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 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. Morriset al. developed an in vitroculture 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.

• Publication year

  2012

• Venue

  Nature Communications

• Publication date

  2012-01-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1038/ncomms1671PMID 22334076PMCID 3293425
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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