Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Dissection of Xenopus laevis Neural Crest for in vitro Explant Culture or in vivo Transplantation
Published on: March 4, 2014
Myosin-X is required for cranial neural crest cell migration in Xenopus laevis
Yoo-Seok Hwang1, Ting Luo, Yanhua Xu
1Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, NICHD, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Abstract:
Myosin-X (MyoX) belongs to a large family of unconventional, nonmuscle, actin-dependent motor proteins. We show that MyoX is predominantly expressed in cranial neural crest (CNC) cells in embryos of Xenopus laevis and is required for head and jaw cartilage development. Knockdown of MyoX expression using antisense morpholino oligonucleotides resulted in retarded migration of CNC cells into the pharyngeal arches, leading to subsequent hypoplasia of cartilage and inhibited outgrowth of the CNC-derived trigeminal nerve. In vitro migration assays on fibronectin using explanted CNC cells showed significant inhibition of filopodia formation, cell attachment, spreading and migration, accompanied by disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. These data support the conclusion that MyoX has an essential function in CNC migration in the vertebrate embryo.
Related Concept Videos
Role of Myosin in Cell Migration
Myosin II is a hexamer comprising two heavy chains with globular heads and coiled-coil tails, two regulatory light chains, and two essential light chains. The ATPase sites on the myosin heads hydrolyze ATP, and the released phosphate generates the force for contraction. It is...
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration
Cell Motility through Blebbing
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
Overview of Myosin Structure and Function
Cell Migration
Cell Migration

