NACA deficiency reveals the crucial role of somite-derived stromal cells in haematopoietic niche formation.

The ontogeny of haematopoietic niches in vertebrates is essentially unknown. Here we show that the stromal cells of the caudal haematopoietic tissue (CHT), the first niche where definitive haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) home in zebrafish development, derive from the caudal somites through an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The resulting stromal cell progenitors accompany the formation of the caudal vein sinusoids, the other main component of the CHT niche, and mature into reticular cells lining and interconnecting sinusoids.

Origins and unconventional behavior of neutrophils in developing zebrafish.

The first leukocytes that arise in the development of vertebrate embryos are the primitive macrophages, which differentiate in the yolk sac and then quickly invade embryonic tissues. These macrophages have been considered to constitute a separate lineage, giving rise to no other cell type. Using an in vivo photoactivatable cell tracer in the transparent zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo, we demonstrated that this lineage also gave rise to an equal or higher number of neutrophilic granulocytes.