Cellular and molecular mechanisms of convergence and extension in zebrafish

Gag proteins encoded by endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development

Transposable elements (TEs) make up the bulk of eukaryotic genomes and examples abound of TE-derived sequences repurposed for organismal function. The process by which TEs become coopted remains obscure because most cases involve ancient, transpositionally inactive elements. Reports of active TEs serving beneficial functions are scarce and often contentious due to difficulties in manipulating repetitive sequences. Here we show that recently active TEs in zebrafish encode products critical for embryonic development. Knockdown and rescue experiments demonstrate that the endogenous retrovirus family BHIKHARI-1 (Bik-1) encodes a Gag protein essential for mesoderm development. Mechanistically, Bik-1 Gag associates with the cell membrane and its ectopic expression in chicken embryos alters cell migration. Similarly, depletion of BHIKHARI-2 Gag, a relative of Bik-1, causes defects in neural crest development in zebrafish. We propose an "addiction" model to explain how active TEs can be integrated into conserved developmental processes.

Emergence of a left-right symmetric body plan in vertebrate embryos

External bilateral symmetry is a prevalent feature in vertebrates, which emerges during early embryonic development. To begin with, vertebrate embryos are largely radially symmetric before transitioning to bilaterally symmetry, after which, morphogenesis of various bilateral tissues (e.g somites, otic vesicle, limb bud), and structures (e.g palate, jaw) ensue. While a significant amount of work has probed the mechanisms behind symmetry breaking in the left-right axis leading to asymmetric positioning of internal organs, little is known about how bilateral tissues emerge at the same time with the same shape and size and at the same position on the two sides of the embryo. By discussing emergence of symmetry in many bilateral tissues and structures across vertebrate model systems, we highlight that understanding symmetry establishment is largely an open field, which will provide deep insights into fundamental problems in developmental biology for decades to come.

EGFR-dependent actomyosin patterning coordinates morphogenetic movements between tissues

The movements that give rise to the body's structure are powered by cell shape changes and rearrangements that are coordinated at supracellular scales. How such cellular coordination arises and integrates different morphogenetic programs is unclear. Using quantitative imaging, we found a complex pattern of adherens junction (AJ) levels in the ectoderm prior to gastrulation onset in Drosophila. AJ intensity exhibited a double-sided gradient, with peaks at the dorsal midline and ventral neuroectoderm. We show that this dorsal-ventral AJ pattern is regulated by epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling and that this signal is required for ectoderm cell movement during mesoderm invagination and axis extension. We identify AJ levels and junctional actomyosin as downstream effectors of EGFR signaling. Overall, our study demonstrates a mechanism of coordination between tissue folding and convergent extension that facilitates embryo-wide gastrulation movements.

Striped Expression of Leucine-Rich Repeat Proteins Coordinates Cell Intercalation and Compartment Boundary Formation in the Early Drosophila Embryo

Planar polarity is a commonly observed phenomenon in which proteins display a consistent asymmetry in their subcellular localization or activity across the plane of a tissue. During animal development, planar polarity is a fundamental mechanism for coordinating the behaviors of groups of cells to achieve anisotropic tissue remodeling, growth, and organization. Therefore, a primary focus of developmental biology research has been to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying planar polarity in a variety of systems to identify conserved principles of tissue organization. In the early Drosophila embryo, the germband neuroectoderm epithelium rapidly doubles in length along the anterior-posterior axis through a process known as convergent extension (CE); it also becomes subdivided into tandem tissue compartments through the formation of compartment boundaries (CBs). Both processes are dependent on the planar polarity of proteins involved in cellular tension and adhesion. The enrichment of actomyosin-based tension and adherens junction-based adhesion at specific cell-cell contacts is required for coordinated cell intercalation, which drives CE, and the creation of highly stable cell-cell contacts at CBs. Recent studies have revealed a system for rapid cellular polarization triggered by the expression of leucine-rich-repeat (LRR) cell-surface proteins in striped patterns. In particular, the non-uniform expression of Toll-2, Toll-6, Toll-8, and Tartan generates local cellular asymmetries that allow cells to distinguish between cell-cell contacts oriented parallel or perpendicular to the anterior-posterior axis. In this review, we discuss (1) the biomechanical underpinnings of CE and CB formation, (2) how the initial symmetry-breaking events of anterior-posterior patterning culminate in planar polarity, and (3) recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms downstream of LRR receptors that lead to planar polarized tension and junctional adhesion.

Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed epiboly delayed mechanisms of 2,5-dichloro-1, 4-benuinone on zebrafish embryos

2,5-Dichloro-1,4-benzenediol (2,5-DCBQ) is a putative disinfection by-product that belongs to the halogenated benzoquinone class. However, its developmental toxicity and related mechanism remained unclarified. In our study, we used zebrafish embryos as the model and exposed them to graded concentrations of 2,5-DCBQ (100, 200, 300, 400 μg/L). We found that the rate of epiboly abnormalities increased significantly in a concentration-dependent manner. The results of whole-mount in situ hybridization (WISH) indicated that the expression patterns and levels of chordin (dorsoventral marker), foxa2 (endodermal marker), eve1 (ventral mesodermal marker), and foxb1a (ectodermal marker) were altered, suggesting that 2,5-DCBQ might affect the germ layer development of zebrafish embryos. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were adopted to explore the molecular mechanisms of embryonic developmental delays. The results showed that 2,5-DCBQ exposure induced 1163 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 37 differential metabolites (DEMs). Bioinformatic analysis enriched the most affected molecular pathways (Wnt signaling pathway, cell adhesion molecules, actin cytoskeleton regulation) and metabolic pathways (purine metabolism, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, arginine and proline metabolism) in zebrafish embryos. To summarize, our findings broadened the molecular mechanisms of 2,5-DCBQ embryotoxicity through multi-omics and bioinformatic analyses.

The dark kinase STK32A regulates hair cell planar polarity opposite of EMX2 in the developing mouse inner ear

The vestibular maculae of the inner ear contain sensory receptor hair cells that detect linear acceleration and contribute to equilibrioception to coordinate posture and ambulatory movements. These hair cells are divided between two groups, separated by a line of polarity reversal (LPR), with oppositely oriented planar-polarized stereociliary bundles that detect motion in opposite directions. The transcription factor EMX2 is known to establish this planar polarized organization in mouse by regulating the distribution of the transmembrane receptor GPR156 at hair cell boundaries in one group of cells. However, the genes regulated by EMX2 in this context were previously not known. Using mouse as a model, we have identified the serine threonine kinase STK32A as a downstream effector negatively regulated by EMX2. Stk32a is expressed in hair cells on one side of the LPR in a pattern complementary to Emx2 expression in hair cells on the opposite side. Stk32a is necessary to align the intrinsic polarity of the bundle with the core planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins in EMX2-negative regions, and is sufficient to reorient bundles when ectopically expressed in neighboring EMX2-positive regions. We demonstrate that STK32A reinforces LPR formation by regulating the apical localization of GPR156. These observations support a model in which bundle orientation is determined through separate mechanisms in hair cells on opposite sides of the maculae, with EMX2-mediated repression of Stk32a determining the final position of the LPR.

A compound PCP scheme underlies sequential rosettes-based cell intercalation

The formation of sequential rosettes is a type of collective cell behavior recently discovered in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo that mediates directional cell migration through sequential formation and resolution of multicellular rosettes involving the migrating cell and its neighboring cells along the way. Here, we show that a planar cell polarity (PCP)-based polarity scheme regulates sequential rosettes, which is distinct from the known mode of PCP regulation in multicellular rosettes during the process of convergent extension. Specifically, non-muscle myosin (NMY) localization and edge contraction are perpendicular to that of Van Gogh as opposed to colocalizing with Van Gogh. Further analyses suggest a two-component polarity scheme: one being the canonical PCP pathway with MIG-1/Frizzled and VANG-1/Van Gogh localized to the vertical edges, the other being MIG-1/Frizzled and NMY-2 localized to the midline/contracting edges. The NMY-2 localization and contraction of the midline edges also required LAT-1/Latrophilin, an adhesion G protein-coupled receptor that has not been shown to regulate multicellular rosettes. Our results establish a distinct mode of PCP-mediated cell intercalation and shed light on the versatile nature of the PCP pathway.

