Wnt signaling and tbx16 form a bistable switch to commit bipotential progenitors to mesoderm

Anterior to posterior growth of the vertebrate body is fueled by a posteriorly located population of bipotential neuro-mesodermal progenitor cells. These progenitors have a limited rate of proliferation and their maintenance is crucial for completion of the anterior-posterior axis. How they leave the progenitor state and commit to differentiation is largely unknown, in part because widespread modulation of factors essential for this process causes organism-wide effects. Using a novel assay, we show that zebrafish Tbx16 (Spadetail) is capable of advancing mesodermal differentiation cell-autonomously. Tbx16 locks cells into the mesodermal state by not only activating downstream mesodermal genes, but also by repressing bipotential progenitor genes, in part through a direct repression of sox2. We demonstrate that tbx16 is activated as cells move from an intermediate Wnt environment to a high Wnt environment, and show that Wnt signaling activates the tbx16 promoter. Importantly, high-level Wnt signaling is able to accelerate mesodermal differentiation cell-autonomously, just as we observe with Tbx16. Finally, because our assay for mesodermal commitment is quantitative we are able to show that the acceleration of mesodermal differentiation is surprisingly incomplete, implicating a potential separation of cell movement and differentiation during this process. Together, our data suggest a model in which high levels of Wnt signaling induce a transition to mesoderm by directly activating tbx16, which in turn acts to irreversibly flip a bistable switch, leading to maintenance of the mesodermal fate and repression of the bipotential progenitor state, even as cells leave the initial high-Wnt environment.

Dynamics of BMP signaling in limb bud mesenchyme and polydactyly

Mutations in the Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) pathway are associated with a range of defects in skeletal formation. Genetic analysis of BMP signaling requirements is complicated by the presence of three partially redundant BMPs that are required for multiple stages of limb development. We generated an inducible allele of a BMP inhibitor, Gremlin, which reduces BMP signaling. We show that BMPs act in a dose and time dependent manner in which early reduction of BMPs result in digit loss, while inhibiting overall BMP signaling between E10.5 and E11.5 allows polydactylous digit formation. During this period, inhibiting BMPs extends the duration of FGF signaling. Sox9 is initially expressed in normal digit ray domains but at reduced levels that correlate with the reduction in BMP signaling. The persistence of elevated FGF signaling likely promotes cell proliferation and survival, inhibiting the activation of Sox9 and secondarily, inhibiting the differentiation of Sox9-expressing chondrocytes. Our results provide new insights into the timing and clarify the mechanisms underlying BMP signaling during digit morphogenesis.

Cdc25 and the importance of G2 control: insights from developmental biology

While cell proliferation is an essential part of embryonic development, cells within an embryo cannot proliferate freely. Instead, they must balance proliferation and other cellular events such as differentiation and morphogenesis throughout embryonic growth. Although the G1 phase has been a major focus of study in cell cycle control, it is becoming increasingly clear that G2 regulation also plays an essential role during embryonic development. Here we discuss the role of Cdc25, a key regulator of mitotic entry, with a focus on several recent examples that show how the precise control of Cdc25 activity and the G2/M transition are critical for different aspects of embryogenesis. We finish by discussing a promising technology that allows easy visualization of embryonic and adult cells potentially regulated at mitotic entry, permitting the rapid identification of other instances where the exit from G2 plays an essential role in development and tissue homeostasis.

Restricted expression of cdc25a in the tailbud is essential for formation of the zebrafish posterior body

The vertebrate body forms from a multipotent stem cell-like progenitor population that contributes newly differentiated cells to the posterior end of the embryo. Here, in vivo analyses show that proliferation is compartmentalized at the posterior end of the zebrafish embryo via regulated expression of mitotic factor Cdc25a. Furthermore, compartmentalization of proliferation during embryogenesis is critical to both body extension and muscle cell fate. This study reveals an unexpected link between precise regulation of the cell cycle and differentiation from multipotency in the vertebrate embryo.

The vertebrate body forms from a multipotent stem cell-like progenitor population that progressively contributes newly differentiated cells to the most posterior end of the embryo. How the progenitor population balances proliferation and other cellular functions is unknown due to the difficulty of analyzing cell division in vivo. Here, we show that proliferation is compartmentalized at the posterior end of the embryo during early zebrafish development by the regulated expression of cdc25a, a key controller of mitotic entry. Through the use of a transgenic line that misexpresses cdc25a, we show that this compartmentalization is critical for the formation of the posterior body. Upon misexpression of cdc25a, several essential T-box transcription factors are abnormally expressed, including Spadetail/Tbx16, which specifically prevents the normal onset of myoD transcription, leading to aberrant muscle formation. Our results demonstrate that compartmentalization of proliferation during early embryogenesis is critical for both extension of the vertebrate body and differentiation of the multipotent posterior progenitor cells to the muscle cell fate.

Taking a bite out of Wnts

Proper control of intercellular communication through the Wnt signaling pathway is of critical importance for many aspects of biology, including head formation during vertebrate embryogenesis. A recent Cell paper describes the discovery of a novel protein, TIKI, which controls head size through a surprising new mechanism of Wnt antagonism.

Multiphasic and tissue-specific roles of sonic hedgehog in cloacal septation and external genitalia development

Malformations of the external genitalia are among the most common congenital anomalies in humans. The urogenital and anorectal sinuses develop from the embryonic cloaca, and the penis and clitoris develop from the genital tubercle. Within the genital tubercle, the endodermally derived urethral epithelium functions as an organizer and expresses sonic hedgehog (Shh). Shh knockout mice lack external genitalia and have a persistent cloaca. This identified an early requirement for Shh, but precluded analysis of its later role in the genital tubercle. We conducted temporally controlled deletions of Shh and report that Shh is required continuously through the onset of sexual differentiation. Shh function is divisible into two temporal phases; an anogenital phase, during which Shh regulates outgrowth and patterning of the genital tubercle and septation of the cloaca, and a later external genital phase, during which Shh regulates urethral tube closure. Disruption of Shh function during the anogenital phase causes coordinated anorectal and genitourinary malformations, whereas inactivation during the external genital phase causes hypospadias. Shh directs cloacal septation by promoting cell proliferation in adjacent urorectal septum mesenchyme. Additionally, conditional inactivation of smoothened in the genital ectoderm and cloacal/urethral endoderm shows that the ectoderm is a direct target of Shh and is required for urethral tube closure, highlighting a novel role for genital ectoderm in urethragenesis. Identification of the stages during which disruption of Shh results in either isolated or coordinated malformations of anorectal and external genital organs provides a new tool for investigating the etiology of anogenital malformations in humans.