Developmental Dynamics[JOURNAL]
Sun
200 papers
Sox9 in the second heart field and the development of the outflow tract; implications for cardiac septation and valve formation.
Drummond JR, Deepe RN, Tarolli HG … +4 more , Wolters RA, Devji I, Harvey AB, Wessels A
Dev Dyn · 2025 Dec · PMID 40135884 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Previously, we explored the role of Sox9 in the second heart field (SHF) in atrioventricular septation. For that study, we created a SHF-specific Sox9 knockout mouse. In addition to the presence of primary at...
BACKGROUND: Previously, we explored the role of Sox9 in the second heart field (SHF) in atrioventricular septation. For that study, we created a SHF-specific Sox9 knockout mouse. In addition to the presence of primary atrial septal defects in half of the offspring, we found that virtually all specimens also developed a ventricular septal defect. Histological analysis suggested that the ventricular septal defects resulted from developmental perturbation of the mesenchymal structures within the outflow tract. In the current study, we investigated the role of Sox9 in the SHF in the development of these tissues. RESULTS: Sox9 is expressed in all mesenchymal cell populations in the developing outflow tract, including a cohort of endocardial-derived cells that originate from the SHF-derived endocardium. SHF-specific deletion of Sox9 inhibits the formation of this cell population and ultimately leads to truncation of the mesenchymal outlet septum. This prevents complete fusion of this outlet septum with the atrioventricular mesenchymal complex, resulting in ventricular septal defects. CONCLUSIONS: In combination with our first paper on the role of Sox9 in atrioventricular septation, data presented in this study demonstrate that Sox9 expression in the SHF is of critical importance for the proper formation of the septal structures in the developing heart.
Integrating regenerative biology with developmental psychobiology to understand behavioral recovery.
Varholick JA
Dev Dyn · 2026 Jan · PMID 40130624 · Publisher ↗
Developmental psychobiology (DPB) is a sub-discipline of developmental biology investigating the roles of physiology, biomechanics, and the environment on behavioral development. Regenerative biology is also a sub-discip...
Developmental psychobiology (DPB) is a sub-discipline of developmental biology investigating the roles of physiology, biomechanics, and the environment on behavioral development. Regenerative biology is also a sub-discipline of developmental biology, studying how tissues and organs heal and regenerate after injury. One aspect of healing and regeneration is the behavioral recovery of the whole organism, involving the nervous system and coordinated movements in three-dimensional space. Behavioral recovery is often a secondary measure in many regeneration studies, primarily focusing on molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in structural recovery. Studies and frameworks in DPB, however, suggest that behaviors may have an active role in the regeneration process, and integrating regenerative biology with DPB would provide a basis for behavioral research on regenerative systems as a separate biological question to increase our understanding of behavioral recovery. Here, I introduce the probabilistic epigenesis framework from DPB and elaborate on how it reveals gaps in our knowledge concerning regeneration and behavioral recovery. I close with an initial regenerative history framework to guide regenerative biologists and bioengineers studying behavioral recovery to address these gaps and optimize behavioral recovery with regenerating tissue.
Metabolic changes during cardiac regeneration in the axolotl.
Dittrich A, Andersson SA, Busk M … +8 more , Hansen K, Foldager CB, Palmfeldt J, Andersen A, Pedersen M, Vendelbo M, Nielsen KL, Lauridsen H
Dev Dyn · 2026 Jan · PMID 40119743 · Full text
BACKGROUND: The axolotl is a prominent model organism of heart regeneration due to its ability to anatomically and functionally repair the heart after an injury that mimics human myocardial infarction. In humans, such an...
BACKGROUND: The axolotl is a prominent model organism of heart regeneration due to its ability to anatomically and functionally repair the heart after an injury that mimics human myocardial infarction. In humans, such an injury leads to permanent scarring. Cardiac regeneration has been linked to metabolism and the oxygenation state, but so far, these factors remain to be detailed in the axolotl model. In this descriptive study, we have investigated metabolic changes that occurred during cardiac regeneration in the axolotl. RESULTS: We describe systemic and local cardiac metabolic changes after injury involving an early upregulation of glucose uptake and nucleotide biosynthesis followed by a later increase in acetate uptake. We detect several promising factors and metabolites for future studies and show that, unlike other popular animal models capable of intrinsic regeneration, the axolotl maintains its cardiac regenerative ability under hyperoxic conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Axolotls undergo dynamic metabolic changes during the process of heart regeneration and display a robust reparative response to cardiac cryo-injury, which is unaffected by hyperoxia.
