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© The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525/2003/7/167-a $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 162, Number 2, 167-a-167

Neural cells turn and run

Migrating trunk cells (green) avoid Slit- expressing cells (red).

When your gut tells you to run, it is wise to listen. Embryonic neural precursor cells do just that, according to De Bellard et al. (page 269), who identify the basis of an avoidance mechanism for migrating neural crest cells.

Groups of embryonic neural precursors take separate paths on their way to forming the peripheral nervous system. Vagal cells, which emerge from the neck region, migrate long distances to enter the gut. Cells in the trunk originate closer to the gut yet never enter this region. The new results show that the gut is off limits because trunk cells sense Slit proteins, chemorepellents involved in axon guidance in flies and vertebrates.

In chick embryos, Slit expression marked the entrance to the gut. The group injected Slit- expressing cells into embryos and found that trunk cells stopped in their tracks to avoid migrating through regions containing the chemorepellent. Vagal cells, in contrast, were unaffected by Slit proteins, as trunk but not vagal cells express the Slit receptors Robo1 and Robo2.

Repulsion required contact between trunk cells and cells expressing surface-bound Slit. Slit administered in vitro is reused uniformily, so a simple repulsion effect is not obvious. But this form of Slit does cause trunk cells to migrate faster than vagal cells. In vivo, these two effects may combine to turn trunk cells away from the gut and speed their migration in the other direction.

Nicole LeBrasseur

lebrasn{at}rockefeller.edu

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Dual function of Slit2 in repulsion and enhanced migration of trunk, but not vagal, neural crest cells

Maria Elena De Bellard, Yi Rao, and Marianne Bronner-Fraser
J. Cell Biol. 2003 162: 269-279. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Full Text (PDF, 793K) PPT slides of all figures Alert me when this article is cited Services Email this article Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new content in the JCB Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by LeBrasseur, N. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by LeBrasseur, N. Related Collections Related Article Social Bookmarking                            What's this?