In vitro induction of prostate buds from murine urogenital epithelium in the absence of mesenchymal cells.

The prostate is a male reproductive gland which secretes prostatic fluid that enhances male fertility. During development and instigated by fetal testosterone, prostate cells arise caudal to the bladder at the urogenital sinus (UGS), when the urogenital mesenchyme (UGM) secretes signals to the urogenital epithelium (UGE). These initial mesenchymal signals induce prostate-specific gene expression in the UGE, after which epithelial progenitor cells form prostatic buds.

Early anteroposterior regionalisation of human neural crest is shaped by a pro-mesodermal factor.

The neural crest (NC) is an important multipotent embryonic cell population and its impaired specification leads to various developmental defects, often in an anteroposterior (A-P) axial level-specific manner. The mechanisms underlying the correct A-P regionalisation of human NC cells remain elusive. Recent studies have indicated that trunk NC cells, the presumed precursors of childhood tumour neuroblastoma, are derived from neuromesodermal-potent progenitors of the postcranial body.

Understanding axial progenitor biology and .

The generation of the components that make up the embryonic body axis, such as the spinal cord and vertebral column, takes place in an anterior-to-posterior (head-to-tail) direction. This process is driven by the coordinated production of various cell types from a pool of posteriorly-located axial progenitors. Here, we review the key features of this process and the biology of axial progenitors, including neuromesodermal progenitors, the common precursors of the spinal cord and trunk musculature.

A Tgfbr1/Snai1-dependent developmental module at the core of vertebrate axial elongation.

Formation of the vertebrate postcranial body axis follows two sequential but distinct phases. The first phase generates pre-sacral structures (the so-called primary body) through the activity of the primitive streak on axial progenitors within the epiblast. The embryo then switches to generate the secondary body (post-sacral structures), which depends on axial progenitors in the tail bud.

Transcriptionally dynamic progenitor populations organised around a stable niche drive axial patterning.

The elongating mouse anteroposterior axis is supplied by progenitors with distinct tissue fates. It is not known whether these progenitors confer anteroposterior pattern to the embryo. We have analysed the progenitor population transcriptomes in the mouse primitive streak and tail bud throughout axial elongation.

A Gene Regulatory Network Balances Neural and Mesoderm Specification during Vertebrate Trunk Development.

Transcriptional networks, regulated by extracellular signals, control cell fate decisions and determine the size and composition of developing tissues. One example is the network controlling bipotent neuromesodermal progenitors (NMPs) that fuel embryo elongation by generating spinal cord and trunk mesoderm tissue. Here, we use single-cell transcriptomics to identify the molecular signature of NMPs and reverse engineer the mechanism that regulates their differentiation.

Position-dependent plasticity of distinct progenitor types in the primitive streak.

The rostrocaudal (head-to-tail) axis is supplied by populations of progenitors at the caudal end of the embryo. Despite recent advances characterising one of these populations, the neuromesodermal progenitors, their nature and relationship to other populations remains unclear. Here we show that neuromesodermal progenitors are a single Sox2(low)T(low) entity whose choice of neural or mesodermal fate is dictated by their position in the progenitor region.

Intrinsic factors and the embryonic environment influence the formation of extragonadal teratomas during gestation.

Background: Pluripotent cells are present in early embryos until the levels of the pluripotency regulator Oct4 drop at the beginning of somitogenesis. Elevating Oct4 levels in explanted post-pluripotent cells in vitro restores their pluripotency. Cultured pluripotent cells can participate in normal development when introduced into host embryos up to the end of gastrulation.

In vitro generation of neuromesodermal progenitors reveals distinct roles for wnt signalling in the specification of spinal cord and paraxial mesoderm identity.

Cells of the spinal cord and somites arise from shared, dual-fated precursors, located towards the posterior of the elongating embryo. Here we show that these neuromesodermal progenitors (NMPs) can readily be generated in vitro from mouse and human pluripotent stem cells by activating Wnt and Fgf signalling, timed to emulate in vivo development. Similar to NMPs in vivo, these cells co-express the neural factor Sox2 and the mesodermal factor Brachyury and differentiate into neural and paraxial mesoderm in vitro and in vivo.

Distinct Wnt-driven primitive streak-like populations reflect in vivo lineage precursors.

During gastrulation, epiblast cells are pluripotent and their fate is thought to be constrained principally by their position. Cell fate is progressively restricted by localised signalling cues from areas including the primitive streak. However, it is unknown whether this restriction accompanies, at the individual cell level, a reduction in potency.

Redefining the progression of lineage segregations during mammalian embryogenesis by clonal analysis.

Clonal lineage information is fundamental in revealing cell fate choices. Using genetic single-cell labeling in utero, we investigated lineage segregations during anteroposterior axis formation in mouse. We show that while endoderm and surface ectoderm segregate during gastrulation, neural ectoderm and mesoderm share a common progenitor persisting through all stages of axis elongation.