LncRNA SNHG1 regulates muscle stem cells fate through Wnt/β-catenin pathway.
Wang C, Wu W, Chen J … +2 more , Wang H, Zhao P
Dev Dyn · 2025 Dec · PMID 40116401 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) played an important role in maintaining the proper function of muscle tissues. In adults, they normally remained in a quiescent state and activated upon stimulation to under...
BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) played an important role in maintaining the proper function of muscle tissues. In adults, they normally remained in a quiescent state and activated upon stimulation to undergo self-renewal or myogenic differentiation. This process was complexly regulated by cytokines, and the molecular mechanisms that promoted MuSCs activation remained largely unknown. RESULTS: Here, we analyzed transcriptome data from MuSCs activated by different stimuli using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and identified the key long non-coding RNA SNHG1 (lncSNHG1), which promotes the transition from the quiescent to the activated state of MuSCs. Overexpression of lncSNHG1 was able to promote the proliferation and differentiation of MuSCs, whereas knockdown resulted in the opposite results. Mechanistically, the disruption of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway blocked the quiescence exit induced by lncSNHG1. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that lncSNHG1 is a key factor that promotes the transition from the quiescent to the activated state of MuSCs and promotes cell proliferation and differentiation through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.
Neural induction: New insight into the default model and an extended four-step model in vertebrate embryos.
Sagha M
Dev Dyn · 2025 Jul · PMID 40105405 · Publisher ↗
Neural induction is a process by which naïve ectodermal cells differentiate into neural progenitor cells through the inhibition of BMP signaling, a condition typically considered the "default" state in vertebrate embryos...
Neural induction is a process by which naïve ectodermal cells differentiate into neural progenitor cells through the inhibition of BMP signaling, a condition typically considered the "default" state in vertebrate embryos. Studies in vertebrate embryos indicate that active FGF/MAPK signaling reduces BMP signaling to facilitate neural induction. Consequently, I propose that FGF stimulation/BMP inhibition more accurately characterizes the default model. Initially, the neuroectoderm is instructed to differentiate into anterior forebrain tissue, with cranial signals stabilizing this outcome. Subsequently, a gradient of caudalizing signals converts the neuroectodermal cells into posterior midbrain, hindbrain, and spinal cord. Furthermore, at the caudal end of the embryo, neuromesodermal progenitor cells are destined to differentiate into both neural progenitor cells and mesodermal cells, aiding in body extension. In light of these observations, I suggest incorporating an additional step, elongation, into the conventional three-step model of neural induction. This updated model encompasses activation, stabilization, transformation, and elongation.
A head start: The relationship of placental factors to craniofacial and brain development.
Carver AJ, Dunnwald M, Stevens HE
Dev Dyn · 2025 Oct · PMID 40105397 · Full text
In recent years, the importance of placental function for fetal neurodevelopment has become increasingly studied. This field, known as neuroplacentology, has greatly expanded possible etiologies of neurodevelopmental dis...
In recent years, the importance of placental function for fetal neurodevelopment has become increasingly studied. This field, known as neuroplacentology, has greatly expanded possible etiologies of neurodevelopmental disorders by exploring the influence of placental function on brain development. It is also well-established that brain development is influenced by craniofacial morphogenesis. However, there is less focus on the impact of the placenta on craniofacial development. Recent research suggests the functional influence of placental nutrients and hormones on craniofacial skeletal growth, such as prolactin, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1, vitamin D, sulfate, and calcium, impacting both craniofacial and brain development. Therefore, interactions between the placenta and both fetal neurodevelopment and craniofacial development likely influence the growth and morphology of the head as a whole. This review discusses the role of placental hormone production and nutrient delivery in the development of the fetal head-defined as craniofacial and brain tissue together-expanding on the more established focus on brain development to also include the skull (or cranium) and face.