Dephosphorylation of Y228 and Y217 and phosphorylation of Y335 in p120 catenin activate convergent extension during zebrafish gastrulation

BACKGROUND

The cadherin-associated protein p120 catenin regulates convergent extension through interactions with cadherin proteins, Cdc42, and Rac1, as we previously showed in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Phosphorylation of p120 catenin changes the nature of its activity in vitro but is virtually unexplored in embryos. We used our previously developed antisense RNA splice-site morpholino targeted to endogenous p120 catenin-δ1 to cause defects in axis elongation probing the functions of three p120 catenin tyrosine-phosphorylation sites in gastrulating zebrafish embryos.

RESULTS

The morpholino-induced defects were rescued by co-injections with mouse p120 catenin-δ1-3A mRNAs mutated at residues Y228 and Y217 to a non-phosphorylatable phenylalanine (F) or mutated at residue Y335 to a phosphomimetic glutamic acid (E). Co-injection of the complementary mutations Y228E, Y217E, or Y335F mRNAs partially rescued embryos whereas dual mutation to Y228E-Y217E blocked rescue. Immunopurification showed Y228F mutant proteins preferentially interacted with Rac1, potentially promoting cell migration. In contrast, the phosphomimetic Y228E preferentially interacted with E-cadherin increasing adhesion. Both Y228F and Y335F strongly bind VAV2.

CONCLUSIONS

p120 catenin serves dual roles during gastrulation of zebrafish. Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of tyrosine residues Y217, Y228, and Y335 precisely balance cell adhesion and cell migration to facilitate somite compaction and axis elongation.

Wnt/planar cell polarity signaling controls morphogenetic movements of gastrulation and neural tube closure

Gastrulation and neurulation are successive morphogenetic processes that play key roles in shaping the basic embryonic body plan. Importantly, they operate through common cellular and molecular mechanisms to set up the three spatially organized germ layers and to close the neural tube. During gastrulation and neurulation, convergent extension movements driven by cell intercalation and oriented cell division generate major forces to narrow the germ layers along the mediolateral axis and elongate the embryo in the anteroposterior direction. Apical constriction also makes an important contribution to promote the formation of the blastopore and the bending of the neural plate. Planar cell polarity proteins are major regulators of asymmetric cell behaviors and critically involved in a wide variety of developmental processes, from gastrulation and neurulation to organogenesis. Mutations of planar cell polarity genes can lead to general defects in the morphogenesis of different organs and the co-existence of distinct congenital diseases, such as spina bifida, hearing deficits, kidney diseases, and limb elongation defects. This review outlines our current understanding of non-canonical Wnt signaling, commonly known as Wnt/planar cell polarity signaling, in regulating morphogenetic movements of gastrulation and neural tube closure during development and disease. It also attempts to identify unanswered questions that deserve further investigations.

Cellular protrusions in 3D: Orchestrating early mouse embryogenesis

Cellular protrusions generated by the actin cytoskeleton are central to the process of building the body of the embryo. Problems with cellular protrusions underlie human diseases and syndromes, including implantation defects and pregnancy loss, congenital birth defects, and cancer. Cells use protrusive activity together with actin-myosin contractility to create an ordered body shape of the embryo. Here, I review how actin-rich protrusions are used by two major morphological cell types, epithelial and mesenchymal cells, during collective cell migration to sculpt the mouse embryo body. Pre-gastrulation epithelial collective migration of the anterior visceral endoderm is essential for establishing the anterior-posterior body axis. Gastrulation mesenchymal collective migration of the mesoderm wings is crucial for body elongation, and somite and heart formation. Analysis of mouse mutants with disrupted cellular protrusions revealed the key role of protrusions in embryonic morphogenesis and embryo survival. Recent technical approaches have allowed examination of the mechanisms that control cell and tissue movements in vivo in the complex 3D microenvironment of living mouse embryos. Advancing our understanding of protrusion-driven morphogenesis should provide novel insights into human developmental disorders and cancer metastasis.

