Dynamics of anterior–posterior axis formation in the developing mouse embryo

The development of an anterior–posterior (AP) polarity is a crucial process that in the mouse has been very difficult to analyse, because it takes place as the embryo implants within the mother. To overcome this obstacle, we have established an in-vitro culture system that allows us to follow the st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2012-02, Vol.3 (1), p.673-673, Article 673
Main Authors: Morris, Samantha A., Grewal, Seema, Barrios, Florencia, Patankar, Sameer N., Strauss, Bernhard, Buttery, Lee, Alexander, Morgan, Shakesheff, Kevin M., Zernicka-Goetz, Magdalena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/136/2086
631/208/199
631/80/84
Animals
Blastocyst - cytology
Body Patterning
Cell Movement
Developmental Biology - methods
Embryo Culture Techniques
Endoderm - metabolism
Female
Genetic Markers - genetics
Green Fluorescent Proteins - metabolism
Humanities and Social Sciences
In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
Male
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Transgenic
Models, Biological
Models, Genetic
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Time Factors
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Summary:The development of an anterior–posterior (AP) polarity is a crucial process that in the mouse has been very difficult to analyse, because it takes place as the embryo implants within the mother. To overcome this obstacle, we have established an in-vitro culture system that allows us to follow the step-wise development of anterior visceral endoderm (AVE), critical for establishing AP polarity. Here we use this system to show that the AVE originates in the implanting blastocyst, but that additional cells subsequently acquire AVE characteristics. These 'older' and 'younger' AVE domains coalesce as the egg cylinder emerges from the blastocyst structure. Importantly, we show that AVE migration is led by cells expressing the highest levels of AVE marker, highlighting that asymmetry within the AVE domain dictates the direction of its migration. Ablation of such leading cells prevents AVE migration, suggesting that these cells are important for correct establishment of the AP axis. Detailed analysis of axis development in mouse embryo has been limited. Morris et al. developed an in vitro culture technique that enables the real-time observation of an anterior visceral endoderm formation and show that cell marker asymmetry within the AVE subdomain dictates the direction of the AVE migration.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/ncomms1671