Interspecific comparisons of anuran embryonic epidermal landscapes and energetic trade-offs in response to changes in salinity.
Whitfield K, Crespi EJ
Dev Dyn · 2025 Dec · PMID 40095439 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Freshwater salinization is an emerging stressor in amphibian populations, and embryonic stages are most vulnerable. To better understand the variation in embryonic osmoregulation, we challenged embryos of two...
BACKGROUND: Freshwater salinization is an emerging stressor in amphibian populations, and embryonic stages are most vulnerable. To better understand the variation in embryonic osmoregulation, we challenged embryos of two phylogenetically diverse anuran species, Xenopus laevis and Lithobates (Rana) sylvaticus, along a gradient of non-lethal salinities. We hypothesized embryos at higher salinities will display epidermal plasticity as a coping response and increase energy expenditure related to osmoregulation demands, thereby reducing energy for growth and development. RESULTS: Scanning electron microscopy revealed an extra mucus-secreting cell type and higher ionocyte proportions in the X. laevis epidermis, suggesting more osmoregulatory machinery than L. sylvaticus. Under elevated salinity, X. laevis displayed greater increases in goblet cell proportions, mucus secretion, and reductions in ionocyte apical area compared with L. sylvaticus. Although both species increased oxygen consumption rates and reduced body length with elevated salinity, these effects were proportionally greater in L. sylvaticus at the highest salinity, and only this species slowed developmental rates. CONCLUSION: These findings support the hypothesis that frog embryos respond to salinity by altering the cellular landscape of their epidermis. We show that epidermal cell types, as well as the magnitude of epidermal plasticity and energetic trade-offs in response to salinity, vary among amphibian species.
Squamate ventricular cardiomyocytes: Ploidy, proliferation, and heart muscle cell size in the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius).
Jacyniak K, Barrera Jaimes K, Doan MH … +2 more , Chartrand JM, Vickaryous MK
Dev Dyn · 2025 Nov · PMID 40088131 · Full text
BACKGROUND: While heart function is broadly conserved across vertebrates, the cellular phenotype of muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) varies across taxa and throughout ontogeny. Emerging evidence suggests that some attribute...
BACKGROUND: While heart function is broadly conserved across vertebrates, the cellular phenotype of muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) varies across taxa and throughout ontogeny. Emerging evidence suggests that some attributes may correlate with the capacity for spontaneous cardiomyocyte replacement following injury. For example, among non-regenerating taxa like adult mammals and birds, cardiomyocytes are polyploid, rarely proliferate, and are large in size. In contrast, in regeneration-competent zebrafish and amphibians, cardiomyocytes are diploid, spontaneously proliferate, and are comparatively small. For other species, less is known. RESULTS: Here, we investigate these attributes in the squamate Eublepharis macularius, the leopard gecko. Using the nuclear counterstain DAPI to measure fluorescence intensity as a proxy for DNA content, we found that >90% of adult cardiomyocytes are diploid. Using serial histology and immunostaining for markers of DNA synthesis and mitosis, we determined that adult gecko cardiomyocytes spontaneously proliferate, albeit at significantly lower levels than previously reported in subadults. Furthermore, using wheat germ agglutinin, we found that the cross-sectional area is maintained across ontogeny and that gecko cardiomyocytes are 10× smaller than those of mice. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our data show that gecko cardiomyocytes share several key cellular attributes with regeneration-competent species and that postnatal ventricular growth occurs via cardiomyocyte hyperplasia.
The role of the PTHrP/Ihh feedback loop in the unusual growth plate location in mammalian metatarsals and pisiforms.
Reno PL, Wallace S, Doelp SN … +2 more , Biancaniello M, Kjosness KM
Dev Dyn · 2025 Dec · PMID 40088130 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Longitudinal skeletal growth takes place in the cartilaginous growth plates. While growth plates are found at either end of conventional long bones, they occur at a variety of locations in the mammalian skele...
