An explant assay for assessing cellular behavior of the cranial mesenchyme

The central nervous system is derived from the neural plate that undergoes a series of complex morphogenetic movements resulting in formation of the neural tube in a process known as neurulation. During neurulation, morphogenesis of the mesenchyme that underlies the neural plate is believed to drive neural fold elevation. The cranial mesenchyme is comprised of the paraxial mesoderm and neural crest cells. The cells of the cranial mesenchyme form a pourous meshwork composed of stellate shaped cells and intermingling extracellular matrix (ECM) strands that support the neural folds. During neurulation, the cranial mesenchyme undergoes stereotypical rearrangements resulting in its expansion and these movements are believed to provide a driving force for neural fold elevation. However, the pathways and cellular behaviors that drive cranial mesenchyme morphogenesis remain poorly studied. Interactions between the ECM and the cells of the cranial mesenchyme underly these cell behaviors. Here we describe a simple ex vivo explant assay devised to characterize the behaviors of these cells. This assay is amendable to pharmacological manipulations to dissect the signaling pathways involved and live imaging analyses to further characterize the behavior of these cells. We present a representative experiment demonstrating the utility of this assay in characterizing the migratory properties of the cranial mesenchyme on a variety of ECM components.