechanisms that regulate their early migration en route to and entry into the gut remain elusive. Here, we show that the transcription factor meis3 is expressed along vagal neural crest pathways. Meis3 loss of function results in a reduction in migration efficiency, cell number and the mitotic activity of neural crest cells in the vicinity of the gut, while having no effect on neural crest or gut specification. Later, during enteric nervous system differentiation, Meis3 depleted embryos exhibit colonic aganglionosis, a disorder in which the hindgut is devoid of neurons. Accordingly, the expression of Shh pathway components, previously shown to have a role in the etiology of Hirschsprung's disease, was misregulated within the gut following loss of Meis3. Taken together, these findings support a model in which Meis3 is required for neural crest proliferation, migration into and colonization of the gut such that its loss leads to severe defects in enteric nervous system development.
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