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Long distance translocation of enteric neural crest cells
Author(s) -
Epstein Miles L.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.176.3
Subject(s) - neural crest , enteric nervous system , biology , hindbrain , microbiology and biotechnology , motility , neural tube , crest , secretion , neuroscience , anatomy , endocrinology , embryo , physics , quantum mechanics
Neural crest cells from the hindbrain and sacral neural tube invade the gut tube. These enteric neural crest cells (ENCC) migrate, divide, differentiate, and form the neurons and glia of the enteric nervous system. The migration and subsequent formation of enteric ganglia is not well characterized. Using transgenic mice we obtained expression of the yellow fluorescent protein in crest‐derived cells, a result that permitted the visualization of their migration. The crest‐derived cells migrate as chains that form cellular networks. Cells at the nodes of intersection expand in number to form nascent ganglia. Some cells break off the chains to move ahead of the migrating wave front. Enzymes that synthesize neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, nitric oxide, and serotonin appear early in subsets of ENCCs while a different group of putative transmitters including neuropeptides appear later in development. The big question of how the neurons form the circuitry that regulates motility and secretion remains.