1: Cell Mol Life Sci. 2005 Oct 18; [Epub ahead of print] 

Transcription factor c-Myb is involved in the regulation of the
epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the avian neural crest.

Karafiat V, Dvorakova M, Krejci E, Kralova J, Pajer P, Snajdr P, Mandikova S,
Bartunek P, Grim M, Dvorak M.

Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 166
37, Prague, Czech Republic, mdvorak@img.cas.cz.

Multipotential neural crest cells (NCCs) originate by an epithelial-mesenchymal
transition (EMT) during vertebrate embryogenesis. We show for the first time
that the key hematopoietic factor c-Myb is synthesized in early chick embryos
including the neural tissue and participates in the regulation of the trunk
NCCs. A reduction of endogenous c-Myb protein both in tissue explants in vitro
and in embryos in ovo, prevented the formation of migratory NCCs. A moderate
over-expression of c-myb in naive intermediate neural plates triggered the EMT
and NCC migration probably through cooperation with BMP4 signaling because (i)
BMP4 activated c-myb expression, (ii) elevated c-Myb caused accumulation of
transcripts of the BMP4 target genes msx1 and slug, and (iii) the reduction of
c-Myb prevented the BMP4-induced formation of NCCs. The data show that in
chicken embryos, the c-myb gene is expressed prior to the onset of hematopoiesis
and participates in the formation and migration of the trunk neural crest.

PMID: 16231084 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]


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