RET signaling is essential for migration, axonal growth and axon guidance of developing sympathetic neurons

Development ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 128 (20) ◽  
pp. 3963-3974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideki Enomoto ◽  
Peter A. Crawford ◽  
Alexander Gorodinsky ◽  
Robert O. Heuckeroth ◽  
Eugene M. Johnson ◽  
...  

Sympathetic axons use blood vessels as an intermediate path to reach their final target tissues. The initial contact between differentiating sympathetic neurons and blood vessels occurs following the primary sympathetic chain formation, where precursors of sympathetic neurons migrate and project axons along or toward blood vessels. We demonstrate that, in Ret-deficient mice, neuronal precursors throughout the entire sympathetic nervous system fail to migrate and project axons properly. These primary deficits lead to mis-routing of sympathetic nerve trunks and accelerated cell death of sympathetic neurons later in development. Artemin is expressed in blood vessels during periods of early sympathetic differentiation, and can promote and attract axonal growth of the sympathetic ganglion in vitro. This analysis identifies RET and artemin as central regulators of early sympathetic innervation.

Development ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 309-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Blaugrund ◽  
T.D. Pham ◽  
V.M. Tennyson ◽  
L. Lo ◽  
L. Sommer ◽  
...  

Enteric and sympathetic neurons have previously been proposed to be lineally related. We present independent lines of evidence that suggest that enteric neurons arise from at least two lineages, only one of which expresses markers in common with sympathoadrenal cells. In the rat, sympathoadrenal markers are expressed, in the same order as in sympathetic neurons, by a subset of enteric neuronal precursors, which also transiently express tyrosine hydroxylase. If this precursor pool is eliminated in vitro by complement-mediated lysis, enteric neurons continue to develop; however, none of these are serotonergic. In the mouse, the Mash-1−/− mutation, which eliminates sympathetic neurons, also prevents the development of enteric serotonergic neurons. Other enteric neuronal populations, however, including those that contain calcitonin gene related peptide are present. Enteric tyrosine hydroxylase-containing cells co-express Mash-1 and are eliminated by the Mash-1−/− mutation, consistent with the idea that in the mouse, as in the rat, these precursors generate serotonergic neurons. Serotonergic neurons are generated early in development, while calcitonin gene related peptide-containing enteric neurons are generated much later. These data suggest that enteric neurons are derived from at least two progenitor lineages. One transiently expresses sympathoadrenal markers, is Mash-1-dependent, and generates early-born enteric neurons, some of which are serotonergic. The other is Mash-1-independent, does not express sympathoadrenal markers, and generates late-born enteric neurons, some of which contain calcitonin gene related peptide.


2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1228-1232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Fantin ◽  
Charlotte H. Maden ◽  
Christiana Ruhrberg

Blood vessels and neurons share guidance cues and cell-surface receptors to control their behaviour during embryogenesis. The transmembrane protein NRP1 (neuropilin 1) is present on both blood vessels and nerves and binds two structurally diverse ligands, the class 3 semaphorin SEMA3A and an isoform of the vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF-A termed VEGF165 (VEGF164 in mice). In vitro, SEMA3A competes with VEGF164 for binding to NRP1 to modulate the migration of endothelial cells and neuronal progenitors. It was therefore hypothesized that NRP1 signalling controls neurovascular co-patterning by integrating competing VEGF164 and SEMA3A signals. However, SEMA3A, but not VEGF164, is required for axon patterning of motor and sensory nerves, and, vice versa, VEGF164 rather than SEMA3A is required for blood vessel development. Ligand competition for NRP1 therefore does not explain neurovascular congruence. Instead, these ligands control different aspects of neurovascular patterning that have an impact on cardiovascular function. Thus SEMA3A/NRP1 signalling guides the NCC (neural crest cell) precursors of sympathetic neurons as well as their axonal projections. In addition, VEGF164 and a second class 3 semaphorin termed SEMA3C contribute to the remodelling of the embryonic pharyngeal arch arteries and primitive heart outflow tract by acting on endothelium and NCCs respectively. Consequently, loss of either of these NRP1 ligands disrupts blood flow into and out of the heart. Multiple NRP1 ligands therefore co-operate to orchestrate cardiovascular morphogenesis.


2007 ◽  
Vol 176 (4) ◽  
pp. 521-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga G. Shcherbakova ◽  
Carl M. Hurt ◽  
Yang Xiang ◽  
Mark L. Dell'Acqua ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
...  

