The multiple functions of hindbrain boundary cells: Tinkering boundaries?

Embryonic boundaries were first described in Drosophila, and then in vertebrate embryos, as cellular interfaces between compartments. They display signaling properties and in vertebrates might allocate cells fated to different anatomical structures, or cells that will play different functions over t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Pujades Corbi, Cristina
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10230/72151
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10230/72151
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2020.05.002
http://hdl.handle.net/10230/72151
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Boundaries
Cell progenitors
Compartments
Differentiated neurons
Hindbrain
Mechanosensors
Morphogenesis
Neurogenesis
Rhombomeres
Signaling centers
Descripción
Sumario:Embryonic boundaries were first described in Drosophila, and then in vertebrate embryos, as cellular interfaces between compartments. They display signaling properties and in vertebrates might allocate cells fated to different anatomical structures, or cells that will play different functions over time. One of the vertebrate embryonic structures with boundaries is the hindbrain, the posterior brain vesicle, which is transitory segmented upon morphogenesis. The hindbrain is formed by iterative units called rhombomeres that constitute units of gene expression and cell-lineage compartments. Rhombomeric cells are segregated by interhombomeric boundaries, which are prefigured by sharp gene expression borders. Hindbrain boundaries were first described as static groups of cells. However, later discoveries demonstrated the dynamic behavior of this specific cell population. They play distinct functional properties during brain morphogenesis that partially overlap on time, starting as a mechanical barrier to prevent cell intermingling, becoming a signaling hub, to finally constitute a group of proliferating progenitors providing differentiated neurons to the system. In this review, I try to give a more functional overview of this segmentation process and in particular of hindbrain boundaries. I will discuss the new challenges in the field on how to integrate cell fate specification and morphogenesis during brain embryonic development.