E-cadherin inhibits cell dispersion but not chemotactic response in NC cells. (A) Representative frames from time-lapse recordings of NC clusters dissected from X. laevis embryos at St13, St17, or St17 + E-Cad. The nucleus of NC was labeled with H2B-RFP, and NC clusters were plated on fibronectin and imaged over a 6-h period. Shown are the initial (0 h) and final (6 h) frames. Scale bar: 50 µm. (B) Visualization of dispersion based on the area between neighboring nuclei at 6 h. Triangles are color-coded according to size. (C) Quantification of total dispersion area per cluster. n = 14 (St13), 13 (St17), and 10 (St17 + E-Cad). (D) Representative images of NC clusters from each condition exposed to heparin beads soaked in purified SDF1. Scale bar: 100 µm. (E) Clusters centroid tracks over time relative to the position of the SDF1 source. (F) Angular distribution of cluster movement directions, represented as rose plots. (G–I) Quantification of chemotaxis index (G), directionality (H), and speed (I) of cluster centroid movement during time-lapse recordings. Data are representative of at least three independent experiments. Error bars indicate mean ± SEM. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons posttest. ****P ≤ 0.0001; n.s., not significant.