Position-dependent plasticity of distinct progenitor types in the primitive streak
- University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Abstract
The rostrocaudal (head-to-tail) axis is supplied by populations of progenitors at the caudal end of the embryo. Despite recent advances characterising one of these populations, the neuromesodermal progenitors, their nature and relationship to other populations remains unclear. Here we show that neuromesodermal progenitors are a single Sox2lowTlow entity whose choice of neural or mesodermal fate is dictated by their position in the progenitor region. The choice of mesoderm fate is Wnt/β-catenin dependent. Wnt/β-catenin signalling is also required for a previously unrecognised phase of progenitor expansion during mid-trunk formation. Lateral/ventral mesoderm progenitors represent a distinct committed state that is unable to differentiate to neural fates, even upon overexpression of the neural transcription factor Sox2. They do not require Wnt/β-catenin signalling for mesoderm differentiation. This information aids the correct interpretation of in vivo genetic studies and the development of in vitro protocols for generating physiologically-relevant cell populations of clinical interest.
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Ethics
Animal experimentation: Animal experiments were performed under the UK Home Office project license PPL60/4435, approved by the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Panel of the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine and within the conditions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Copyright
© 2016, Wymeersch et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Position-dependent plasticity of distinct progenitor types in the primitive streak
eLife 5:e10042.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.10042
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