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Neural crest cells organize the eye via TGF-β and canonical Wnt signalling

Author

Listed:
  • Timothy Grocott

    (King's College London, Guy's Campus)

  • Samuel Johnson

    (King's College London, Guy's Campus)

  • Andrew P. Bailey

    (King's College London, Guy's Campus
    Present address: NIMR, Developmental Neurobiology, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, UK.)

  • Andrea Streit

    (King's College London, Guy's Campus)

Abstract

In vertebrates, the lens and retina arise from different embryonic tissues raising the question of how they are aligned to form a functional eye. Neural crest cells are crucial for this process: in their absence, ectopic lenses develop far from the retina. Here we show, using the chick as a model system, that neural crest-derived transforming growth factor-βs activate both Smad3 and canonical Wnt signalling in the adjacent ectoderm to position the lens next to the retina. They do so by controlling Pax6 activity: although Smad3 may inhibit Pax6 protein function, its sustained downregulation requires transcriptional repression by Wnt-initiated β-catenin. We propose that the same neural crest-dependent signalling mechanism is used repeatedly to integrate different components of the eye and suggest a general role for the neural crest in coordinating central and peripheral parts of the sensory nervous system.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy Grocott & Samuel Johnson & Andrew P. Bailey & Andrea Streit, 2011. "Neural crest cells organize the eye via TGF-β and canonical Wnt signalling," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 2(1), pages 1-6, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:2:y:2011:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms1269
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1269
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