BACKGROUND: Longitudinal skeletal growth takes place in the cartilaginous growth plates. While growth plates are found at either end of conventional long bones, they occur at a variety of locations in the mammalian skeleton. For example, the metacarpals and metatarsals (MT) in the hands and feet form only a single growth plate at one end, and the pisiform in the wrist is the only carpal bone to contain a growth plate. We take advantage of this natural anatomical variation to test which components of the PTHrP/Ihh feedback loop, a fundamental regulator of chondrocyte differentiation, are specific to growth plate function. RESULTS: Parathyroid hormone-like hormone (Pthlh), the gene that transcribes parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP), is expressed in the reserve zone of the growth plate-forming end of the MT. At the opposite end, the absence of a PTHrP+ reserve zone results in premature chondrocyte differentiation and Indian hedgehog (Ihh) expression. Pthlh is expressed in the reserve zone of the developing pisiform, confirming the existence of a true growth plate. CONCLUSION: A pool of PTHrP+ reserve zone chondrocytes is a defining characteristic of growth plates, and its patterning may be key to evolved differences in growth plate location in the mammalian skeleton.
Dynamics of primary cilia in endothelial and mesenchymal cells throughout mouse lung development.
Spurgin S, Nguimtsop AM, Chaudhry FN … +6 more , Michki SN, Salvador J, Iruela-Arispe ML, Zepp JA, Mukhopadhyay S, Cleaver O
Dev Dyn · 2025 Nov · PMID 40055935 · Full text
Cilia are specialized structures found on a variety of mammalian cells, with variable roles in the transduction of mechanical and biological signals (by primary cilia, PC), as well as in the generation of fluid flow (by...
Cilia are specialized structures found on a variety of mammalian cells, with variable roles in the transduction of mechanical and biological signals (by primary cilia, PC), as well as in the generation of fluid flow (by motile cilia). Their critical role in the establishment of a left-right axis in early development is well described, as well as in the defense immune function of multiciliated upper airway epithelium. By contrast, detailed analysis of the ciliary status of specific cell types during organogenesis and postnatal development has received less attention. In this study, we investigate the progression of ciliary status within the endothelium and mesenchyme of the lung. Remarkably, we find that pulmonary endothelial cells (ECs) lack PC at all stages of development, except in low numbers in the proximal portions of older pulmonary arteries. Mesenchymal cells, by contrast, widely exhibit PC in early development, and a large subset of PDGFRα+ fibroblasts maintain PC into adulthood. The dynamic and differential ciliation of multiple cellular populations in the developing lung both challenges prior assertions that PC are found on all cells and highlights a need to understand their spatiotemporal functions.
Human stem cell model of neural crest cell differentiation reveals a requirement of SF3B4 in survival, maintenance, and differentiation.
Griffin C, Saint-Jeannet JP
Dev Dyn · 2025 Oct · PMID 40047147 · Full text
BACKGROUND: In vitro modeling is a powerful approach to investigate the pathomechanisms driving human congenital conditions. Here, we use human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to model Nager and Rodriguez syndromes, two cra...
BACKGROUND: In vitro modeling is a powerful approach to investigate the pathomechanisms driving human congenital conditions. Here, we use human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to model Nager and Rodriguez syndromes, two craniofacial conditions characterized by hypoplastic neural crest-derived craniofacial bones, caused by pathogenic variants of SF3B4, a core component of the spliceosome. RESULTS: We observed that siRNA-mediated knockdown of SF3B4 interferes with the production of hESC-derived neural crest cells, as seen by a marked reduction in neural crest gene expression. This phenotype is associated with an increase in neural crest cell apoptosis and premature neuronal differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, these results point to a role of SF3B4 in neural crest cell survival, maintenance, and differentiation. We propose that the dysregulation of these processes may contribute to Nager/Rodriguez syndrome-associated craniofacial defects.
Editorial highlights.
Trainor PA
Dev Dyn · 2025 Mar · PMID 40035431 · Publisher ↗
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The synergistic link between sonic hedgehog signaling pathway and gut-lung axis: Its influential role toward chronic obstructive pulmonary disease progression.
Mahajan N, Chopra V, Garg K … +1 more , Sharma S
Dev Dyn · 2025 Sep · PMID 40026283 · Publisher ↗
Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) is an evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway essential for embryonic development, tissue homeostasis, and tumorigenesis. Aberrant activation of the SHH pathway induces various types of cancer and...
Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) is an evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway essential for embryonic development, tissue homeostasis, and tumorigenesis. Aberrant activation of the SHH pathway induces various types of cancer and different types of immune dysregulation. SHH is an extremely important morphogen during lung development, as it regulates the interaction between epithelial and mesenchymal transitions (EMT) in the airways. Cigarette smoking triggers the EMT and activates the SHH signaling pathway, which leads to lung damage and the development of various lung diseases, such as COPD, a smoker's disease. SHH also directs the gut-lung axis (GLA) formation via epithelial-mesenchymal signaling. The abruption or alteration of GLA formation is also responsible for COPD pathogenesis. In this review, we elucidate an overview of the SHH pathway and its inhibitor HHIP, SHH's prominence during lung development, and the dysregulation of the SHH signaling pathway in COPD pathogenesis and its link with COPD clinical features. We also provide insights into the SHH pathway linked with the nicotine pathway and gut-lung axis and their influence on COPD pathogenesis.
Gastric hypoplasia in mice lacking fibroblast growth factor 9.
Mills JC, Thanintorn N, Yin Y … +3 more , McNeill H, Ornitz DM, Willet SG
Dev Dyn · 2025 Nov · PMID 40022597 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Fibroblast Growth Factor 9 (Fgf9) and its paralog Fgf20 are expressed in the developing stomach. We investigate the role of these growth factors during gastric development, using combinations of null alleles....
BACKGROUND: Fibroblast Growth Factor 9 (Fgf9) and its paralog Fgf20 are expressed in the developing stomach. We investigate the role of these growth factors during gastric development, using combinations of null alleles. RESULTS: Analysis of expression databases showed that Fgf9 is expressed in gastric endoderm and surrounding mesoderm such as the mesothelium as early as E8.5, and Fgf20 is expressed in the gastric progenitors of the glandular stomach. To explore whether Fgf9 and Fgf20 are important for gastric development, we examined embryonic stomachs from Fgf9 and Fgf20 null (Fgf9 and Fgf20) mice during development. At E18.5, Fgf9 stomachs were hypoplastic, lacking the squamous forestomach. No changes to glandular stomach differentiation were observed using representative markers of glandular lineages. Fgf9 stomachs were smaller during early development (E12.5 and E15.5). RNA-seq analysis of Fgf9 mice at E15.5 showed that squamous-epithelium-associated transcripts were underrepresented, and glandular epithelial transcripts were overrepresented. Analysis of gastric patterning at E12.5 revealed loss of early squamous progenitors in the epithelium, characterized by loss of SOX2; GATA4 cells. We further show that loss of Fgf20 does not alone impact gastric development nor modify the Fgf9 phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: Fgf9 drives gastric growth and squamous epithelial identity during gastric development.
An analysis of contractile and protrusive cell behaviors at the superficial surface of the zebrafish neural plate.
Araya C, Boekemeyer R, Farlie F … +9 more , Moon L, Darwish F, Rookyard C, Allison L, Vizcay-Barrena G, Fleck R, Aranda M, Tada M, Clarke JDW
Dev Dyn · 2025 Oct · PMID 39985313 · Full text
BACKGROUND: The forces underlying convergence and internalization of the teleost neural plate remain unknown. To help understand this morphogenesis, we analyzed collective and individual cell behaviors at the superficial...
BACKGROUND: The forces underlying convergence and internalization of the teleost neural plate remain unknown. To help understand this morphogenesis, we analyzed collective and individual cell behaviors at the superficial surface of the neural plate as internalization begins to form the neural keel in the hindbrain region of the zebrafish embryo. RESULTS: Convergence to the midline is not accompanied by anteroposterior elongation at this stage, and it is characterized by oscillatory contractile behaviors at the superficial surface of the neural plate, a punctate distribution of Cdh2 and medially polarized actin-rich protrusions at the surface of the neural plate. We also characterize the intimate relationship and dynamic protrusive cell behaviors between the surfaces of the motile neural plate and the stationary overlying non-neural enveloping layer. CONCLUSIONS: Superficial neural plate cells are coupled by a punctate distribution of Cdh2-rich adhesions. At this surface, cells tug on neighbors using oscillatory contractions. Oscillatory contractions accompany convergence and shrinkage of the cells' superficial surface for internalization during keeling. Some shrinkage for internalization occurs without oscillations. The deep surface of the overlying non-neural enveloping layer is in contact with the superficial surface of the neural plate, suggesting that it may constrain the neural plate movements of convergence and internalization.
