Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Assessing Signaling Properties of Ectodermal Epithelia During Craniofacial Development
Published on: March 24, 2011
Bimodal functions of Notch-mediated signaling are involved in neural crest formation during avian ectoderm
Yukinori Endo1, Noriko Osumi, Yoshio Wakamatsu
1Department of Developmental Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan.
Abstract:
Neural crest is induced at the junction of epidermal ectoderm and neural plate by the mutual interaction of these tissues. In previous studies, BMP4 has been shown to pattern the ectodermal tissues, and BMP4 can induce neural crest cells from the neural plate. In this study, we show that epidermally expressed Delta1, which encodes a Notch ligand, is required for the activation and/or maintenance of Bmp4 expression in this tissue, and is thus indirectly required for neural crest induction by BMP4 at the epidermis-neural plate boundary. Notch activation in the epidermis additionally inhibits neural crest formation in this tissue, so that neural crest generation by BMP4 is restricted to the junction.
Related Concept Videos
Determination
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...

