Three-dimensional image analysis of migration patterns of mouse neural crest cells

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We have examined migration patterns of mouse neural crest cells by three-dimensional image analysis using the monoclonal antibody 4E9R to identify neural crest cells. In the trunk, three sclerotomal regions having different migratory pathways of neural crest cells were identified along the anteroposterior axis and the size of these regions temporally changed with a systematic mode. The data suggest that the regional differences of neural crest cell migration within each sclerotome and their temporal changes generate migration patterns of trunk neural crest cells in the mouse. The distribution of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans in the scletotome was correlated with migration patterns of neural crest cells. Furthermore, their migration patterns were altered in embryos treated with the inhibitors of sulfated proteoglycan biosynthesis, sodium chlorate and beta-D-xyloside. We conclude that systematic spatiotemporally changes of the distribution of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans in the sclerotome are a key requisite for the formation of migration patterns of mouse trunk neural crest cells. The role of tenascin in neural crest cell migration has been controversial. Migration patterns of these cells in tenascin-knockout mouse embryos were comparable with those of wild-type crest cells. This support the notion that tenascin is not directly responsible for the segmented outgrowth of trunk neural crest cells. In the cephalic region, mesencephalic neural crest cells migrated in the specific portion, that is in the mesenchyme proximal to the boundary between the midbrain and the hindbrain.