Wnt-frizzled planar cell polarity signaling in the regulation of cell motility

The molecular complexes underlying planar cell polarity (PCP) were first identified in Drosophila through analysis of mutant phenotypes in the adult cuticle and the orientation of associated polarized protrusions such as wing hairs and sensory bristles. The same molecules are conserved in vertebrates and are required for the localization of polarized protrusions such as primary or sensory cilia and the orientation of hair follicles. Not only is PCP signaling required to align cellular structures across a tissue, it is also required to coordinate movement during embryonic development and adult homeostasis. PCP signaling allows cells to interpret positional cues within a tissue to move in the appropriate direction and to coordinate this movement with their neighbors. In this review we outline the molecular basis of the core Wnt-Frizzled/PCP pathway, and describe how this signaling orchestrates collective motility in Drosophila and vertebrates. Here we cover the paradigms of ommatidial rotation and border cell migration in Drosophila, and convergent extension in vertebrates. The downstream cell biological processes that underlie polarized motility include cytoskeletal reorganization, and adherens junctional and extracellular matrix remodeling. We discuss the contributions of these processes in the respective cell motility contexts. Finally, we address examples of individual cell motility guided by PCP factors during nervous system development and in cancer disease contexts.

Vangl2-environment interaction causes severe neural tube defects, without abnormal neuroepithelial convergent extension

Planar cell polarity (PCP) signalling is vital for initiation of mouse neurulation, with diminished convergent extension (CE) cell movements leading to craniorachischisis, a severe neural tube defect (NTD). Some humans with NTDs also have PCP gene mutations but these are heterozygous, not homozygous as in mice. Other genetic or environmental factors may interact with partial loss of PCP function in human NTDs. We found that reduced sulfation of glycosaminoglycans interacts with heterozygosity for the Lp allele of Vangl2 (a core PCP gene), to cause craniorachischisis in cultured mouse embryos, with rescue by exogenous sulphate. We hypothesised this glycosaminoglycan-PCP interaction may regulate CE but, surprisingly, DiO labeling of the embryonic node demonstrates no abnormality of midline axial extension in sulfation-depleted Lp/+ embryos. Positive-control Lp/Lp embryos show severe CE defects. Abnormalities were detected in the size and shape of somites that flank the closing neural tube in sulfation-depleted Lp/+ embryos. We conclude that failure of closure initiation can arise by a mechanism other than faulty neuroepithelial CE, with possible involvement of matrix-mediated somite expansion, adjacent to the closing neural tube.

JNK Mediates Differentiation, Cell Polarity and Apoptosis During Amphioxus Development by Regulating Actin Cytoskeleton Dynamics and ERK Signalling

c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is a multi-functional protein involved in a diverse array of context-dependent processes, including apoptosis, cell cycle regulation, adhesion, and differentiation. It is integral to several signalling cascades, notably downstream of non-canonical Wnt and mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways. As such, it is a key regulator of cellular behaviour and patterning during embryonic development across the animal kingdom. The cephalochordate amphioxus is an invertebrate chordate model system straddling the invertebrate to vertebrate transition and is thus ideally suited for comparative studies of morphogenesis. However, next to nothing is known about JNK signalling or cellular processes in this lineage. Pharmacological inhibition of JNK signalling using SP600125 during embryonic development arrests gastrula invagination and causes convergence extension-like defects in axial elongation, particularly of the notochord. Pharynx formation and anterior oral mesoderm derivatives like the preoral pit are also affected. This is accompanied by tissue-specific transcriptional changes, including reduced expression of six3/6 and wnt2 in the notochord, and ectopic wnt11 in neurulating embryos treated at late gastrula stages. Cellular delamination results in accumulation of cells in the gut cavity and a dorsal fin-like protrusion, followed by secondary Caspase-3-mediated apoptosis of polarity-deficient cells, a phenotype only partly rescued by co-culture with the pan-Caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk. Ectopic activation of extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) signalling in the neighbours of extruded notochord and neural cells, possibly due to altered adhesive and tensile properties, as well as defects in cellular migration, may explain some phenotypes caused by JNK inhibition. Overall, this study supports conserved functions of JNK signalling in mediating the complex balance between cell survival, apoptosis, differentiation, and cell fate specification during cephalochordate morphogenesis.