The sympathetic nervous system regulates cardiac function through the activation of adrenergic receptors (ARs). β1 and β2ARs are the primary sympathetic receptors in the heart and play different roles in regulating cardiac contractile function and remodeling in response to injury. In this study, we examine the targeting and trafficking of β1 and β2ARs at cardiac sympathetic synapses in vitro. Sympathetic neurons form functional synapses with neonatal cardiac myocytes in culture. The myocyte membrane develops into specialized zones that surround contacting axons and contain accumulations of the scaffold proteins SAP97 and AKAP79/150 but are deficient in caveolin-3. The β1ARs are enriched within these zones, whereas β2ARs are excluded from them after stimulation of neuronal activity. The results indicate that specialized signaling domains are organized in cardiac myocytes at sites of contact with sympathetic neurons and that these domains are likely to play a role in the subtype-specific regulation of cardiac function by β1 and β2ARs in vivo.


2008 ◽  
Vol 294 (6) ◽  
pp. H2646-H2652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen B. Marko ◽  
Deborah H. Damon

The sympathetic nervous system, via postganglionic innervation of blood vessels and the heart, is an important determinant of cardiovascular function. The mechanisms underlying sympathetic innervation of targets are not fully understood. This study tests the hypothesis that target-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promotes sympathetic innervation of blood vessels. Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses indicate that VEGF is produced by vascular cells in arteries and that VEGF receptors are expressed on sympathetic nerve fibers innervating arteries. In vitro, exogenously added VEGF and VEGF produced by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in sympathetic neurovascular cocultures inhibited semaphorin 3A (Sema3A)-induced collapse of sympathetic growth cones. In the absence of Sema3A, VEGF and VSMCs also increased growth cone area. These effects were mediated via VEGF receptor 1. In vivo, the neutralization of VEGF inhibited the reinnervation of denervated femoral arteries. These data demonstrate that target-derived VEGF plays a previously unrecognized role in promoting the growth of sympathetic axons.


2010 ◽  
Vol 298 (6) ◽  
pp. H1652-H1660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina U. Lorentz ◽  
Eric N. Alston ◽  
Todd Belcik ◽  
Jonathan R. Lindner ◽  
George D. Giraud ◽  
...  

Sympathetic nerves stimulate cardiac function through the release of norepinephrine and the activation of cardiac β1-adrenergic receptors. The sympathetic innervation of the heart is sculpted during development by chemoattractive factors including nerve growth factor (NGF) and the chemorepulsive factor semaphorin 3a. NGF acts through the TrkA receptor and the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) in sympathetic neurons. NGF stimulates sympathetic axon extension into the heart through TrkA, but p75NTR modulates multiple coreceptors that can either stimulate or inhibit axon outgrowth. In mice lacking p75NTR, the sympathetic innervation density in target tissues ranges from denervation to hyperinnervation. Recent studies have revealed significant changes in the sympathetic innervation density of p75NTR-deficient (p75NTR−/−) atria between early postnatal development and adulthood. We examined the innervation of adult p75NTR−/− ventricles and discovered that the subendocardium of the p75NTR−/− left ventricle was essentially devoid of sympathetic nerve fibers, whereas the innervation density of the subepicardium was normal. This phenotype is similar to that seen in mice overexpressing semaphorin 3a, and we found that sympathetic axons lacking p75NTR are more sensitive to semaphorin 3a in vitro than control neurons. The lack of subendocardial innervation was associated with decreased dP/d t, altered cardiac β1-adrenergic receptor expression and sensitivity, and a significant increase in spontaneous ventricular arrhythmias. The lack of p75NTR also resulted in increased tyrosine hydroxylase content in cardiac sympathetic neurons and elevated norepinephrine in the right ventricle, where innervation density was normal.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (6) ◽  
pp. H2785-H2791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah H. Damon

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is an important modulator of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) growth and function. Several lines of evidence suggest that the SNS also promotes VSM differentiation. The present study tests this hypothesis. Expression of smooth muscle myosin (SM2) and α-actin were assessed by Western analysis as indexes of VSM differentiation. SM2 expression (normalized to α-actin) in adult innervated rat femoral and tail arteries was 479 ± 115% of that in noninnervated carotid arteries. Expression of α-actin (normalized to GAPDH or total protein) in 30-day-innervated rat femoral arteries was greater than in corresponding noninnervated femoral arteries from guanethidine-sympathectomized rats. SM2 expression (normalized to α-actin) in neonatal femoral arteries grown in vitro for 7 days in the presence of sympathetic ganglia was greater than SM2 expression in corresponding arteries grown in the absence of sympathetic ganglia. In VSM-endothelial cell cultures grown in the presence of dissociated sympathetic neurons, α-actin (normalized to GAPDH) was 300 ± 66% of that in corresponding cultures grown in the absence of neurons. This effect was inhibited by an antibody that neutralized the activity of transforming growth factor-β2. All of these data indicate that sympathetic innervation increased VSM contractile protein expression and thereby suggest that the SNS promotes and/or maintains VSM differentiation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (3) ◽  
pp. H940-H946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lev Protas ◽  
Richard B. Robinson

