# CELL LINEAGE ANALYSIS OF THE NEURAL CREST

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · 1994 · $184,357

## Abstract

The longterm goal of this investigation is to understand the cell lineage
decisions involved in neural crest cell differentiation in situ.  We will
accomplish this goal by means of a prospective cell lineage analysis
performed by microinjecting single neural crest cells with cell autonomous
dyes.  We will study neural crest cell lineage in two species, chick and
frog; the latter is especially useful because of the ease of microsurgical
manipulations which allow one to alter a cell's location and, thus,
challenge its fate.  Preliminary results demonstrate that some individual
labelled trunk neural crest cells are multipotent (i.e. can give rise to
numerous neural crest derivatives) both at premigratory and migratory
stages.  The proposed experiments will extend these findings to examine
neural crest cells from different regions of the neural axis and at later
developmental stages.  In addition to experiments in situ, we will examine
the role of the environment in influencing cell lineage decisions in vitro.

Our approach for analyzing cell lineage utilizes microinjection of a vital
dye to mark individual cells and their descendants.  Lysinated rhodamine
dextran (LRD) is selected for this purpose because it is large, membrane
impermeant, and non-degradable by the cell.  Because of its large size and
charge, LRD can be passed from a cell only to its progeny by cell division.
Therefore, this technique offers a means to reliably label individual cells
and their descendants within intact organisms or in cell culture in a
nondeleterious manner.  The proposed experiments will explore:

1. the developmental potential of neural crest cells in situ during late
stages of migration and localization.

2. the developmental potential of neural crest cells derived from different
axial levels of chick and Xenopus embryos in situ.

3. the effects of transplantation in situ on the phenotypic expression of
labelled neural crest cell clones.

4. the effects of the environment on the phenotypic expression of clonally
related neural crest cells in vitro.

5. the effects on the lineage of premigratory neural crest cells of
altering the local environment in the dorsal neural tube by implanting an
additional notochord.

The proposed experiments are designed to demonstrate definitively the range
of derivatives that can descend from single neural crest cells at various
stages of development.  By challenging the developmental potential of
labelled cells by transplantation, we can test for possible restrictions in
cell fate.  The results promise to provide new insights into the mechanisms
by which cells adopt a phenotype, which is a central question in
developmental biology.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2199403
- **Project number:** 5R01HD025138-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
- **SAM.gov UEI:** MJC5FCYQTPE6
- **Principal Investigator:** Marianne Bronner
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1994
- **Award amount:** $184,357
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1988-12-01 → 1996-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2199403

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2199403, CELL LINEAGE ANALYSIS OF THE NEURAL CREST (5R01HD025138-06). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2199403. Licensed CC0.

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