Examples of mesenchymal pattering during development.(A) During coloration pattern formation in Danio rerio, different pigment cell types self-organize into a characteristic striped pattern. (A1) Three main pigment cell types are involved: melanophores, xanthophores, and iridophores. These cells exhibit a variety of homotypic and heterotypic mesenchymal collective migration modes. (A2) For instance, long-range repulsion has been observed between xanthophores and melanophores, (A3) as well as chase-and-run interactions. These dynamic interactions are critical for maintaining boundaries—such as ensuring melanophores remain confined to the stripe regions and do not invade the interstripe zones. (B)Xenopus cephalic neural crest migration. (B1) Before migration, neural crest cells are located near placode cells, which produce the neural crest chemoattractant Sdf1. Very short-range chemotaxis drives the initial migration of neural crest cells toward the placodes. (B2) Upon reaching the placodes, mutual repulsion is established between the two cell populations, corresponding to CIL (red symbols). Despite this, placodes continue to produce Sdf1, attracting neural crest cells toward them. Meanwhile, placodes move away, resulting in a chase-and-run behavior that leads to the directional migration of placodes (straight arrows) followed by neural crest cells. As placodes migrate more slowly, they are overtaken by the neural crest, eventually being displaced to the sides of the neural crest stream (curved arrows). (B3) Final outcome is a stream of neural crest cells flanked by placodes, which express repulsive signals toward the neural crest. (C) Self-generated mechanical gradients in neural crest cells. (C1) Placodes are positioned in front of the neural crest before the onset of migration. (C2) As the neural crest migrates toward the placodes, it engages in N-cadherin–mediated interactions that modify the cortical actin cytoskeleton of the placodes, softening them. Placodes in closer contact with the neural crest experience longer interactions and become softer than those farther away, creating a stiffness gradient. This gradient guides the directional cell-on-cell migration of neural crest cells through durotaxis.
Figure 4.

Examples of mesenchymal pattering during development. (A) During coloration pattern formation in Danio rerio, different pigment cell types self-organize into a characteristic striped pattern. (A1) Three main pigment cell types are involved: melanophores, xanthophores, and iridophores. These cells exhibit a variety of homotypic and heterotypic mesenchymal collective migration modes. (A2) For instance, long-range repulsion has been observed between xanthophores and melanophores, (A3) as well as chase-and-run interactions. These dynamic interactions are critical for maintaining boundaries—such as ensuring melanophores remain confined to the stripe regions and do not invade the interstripe zones. (B)Xenopus cephalic neural crest migration. (B1) Before migration, neural crest cells are located near placode cells, which produce the neural crest chemoattractant Sdf1. Very short-range chemotaxis drives the initial migration of neural crest cells toward the placodes. (B2) Upon reaching the placodes, mutual repulsion is established between the two cell populations, corresponding to CIL (red symbols). Despite this, placodes continue to produce Sdf1, attracting neural crest cells toward them. Meanwhile, placodes move away, resulting in a chase-and-run behavior that leads to the directional migration of placodes (straight arrows) followed by neural crest cells. As placodes migrate more slowly, they are overtaken by the neural crest, eventually being displaced to the sides of the neural crest stream (curved arrows). (B3) Final outcome is a stream of neural crest cells flanked by placodes, which express repulsive signals toward the neural crest. (C) Self-generated mechanical gradients in neural crest cells. (C1) Placodes are positioned in front of the neural crest before the onset of migration. (C2) As the neural crest migrates toward the placodes, it engages in N-cadherin–mediated interactions that modify the cortical actin cytoskeleton of the placodes, softening them. Placodes in closer contact with the neural crest experience longer interactions and become softer than those farther away, creating a stiffness gradient. This gradient guides the directional cell-on-cell migration of neural crest cells through durotaxis.

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