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| The Origin of
Neural Crest Cells |
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Martín García-Castro,
Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of
Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental
Biology
KBT 1100
Email: martin.garcia-castro@yale.edu
Phone: (203) 432-3523
B.S. ENEP Iztacala UNAM;
M.S. IBB UNAM MEXICO; Ph.D. Cambridge University,
UK; Postdoctoral Fellow
California Institute of Technology. USA.
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Central to the development of vertebrates is
the neural crest, a dynamic stem cell-like population
that arises at the border of the neural plate
early in development, migrates considerable lengths
through defined paths, and differentiates into
a plethora of cell-types. Neural crest derivatives
include neurons and glial-cells of the peripheral
nervous system, melanocytes, endocrine cells,
and cranio-facial bone and cartilage. Neural crest
cells are responsible for several health complications,
ranging from brain tumors and cancer to craniofacial
and cardiac outflow-tract malformations. Therefore,
neural crest cells are an excellent subject of
study for fundamental topics of developmental
biology, such as induction, specification, potency,
fate, regulation, and migration.
Our laboratory is interested in understanding
the development of neural crest cells at the tissue,
cell, and molecular level, and our first goal
is to understand when, where, and how neural crest
cells originate. Contemporary models suggest that
prospective neural tissue can be modified by surrounding
tissues (lateral epidermal-ectoderm or underlying
mesoderm) to generate neural crest. At the molecular
level, Wnt and BMP signals have been identified
as critical players during neural crest induction.
Most of our knowledge regarding induction in aminiotes
concerns trunk neural crest formation.
The limited information regarding the origin and
induction of cranial neural crest cells is astonishing,
given that only cranial crest cells have the potential
to generate bone and cartilage of the head. The
nature of this difference is unknown, as well
as the time and conditions that surround the induction
of cranial neural crest. It is therefore
critical to investigate the conditions surrounding
the origin of neural crest cells at different
axial levels.
We are currently addressing the following topics:
- Earliest events of cranial and trunk neural
crest induction.
- Interactions between BMP and Wnt signaling
molecules during neural crest induction.
- Comparative analysis of cranial and trunk
neural crest induction.
We are investigating the precise participation
of cells, tissues, and molecules in neural crest
development using cell and molecular biology,
imaging technologies (confocal, time-lapse), and
modern and traditional embryology. For example,
we inject embryos with dyes, viruses, and cells,
we electroporate oligonucleotides and plasmids,
we graft beads and tissues, and we perform in
vitro culture of tissue explants.
Selected Publications
Martin Basch, Marianne Bronner-Fraser, and Martín
I García-Castro. May 11 th 2006 “Specification
of the neural crestoccurs during gastrulation
and requires Pax7” Nature 441:218-222
Martin Basch, Martín I García-Castro and
Marianne Bronner-Fraser.2004. “Molecular mechanism
of neural crest induction” Birth Defects Research
(Part C) 72: 109-123.
Martín I García-Castro , Christophe
Marcelle, and Marianne Bronner-Fraser. August
2 nd, 2002 “Wnt in the ectoderm functions as
a neural crest inducer “ Science 297, 848-851.
Martín I García-Castro , Eva Vielmetter,
and Marianne Bronner-Fraser. May 12, 2000. “N-Cadherin,
a Cell Adhesion Molecule Involved in Establishment
of Embryonic Left-Right Asymmetry”. Science
288, 1047-1051.
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