Researchers from the Higher Council for Scientific Research, CSIC , have determined which are the signals that make possible the formation of the central and peripheral nervous system during the embryonic period. The advance will allow the study of some serious disorders that can occur in the development of the human embryo.
During the development of the embryo, the coordination between the peripheral and the central nervous system (basically made up of the brain and spinal cord) is essential for the close relationship that both will have, both in their own formation and in the adult individual. Peripheral nervous tissue is generated by neural crest cells, which form in the embryonic neural tube . This neural tube is the origin of what will later become the spinal cord and brain. These cells progressively leave this area and colonize tissues and organs on the periphery, where they will later become part of the nervous system.
Aixa Morales and Ruth Diez del Corral, from the Cajal Institute have shown what are, specifically, the molecular signals that allow this coordinated development during the growth of the embryo. The study by these CSIC scientists has been published in the Journal of Cell Biology. As Aixa Morales herself explains, retinal acid (an active form of vitamin A), and FGF or fibroblast growth factor “specifically control the correct moment for the cells to exit the neural crest of the neural tube.”
This advance allows us to better understand the molecular mechanisms that control the transition process called epithelium-mesenchyme. This occurs in the development of the embryo, but also in pathological processes such as tumor metastasis. In this way, and according to the researchers themselves, “this study will allow us to explore the molecular bases of severe disorders of human embryonic development that cause failures in the formation of the peripheral nervous system”. This is the case of diseases such as aganglionic megacolon and other diseases derived from failures in the development of the neural crest, some of these manifest as disabilities of various types.
