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Characterization of myeloid cells derived from the anterior ventral mesoderm in the Xenopus laevis embryo
Author(s) -
Tashiro Sumihisa,
Sedohara Ayako,
Asashima Makoto,
Izutsu Yumi,
Maéno Mitsugu
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
development, growth and differentiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.864
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1440-169X
pISSN - 0012-1592
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-169x.2006.00885.x
Subject(s) - biology , mesoderm , lateral plate mesoderm , xenopus , microbiology and biotechnology , population , embryo , dkk1 , neurula , wnt signaling pathway , gastrulation , embryogenesis , signal transduction , genetics , embryonic stem cell , demography , sociology , gene
A recent study revealed the presence of a unique population of myeloid cells in the anterior ventral (AV) mesoderm of Xenopus laevis embryo, as characterized by the expression of peroxidase 2 ( POX2 ), which encodes for a leukocyte‐specific enzyme. The current report further characterized the POX2 ‐positive cells in terms of their contribution to hematopoiesis in tadpole and regulatory mechanism in differentiation. Grafting experiments with cytogenetically labeled tissues revealed that AV‐derived mesoderm supplies a transient population of migrating leukocytes in the mesenchyme of early tadpole. These cells were rarely found in blood vessels at any stages. Using a ventral marginal zone explant system, we demonstrated that dkk1, shown as a heart inducer in this system, has a strong ability to induce the expression of POX2 . Injection of a high dose dkk1 RNA induced a heart marker while a low dose of dkk1 preferentially induced the expression of POX2 , suggesting that dkk1 works as a morphogen to determine the different lineages. Overall results indicate that wnt signal inhibitors induce leukocytes at the early neurula stage and that these cells spread to the entire body and exist until the ventral blood island‐derived leukocytes appear in the body.