Active cell proliferation contributes to the enlargement of the nascent nucleus pulposus.
Long RG, Lee C, Tabin CJ
Dev Dyn · 2025 Oct · PMID 39976317 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: The notochord is an embryonic organ involved in forming and patterning the spinal column. The mechanism by which the notochord transforms from a continuous rod to a segmented structure excluded from the verte...
BACKGROUND: The notochord is an embryonic organ involved in forming and patterning the spinal column. The mechanism by which the notochord transforms from a continuous rod to a segmented structure excluded from the vertebrae and residing solely as the nucleus pulposus within the intervertebral disc is understudied. The current model of notochordal segmentation suggests that swelling through formation and maturation of the vertebrate cartilage squeezes the notochord cells from the vertebra. RESULTS: Analysis of Collagen 10, a marker for hypertrophic differentiation, as well as evaluation of changes in cell density, reveal that the expansion of the vertebral precursor cells occurs after notochord segmentation has already taken place. We find that the bulk of the nucleus pulposus is derived from accelerated proliferation within the nucleus pulposus itself. In a model of cell proliferation, the increased proliferation at the nucleus pulposus importantly contributes to expand the nucleus pulposus area. CONCLUSIONS: Our data is consistent with the hypothesis that notochord cell proliferation contributes to the enlargement of the nucleus pulposus before the vertebra undergo hypertrophy.
Loss of the epithelial transcription factor grhl3 leads to variably penetrant developmental phenotypes in zebrafish.
Mathiyalagan N, Johnson TK, Di Pastena Z … +3 more , Fuller JN, Miles LB, Dworkin S
Dev Dyn · 2025 Oct · PMID 39976312 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Environmental influence is critical for embryogenesis but is significantly under-appreciated under lab conditions, which are not typically designed to robustly test environmental variability. Here, we report...
BACKGROUND: Environmental influence is critical for embryogenesis but is significantly under-appreciated under lab conditions, which are not typically designed to robustly test environmental variability. Here, we report environmental effects on the developmental phenotype of zebrafish lacking the transcription factor Grainyhead-like 3 (grhl3), a highly conserved gene that is pivotal in epithelial barrier formation, neurulation, craniofacial development, and convergence-extension. RESULTS: We had previously reported that deletion of grhl3 led to embryonic lethality by 11 h post-fertilization (hpf); however, housing these grhl3-lines in a different aquatic facility led to substantial differences in phenotypic presentation in grhl3-nullizygous (grhl3) embryos. We found that grhl3 embryos presented with three distinct phenotypes, characterized by significant reductions in body length, aberrant orofacial cavity formation and craniofacial morphogenesis and impaired intestinal barrier maintenance. CONCLUSIONS: Our study describes a new model of partial phenotypic penetrance in genetically identical embryos. This may serve as a valuable model system in which to understand gene-environment interactions in developmental and epithelial homeostasis.
β-Catenin localization in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi suggests an ancestral role in cell adhesion and nuclear function.
Walters BM, Guttieres LJ, Goëb M … +3 more , Marjenberg SJ, Martindale MQ, Wikramanayake AH
Dev Dyn · 2025 Sep · PMID 39976308 · Full text
BACKGROUND: The emergence of multicellularity in animals marks a pivotal evolutionary event, which was likely enabled by molecular innovations in the way cells adhere and communicate with one another. β-Catenin is signif...
