Published 21 July 2003. doi:10.1083/jcb.200301041
© The Rockefeller University Press,
0021-9525/2003/7/269 $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 162, Number 2, 269-279
Dual function of Slit2 in repulsion and enhanced migration of trunk, but not vagal, neural crest cells
Maria Elena De Bellard1,
Yi Rao2 and
Marianne Bronner-Fraser1
1 Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125
2 Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110
Address correspondence to Marianne Bronner-Fraser, Division of Biology, 139-74, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125. Tel.: (626) 395-3355. Fax: (626) 395-7717. E-mail: mbronner{at}caltech.edu
Neural crest precursors to the autonomic nervous system form different derivatives depending upon their axial level of origin; for example, vagal, but not trunk, neural crest cells form the enteric ganglia of the gut. Here, we show that Slit2 is expressed at the entrance of the gut, which is selectively invaded by vagal, but not trunk, neural crest. Accordingly, only trunk neural crest cells express Robo receptors. In vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrate that trunk, not vagal, crest cells avoid cells or cell membranes expressing Slit2, thereby contributing to the differential ability of neural crest populations to invade and innervate the gut. Conversely, exposure to soluble Slit2 significantly increases the distance traversed by trunk neural crest cells. These results suggest that Slit2 can act bifunctionally, both repulsing and stimulating the motility of trunk neural crest cells.
Key Words: Slit2; neural crest; vagal; chemorepellent; gut
The online version of this article includes supplemental material.
* Abbreviations used in this paper: CM, conditioned medium.

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