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Role of TrkA signaling during tadpole tail regeneration and early embryonic development in Xenopus laevis
Author(s) -
Iimura Akira,
Nishida Eisuke,
Kusakabe Morioh
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
genes to cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1365-2443
pISSN - 1356-9597
DOI - 10.1111/gtc.12740
Subject(s) - biology , tropomyosin receptor kinase a , neurula , neurotrophin , notochord , microbiology and biotechnology , gastrulation , tropomyosin receptor kinase b , xenopus , mesoderm , trk receptor , low affinity nerve growth factor receptor , ectoderm , fgf and mesoderm formation , tropomyosin receptor kinase c , neurotrophic factors , embryogenesis , embryo , receptor , embryonic stem cell , genetics , growth factor , platelet derived growth factor receptor , gene
Neurotrophic signaling regulates neural cell behaviors in development and physiology, although its role in regeneration has not been fully investigated. Here, we examined the role of neurotrophic signaling in Xenopus laevis tadpole tail regeneration. After the tadpole tails were amputated, the expression of neurotrophin ligand family genes, especially ngf and bdnf , was up‐regulated as regeneration proceeded. Moreover, notochordal expression of the NGF receptor gene TrkA , but not that of other neurotrophin receptor genes TrkB and TrkC , became prominent in the regeneration bud, a structure arising from the tail stump after tail amputation. The regenerated tail length was significantly shortened by the pan‐Trk inhibitor K252a or the TrkA inhibitor GW‐441756, but not by the TrkB inhibitor ANA‐12, suggesting that TrkA signaling is involved in elongation of regenerating tails. Furthermore, during Xenopus laevis embryonic development, TrkA expression was detected in the dorsal mesoderm at the gastrula stage and in the notochord at the neurula stage, and its knockdown led to gastrulation defects with subsequent shortening of the body axis length. These results suggest that Xenopus laevis TrkA signaling, which can act in the mesoderm/notochord, plays a key role in body axis elongation during embryogenesis as well as tail elongation during tadpole regeneration.