Neural Crest cells, unique to vertebrates, are derived from the ectoderm but also generate mesodermal cell types. This broad developmental potential persists past the time when most ectoderm-derived cells have become lineage restricted. The ability of neural crest to contribute mesodermal derivatives to the bauplan has raised questions about how this apparent gain in developmental potential is achieved. Here we describe shared molecular underpinnings of potency in neural crest and blastula cells. We show that in Xenopus, key neural crest regulatory factors are also expressed in blastula animal pole cells and promote pluripotency in both cell types. We suggest that neural crest cells may have evolved as a consequence of a subset of blastula animal pole cells retaining activity of the regulatory network underlying pluripotency.
The core EMT regulatory factors Twist, Snail, Slug, and Sip1, while structurally diverse, are coordinately regulated by a common E3 ubiquiting ligase, Ppa.
A subset of transcription factors classified as neural crest ‘specifiers’ are also core epithelial–mesenchymal transition regulatory factors, both in the neural crest and in tumour progression. The bHLH factor Twist is among the least well studied of these factors. Here we demonstrate that Twist is required for cranial neural crest formation and fate determination in Xenopus. We further show that Twist function in the neural crest is dependent upon its carboxy-terminal WR domain. The WR domain mediates physical interactions between Twist and other core epithelial–mesenchymal transition factors, including Snail1 and Snail2, which are essential for proper function. Interaction with Snail1/2, and Twist function more generally, is regulated by GSK-3-β-mediated phosphorylation of conserved sites in the WR domain. Together, these findings elucidate a mechanism for coordinated control of a group of structurally diverse factors that function as a regulatory unit in both developmental and pathological epithelial–mesenchymal transitions.
SUMOylation of SoxE alters its recruitment of transcriptional coregulatory factors, displacing the binding of coactivators and promoting the recruitment of the corepressor Grg4.
SUMMARY
The SoxD factor, Sox5, is expressed in ectodermal cells at times and places where BMP signaling is active, including the cells of the animal hemisphere at blastula stages, and the neural plate border (NPB) and neural crest (NC) at neurula stages. Sox5 is required for proper ectoderm development, and deficient embryos display patterning defects characteristic of perturbations of BMP signaling, including loss of neural crest and epidermis and expansion of the neural plate. We show that Sox5 is essential for activation of BMP target genes in embryos and explants, that it physically interacts with BMP R-Smads, and that it is essential for recruitment of Smad1/4 to BMP regulatory elements. Our findings identify Sox5 as the long sought DNA binding partner for BMP R-Smads essential to plasticity and pattern in the early ectoderm.
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