Click here to close Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly. We suggest using a current version of Chrome, FireFox, or Safari.
XB-ART-48703
J Vis Exp 2014 Mar 11;85:. doi: 10.3791/51118.
Show Gene links Show Anatomy links

Dissection of Xenopus laevis neural crest for in vitro explant culture or in vivo transplantation.

Milet C , Monsoro-Burq AH .


???displayArticle.abstract???
The neural crest (NC) is a transient dorsal neural tube cell population that undergoes an epithelium-to-mesenchyme transition (EMT) at the end of neurulation, migrates extensively towards various organs, and differentiates into many types of derivatives (neurons, glia, cartilage and bone, pigmented and endocrine cells). In this protocol, we describe how to dissect the premigratory cranial NC from Xenopus laevis embryos, in order to study NC development in vivo and in vitro. The frog model offers many advantages to study early development; abundant batches are available, embryos develop rapidly, in vivo gain and loss of function strategies allow manipulation of gene expression prior to NC dissection in donor and/or host embryos. The NC explants can be plated on fibronectin and used for in vitro studies. They can be cultured for several days in a serum-free defined medium. We also describe how to graft NC explants back into host embryos for studying NC migration and differentiation in vivo.

???displayArticle.pubmedLink??? 24637938
???displayArticle.pmcLink??? PMC4123508
???displayArticle.link??? J Vis Exp


Species referenced: Xenopus laevis
Genes referenced: fn1

References [+] :
Acloque, Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions: the importance of changing cell state in development and disease. 2009, Pubmed