During embryogenesis, neural crest cells migrate along specific routes to their final destinations, where they differentiate into several cell types. On p. 2587, De Calisto et al. now report that non-canonical Wnt signalling through the planar cell polarity or the Wnt-Ca2+ pathway is essential for the migration of these cells in Xenopus embryos. Their grafting and in vitro experiments with embryos carrying Dishevelled (Dsh)mutations show that non-canonical Wnt signalling controls neural crest migration; Dsh is a key component of both non-canonical Wnt signalling pathways. Other experiments uncover an essential role for the non-canonical Wnt ligand Wnt11 in this process. Finally, time-lapse analysis demonstrates that non-canonical Wnt signalling controls neural crest migration in vitro by stabilising the protrusions of migrating cells. The researchers propose that,as in mesoderm migration during vertebrate gastrulation, non-canonical Wnt signalling controls cytoskeletal behaviour or cell-adhesion properties during neural crest migration.
Non-canonical signals for neural crest migration
Non-canonical signals for neural crest migration. Development 1 June 2005; 132 (11): e1104. doi:
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