Core pathway proteins and the molecular basis of planar polarity in the zebrafish gastrula

The planar polarization of cells and subcellular structures is critical for embryonic development. Coordination of this polarity can provide cells a sense of direction in relation to the anterior-posterior and dorsal-ventral body axes. Fly epithelia use a core pathway comprised of transmembrane (Van Gogh/Strabismus, Frizzled, and Flamingo/Starry night) and cytoplasmic (Prickle or Spiny-legs, Dishevelled, and Diego) proteins to communicate directional information between cells and thereby promote the uniform orientation of structures such as hairs. In the zebrafish gastrula, planar polarity underlies complex cellular processes, including directed migration and intercalation, that are required to shape the embryo body. Like other vertebrates, the zebrafish genome encodes homologs of each core protein, and it is well-established that polarized gastrula cell behaviors are regulated by some of them. However, it is unknown whether a conserved six-member core protein pathway regulates planar polarity during zebrafish gastrulation. Here, we review our current understanding of core protein function as it relates to two specific examples of planar polarity, the dorsal convergence of lateral gastrula cells and the mediolateral intercalation of midline cells. We consider the hallmarks of fly planar polarity and discuss data regarding asymmetric protein localization and function, and the intercellular communication of polarity information.

The role of cellular active stresses in shaping the zebrafish body axis

Tissue remodelling and organ shaping during morphogenesis are products of mechanical forces generated at the cellular level. These cell-scale forces can be coordinated across the tissue via information provided by biochemical and mechanical cues. Such coordination leads to the generation of complex tissue shape during morphogenesis. In this short review, we elaborate the role of cellular active stresses in vertebrate axis morphogenesis, primarily using examples from postgastrulation development of the zebrafish embryo.

Glypican 4 regulates planar cell polarity of endoderm cells by controlling the localization of Cadherin 2

Noncanonical Wnt/planar cell polarity (Wnt/PCP) signaling has been implicated in endoderm morphogenesis. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of this process are unclear. We found that, during convergence and extension (C&E) in zebrafish, gut endodermal cells are polarized mediolaterally, with GFP-Vangl2 enriched at the anterior edges. Endoderm cell polarity is lost and intercalation is impaired in the absence of glypican 4 (gpc4), a heparan-sulfate proteoglycan that promotes Wnt/PCP signaling, suggesting that this signaling is required for endodermal cell polarity. Live imaging revealed that endoderm C&E is accomplished by polarized cell protrusions and junction remodeling, which are impaired in gpc4-deficient endodermal cells. Furthermore, in the absence of gpc4, Cadherin 2 expression on the endodermal cell surface is increased as a result of impaired Rab5c-mediated endocytosis, which partially accounts for the endodermal defects in these mutants. These findings indicate that Gpc4 regulates endodermal planar cell polarity during endoderm C&E by influencing the localization of Cadherin 2. Thus, our study uncovers a new mechanism by which Gpc4 regulates planar cell polarity and reveals the role of Wnt/PCP signaling in endoderm morphogenesis.

Wnt signaling and mammary stem cells

Wnt signaling is an important morphogenetic signaling pathway best known for its essential role in determining embryonic cell fates; it is often activated to re-specify fetal cells or to maintain the lineage flexibility of somatic stem cells. In this review, we consider the role of this pathway in the remarkable process of differentiation, growth and morphogenesis of the mammary gland during embryogenesis, ductal outgrowth and pregnancy. Specifically, mammary stem cells are compared with stem cells from other tissues, to identify commonalities and differences. Wnt signaling is known to be required to maintain the bipotent basal stem cell present in adult mammary ductal trees, however, the absence of this stem cell has little effect on growth or morphogenesis, and Wnt signaling is not induced during the ductal/alveolar expansion during pregnancy. The evidence for pre-determined hierarchies of mammary epithelial cells is reviewed, together with the role of signaling between mixtures of specified mammary epithelial cells in the maintenance of Wnt-dependent clonagenic stem cells. The dazzling variety of Wnt signaling components expressed by mammary epithelial cells is presented, along with some potential stromal sources of Wnt proteins that may be important starting points for the induction of plasticity in the epithelium.