The developmental increase in L-type Ca current ( I Ca,L) density in the rat ventricle is reproduced in vitro by culturing neonatal myocytes with sympathetic neurons. We tested whether this effect of sympathetic innervation results from a chronic or sustained action of neurally released neuropeptide Y (NPY). Ventricular myocytes from newborn rats were cultured in serum-free medium with or without sympathetic neurons, NPY, or NPY analogs. Ca currents were measured in single myocytes at room temperature using the perforated patch clamp. In all cell groups (control, innervated, or NPY treated), the current-voltage relation for I Ca,L was represented by a bell-shaped curve with maximal value near 0 mV. The current density at 0 mV normalized to that of corresponding mean control values was 1.63 ± 0.12 and 1.52 ± 0.16 for innervated and NPY-treated myocytes, respectively. Both groups differed significantly from control ( P < 0.05). NPY analogs exhibited the following rank order of effectiveness: NPY ≥ NPY-(13—36) ≥ PYY >> [Leu31Pro34]NPY, suggesting that the NPY effect occurs via a Y2-receptor subtype. In confirmation, chronic treatment of innervated cultures with a Y2-selective NPY antagonist prevented the innervation-dependent increase in I Ca,L. These results indicate that sympathetic innervation contributes to the developmental increase in I Ca,L via neurally released NPY acting at Y2receptors on the ventricular myocytes.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
P J Lein ◽  
D Higgins ◽  
D C Turner ◽  
L A Flier ◽  
V P Terranova

We have examined the effects of collagen IV on the morphological development of embryonic rat sympathetic neurons in vitro. In short-term (less than or equal to 24 h) culture, collagen IV accelerated process outgrowth, causing increases in the number of neurites and total neuritic length. Analysis of proteolytic fragments of collagen IV indicated that the NC1 domain was nearly as active as the intact molecule in stimulating process outgrowth; in contrast, the 7S domain and triple helix-rich fragments of collagen IV were inactive. Moreover, anti-NC1 antiserum inhibited neuritic outgrowth on collagen IV by 79%. In long-term (up to 28 d) cultures, neurons chronically exposed to collagen IV maintained a single axon but failed to form dendrites. Thus, the NC1 domain of collagen IV can alter neuronal development by selectively stimulating axonal growth. Comparison of collagen IV's effects to those of laminin revealed that these molecules exert quantitatively different effects on the rate of initial axon growth and the number of axons extended by sympathetic neurons. Moreover, neuritic outgrowth on collagen IV, but not laminin, was blocked by cycloheximide. We also observed differences in the receptors mediating the neurite-promoting activity of these proteins. Two different antisera that recognize beta 1 integrins each blocked neuritic outgrowth on both collagen IV and laminin; however, an mAb (3A3) specific for the alpha 1 beta 1 integrin inhibited collagen IV but not laminin-induced process growth in cultures of both sympathetic and dorsal root neurons. These data suggest that immunologically distinct integrins mediate the response of peripheral neurons to collagen IV and laminin.


1970 ◽  
Vol 24 (01/02) ◽  
pp. 043-047 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Pandolfi

SummaryExplants from 5 adult human veins were cultured in a fibrinolytically inactive medium for 3 weeks and assayed for the presence of plasminogen activator by the fibrin slide technique. The explants from 3 veins showed fibrinolytic activity confined to their vasa vasorum for the whole duration of the culture; no decrease of activity was seen. The finding suggests that small blood vessels are able to synthesize plasminogen activator.


1984 ◽  
Vol 51 (01) ◽  
pp. 061-064 ◽  
Author(s):  
M C Boffa ◽  
B Dreyer ◽  
C Pusineri

SummaryThe effect of negatively-charged polymers, used in some artificial devices, on plasma clotting and kinin systems was studied in vitro using polyelectrolyte complexes.Contact activation was observed as an immediate, transient and surface-dependent phenomenon. After incubation of the plasma with the polymer a small decrease of factor XII activity was noticed, which corresponded to a greater reduction of prekallikrein activity and to a marked kinin release. No significant decrease of factor XII, prekallikrein, HMW kininogen could be detected immunologically. Only the initial contact of the plasma with the polyelectrolyte lead to activation, subsequently the surface became inert.Beside contact activation, factor V activity also decreased in the plasma. The decrease was surface and time-dependent. It was independent of contact factor activation, and appeared to be related to the sulfonated groups of the polymer. If purified factor V was used instead of plasma factor V, inactivation was immediate and not time-dependent suggesting a direct adsorption on the surface. A second incubation of the plasma-contacted polymer with fresh plasma resulted in a further loss of Factor V activity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document