Galectin-1 enhances the generation of neural crest cells

Neural crest (NC) cells are multipotent cells that emerge from the dorsal region of the neural tube. After delaminating from the neural tube, NC cells migrate throughout the developing embryo and differentiate into various cells: neurons and glial cells of the peripheral nervous system, melanocytes of skin, and skeletal elements of the face and head. We previously analyzed the gene expression profile of a NC subpopulation isolated from Sox10-IRES-Venus mice and found that the carbohydrate-binding protein, Galectin-1 (Gal-1) was strongly expressed in generating NC cells. In the present study, we identified GAL-1 as a factor that promotes NC cell generation. Gal-1 was significantly expressed in NC cells generated in explanted neural tubes. The presence of GAL-1 enhanced the generation of NC-like cells from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. In the differentiation of ES cells into NC-like cells, GAL-1 enhanced neurogenesis in the early stages and facilitated NC-like cell generation in the later stages. GAL-1 also enhanced the generation of NC cells from explanted neural tubes. These results suggest that GAL-1 plays a facilitative role in NC cell generation.