The Evolution of Duplicated Genes of the Cpi-17/Phi-1 (ppp1r14) Family of Protein Phosphatase 1 Inhibitors in Teleosts

The Cpi-17 (ppp1r14) gene family is an evolutionarily conserved, vertebrate specific group of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) inhibitors. When phosphorylated, Cpi-17 is a potent inhibitor of myosin phosphatase (MP), a holoenzyme complex of the regulatory subunit Mypt1 and the catalytic subunit PP1. Myosin phosphatase dephosphorylates the regulatory myosin light chain (Mlc2) and promotes actomyosin relaxation, which in turn, regulates numerous cellular processes including smooth muscle contraction, cytokinesis, cell motility, and tumor cell invasion. We analyzed zebrafish homologs of the Cpi-17 family, to better understand the mechanisms of myosin phosphatase regulation. We found single homologs of both Kepi (ppp1r14c) and Gbpi (ppp1r14d) in silico, but we detected no expression of these genes during early embryonic development. Cpi-17 (ppp1r14a) and Phi-1 (ppp1r14b) each had two duplicate paralogs, (ppp1r14aa and ppp1r14ab) and (ppp1r14ba and ppp1r14bb), which were each expressed during early development. The spatial expression pattern of these genes has diverged, with ppp1r14aa and ppp1r14bb expressed primarily in smooth muscle and skeletal muscle, respectively, while ppp1r14ab and ppp1r14ba are primarily expressed in neural tissue. We observed that, in in vitro and heterologous cellular systems, the Cpi-17 paralogs both acted as potent myosin phosphatase inhibitors, and were indistinguishable from one another. In contrast, the two Phi-1 paralogs displayed weak myosin phosphatase inhibitory activity in vitro, and did not alter myosin phosphorylation in cells. Through deletion and chimeric analysis, we identified that the difference in specificity for myosin phosphatase between Cpi-17 and Phi-1 was encoded by the highly conserved PHIN (phosphatase holoenzyme inhibitory) domain, and not the more divergent N- and C- termini. We also showed that either Cpi-17 paralog can rescue the knockdown phenotype, but neither Phi-1 paralog could do so. Thus, we provide new evidence about the biochemical and developmental distinctions of the zebrafish Cpi-17 protein family.

Maternal contributions to gastrulation in zebrafish

Gastrulation is a critical early morphogenetic process of animal development, during which the three germ layers; mesoderm, endoderm and ectoderm, are rearranged by internalization movements. Concurrent epiboly movements spread and thin the germ layers while convergence and extension movements shape them into an anteroposteriorly elongated body with head, trunk, tail and organ rudiments. In zebrafish, gastrulation follows the proliferative and inductive events that establish the embryonic and extraembryonic tissues and the embryonic axis. Specification of these tissues and embryonic axes are controlled by the maternal gene products deposited in the egg. These early maternally controlled processes need to generate sufficient cell numbers and establish the embryonic polarity to ensure normal gastrulation. Subsequently, after activation of the zygotic genome, the zygotic gene products govern mesoderm and endoderm induction and germ layer patterning. Gastrulation is initiated during the maternal-to-zygotic transition, a process that entails both activation of the zygotic genome and downregulation of the maternal transcripts. Genomic studies indicate that gastrulation is largely controlled by the zygotic genome. Nonetheless, genetic studies that investigate the relative contributions of maternal and zygotic gene function by comparing zygotic, maternal and maternal zygotic mutant phenotypes, reveal significant contribution of maternal gene products, transcripts and/or proteins, that persist through gastrulation, to the control of gastrulation movements. Therefore, in zebrafish, the maternally expressed gene products not only set the stage for, but they also actively participate in gastrulation morphogenesis.