Cited by 39Developmental Biology and Gene RegulationCell Adhesion Molecules ResearchNeurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms

Cadherins in early neural development

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Punovuori, Karolina, Malaguti, Mattias, Lowell, Sally·2021·Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences

Abstract

During early neural development, changes in signalling inform the expression of transcription factors that in turn instruct changes in cell identity. At the same time, switches in adhesion molecule expression result in cellular rearrangements that define the morphology of the emerging neural tube. It is becoming increasingly clear that these two processes influence each other; adhesion molecules do not simply operate downstream of or in parallel with changes in cell identity but rather actively feed into cell fate decisions. Why are differentiation and adhesion so tightly linked? It is now over 60 years since Conrad Waddington noted the remarkable "Constancy of the Wild Type” (Waddington in Nature 183: 1654–1655, 1959) yet we still do not fully understand the mechanisms that make development so reproducible. Conversely, we do not understand why directed differentiation of cells in a dish is sometimes unpredictable and difficult to control. It has long been suggested that cells make decisions as 'local cooperatives' rather than as individuals (Gurdon in Nature 336: 772–774, 1988; Lander in Cell 144: 955–969, 2011). Given that the cadherin family of adhesion molecules can simultaneously influence morphogenesis and signalling, it is tempting to speculate that they may help coordinate cell fate decisions between neighbouring cells in the embryo to ensure fidelity of patterning, and that the uncoupling of these processes in a culture dish might underlie some of the problems with controlling cell fate decisions ex-vivo. Here we review the expression and function of cadherins during early neural development and discuss how and why they might modulate signalling and differentiation as neural tissues are formed.

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  • Cadherins are a family of calcium-dependent transmembrane adhesion proteins that link β- and α-catenin to the actin cytoskeletal network and regulate cellular homeostasis through signaling mediating development, proliferation, apoptosis, and disease pathology.

    “Cadherins are a family of calcium-dependent transmembrane adhesion proteins that link β- and α-catenin to the actin cytoskeletal network (Punovuori et al., 2021) and also regulate cellular homeostasis through signaling mediating development, proliferation, apoptosis, and disease pathology (Yulis et al., 2018).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [89]Sterneckert J Stehling M Bernemann C Araúzo-Bravo MJ Greber B Gentile L Neural induction intermediates exhibit distinct roles of Fgf signaling Stem Cells 2010 28 1772 1781 20715182
  2. [117]Kohei Hatta MT Expression of N-cadherin adhesion molecules associated with early morphogenetic events in chick development Nature 1986 320 447 449 3515198

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Authors
Punovuori, K., Malaguti, M., & Lowell, S.
Affiliations
  • University of Helsinki (FI)
  • MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (GB)
Corresponding author
Lowell, Sally
Venue
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
Published
2021-04-01
Volume
78
Issue
9
Pages
4435-4450
ISSN
  • 1420-682X (ISSN-L)
  • 1420-9071
OpenAlex
W3142970685
Cited by
39
References
206
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1
FWCI
0.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
  • Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja (submittedVersion)
Funders
Wellcome Trust (WT103789AIA)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Immunology and Allergy › Cell Adhesion Molecules Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
Keywords
cadherins, neural tube morphogenesis, adhesion molecules, cell fate determination, cell differentiation, signaling, transcription factors
MeSH terms
Animals, Cell Adhesion, Cell Differentiation, Humans, Neural Crest, Transcription Factors, Signal Transduction, Cadherins, Evolution, Molecular, Neurogenesis

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