BACKGROUND: The emergence of multicellularity in animals marks a pivotal evolutionary event, which was likely enabled by molecular innovations in the way cells adhere and communicate with one another. β-Catenin is significant to this transition due to its dual role as both a structural component in the cadherin-catenin complex and as a transcriptional coactivator involved in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. However, our knowledge of how this protein functions in ctenophores, one of the earliest diverging metazoans, is limited. RESULTS: To study β-catenin function in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, we generated affinity-purified polyclonal antibodies targeting Mlβ-catenin. We then used this tool to observe β-catenin protein localization in developing Mnemiopsis embryos. In this article, we provide evidence of consistent β-catenin protein enrichment at cell-cell interfaces in Mnemiopsis embryos. Additionally, we found β-catenin enrichment in some nuclei, particularly restricted to the oral pole around the time of gastrulation. The Mlβ-catenin affinity-purified antibodies now provide us with a powerful reagent to study the ancestral functions of β-catenin in cell adhesion and transcriptional regulation. CONCLUSIONS: The localization pattern of embryonic Mlβ-catenin suggests that this protein had an ancestral role in cell adhesion and may have a nuclear function as well.
Breeding fat-tailed dunnarts (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) in captivity: Revised practices to minimize stress whilst maintaining considerations of wild biology.
Scicluna EL, Newton AH, Hutchison JC … +5 more , Dimovski AM, Fanson KV, D'Souza G, Whitehead S, Pask AJ
Dev Dyn · 2025 Feb · PMID 39895010 · Full text
BACKGROUND: The fat-tailed dunnart is a small dasyurid marsupial which is emerging as a robust laboratory model for conservation, developmental, and reproductive biology research. While these marsupials present extremely...
BACKGROUND: The fat-tailed dunnart is a small dasyurid marsupial which is emerging as a robust laboratory model for conservation, developmental, and reproductive biology research. While these marsupials present extremely valuable models, housing non-domesticated animals in captivity can present a wide range of potential stressors for the animals, which need to be managed to ensure colony health. Notably, dunnarts rely on scent marking for social communication, which is important to maintain to reduce stress in artificial environments. RESULTS: In this study, we examine captive management techniques and provide updated recommendations which consider both scientific and conservation outcomes. Through ongoing management, we observe that recapitulating aspects of a natural environment has a significant impact on stress reduction and improving the overall reproductive fitness of captive-bred colonies. Moreover, our study provides evidence for preferred cage base substrate types, and quantification of stress caused by the cadence of enclosure cleaning using fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels as an indicator of stress. CONCLUSION: The study underscores the significance of population management in captive breeding programs, advocating for maintaining genetic diversity and meticulous record-keeping. We have further refined best practice for managing captively bred dunnart colonies, outlining guidelines for enclosure requirements, handling, cleaning, feeding, and lighting during breeding. Overall, the research aims to improve the health and productivity of captive fat-tailed dunnarts, ensuring their continued contribution as a valuable laboratory-based marsupial model and aiding in the conservation of related endangered species, while meeting a balance between maintenance of strict hygiene and alignment with wild-life history.
Endocytosis mediated by megalin and cubilin is involved in enamel development.
Wang A, Chen Y, Zhang X … +4 more , Liu M, Liu S, Kozyraki R, Chen Z
Dev Dyn · 2025 Sep · PMID 39853824 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Endocytosis of enamel matrix proteins (EMPs) by ameloblasts is a key process in the mineralization of enamel during the maturation stage of amelogenesis. However, the relevant receptor mediating endocytosis o...
BACKGROUND: Endocytosis of enamel matrix proteins (EMPs) by ameloblasts is a key process in the mineralization of enamel during the maturation stage of amelogenesis. However, the relevant receptor mediating endocytosis of EMPs is still unclear. The aim of this study was to explore potential endocytic receptors involved in this process. RESULTS: Two endocytic receptors, megalin, and cubilin, were found to be distributed in ameloblasts of mouse incisors and molars during the secretory and maturation stages. Megalin was located at the distal end of ameloblasts during the maturation stage when proteolysis and recycling were the most active. Megalin and cubilin were also expressed in an ameloblast-lineage cell (ALC) line. The immunoelectron microscopy results showed that megalin was positively labeled on the vesicle structures of ALC, where endocytosis happened. Immunofluorescence showed that megalin and cubilin were colocalized with amelogenin, and the absorption of amelogenin was significantly reduced when megalin and cubilin were inhibited by their inhibitor, receptor-associated protein (RAP). Knockdown of megalin and cubilin with siRNA also reduced the ability of ALC to absorb amelogenin. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that megalin and cubilin are involved in the absorption process of ameloblasts during amelogenesis.
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