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Plasticity and regulatory mechanisms of Hox gene expression in mouse neural crest cells

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Abstract

In amniotes, the developmental potentials of neural crest cells differ between the cranium and the trunk. These differences may be attributable to the different expression patterns of Hox genes between cranial and trunk neural crest cells. However, little is known about the factors that control Hox genes expression in neural crest cells. The present data demonstrate that retinoic acid (RA) treatment and the activation of Wnt signaling induce Hoxa2 and Hoxd9 expression, respectively, in mouse mesencephalic neural crest cells, which never express Hox genes in vivo. Furthermore, Wnt signaling suppresses the induction of Hoxa2. We also demonstrate that these factors participate in the maintenance of Hoxa2 and Hoxd9 expression in mouse trunk neural crest cells. Our results suggest that RA and Wnt signaling function as environmental factors that regulate the expression of Hoxa2 and Hoxd9 in mouse neural crest cells.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the following investigators for generous gifts of materials: Drs. Jane B. Trepel (pcDNA3 expression vector encoding the human dn TCF and pcDNA4 expression vector encoding the mouse dn β-catenin) and Adil J. Nazarali (rabbit anti-Hoxa2 antibody).

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, 1-1 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka, 560-0043, Japan

    Shinkichi Ishikawa & Kazuo Ito

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  1. Shinkichi Ishikawa
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  2. Kazuo Ito
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Correspondence to Kazuo Ito.

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Ishikawa, S., Ito, K. Plasticity and regulatory mechanisms of Hox gene expression in mouse neural crest cells. Cell Tissue Res 337, 381–391 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-009-0827-5

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