Top: Transgenic expression of PdgfraΔK-EGFP (cyan) in nkx3.1:Gal4; UAS:NTR-mCherry (magenta) background at 56 hpf. mCherry+ EGFP+ cells are mostly restricted in the dorsal or ventral regions of the trunk. A transverse view of a 50 μm region centered on the dashed line is shown on the right, with the neural tube (nt) and notochord (n) outlined by dotted lines. Bottom: Model for how the migration of sclerotome-derived cells is regulated by chemoattraction mediated by Pdgfab/Pdgfra signaling. (A) In wild-type embryos, nkx3.1+ (cyan) sclerotome-derived cells express the receptor Pdgfra (magenta), while the medial somites express the ligand Pdgfab (orange) in response to Hh signaling. pdgfra+ sclerotome-derived cells undergo extensive migration toward both the notochord in the medial trunk and the fin fold. (B) In pdgfra−/− mutants (pdgframRFP/mRFP and pdgfraref/ref), nkx3.1+ sclerotome-derived cells fail to migrate in any direction and remain in their original location in the ventral and dorsal parts of the somites. (C) In pdgfab−/− embryos, pdgfra+ sclerotome-derived cells fail to migrate toward the notochord, although migration toward the fin fold remains unaffected. (D) In pdgfab−/− embryos with mosaic pdgfab expression, nkx3.1+ sclerotome cells can migrate toward the ectopic pdgfab-expressing cells, either medially around the notochord or ventrally toward the yolk extension. When the pdgfab source is located near or in the notochord, it can completely rescue the migration of nkx3.1+ sclerotome cells toward the notochord. These diagrams depict a 2-somite region located above the yolk extension of a zebrafish embryo at 48 hpf. nt: neural tube; n: notochord.
What guides fibroblast precursors' migration from the #sclerotome during vertebrate development? @penghuang031.bsky.social &co show that this is driven by #PDGF -mediated chemoattraction, enabling their differentiation into specialized #fibroblast subtypes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3HTZ92Y