The fin roundabout: Slit-Robo and S1P signaling coordinate fin morphogenesis

Development of vertebrate limbs and fins requires that tissue growth is directed outwards, away from the body. How such directed growth is achieved is a fascinating biological problem. For limb/fin formation and outgrowth, signaling between mesenchymal cells and the overlying epithelium is essential. In particular, the epithelium at the distal margin of the growing limb/fin bud, termed the apical ectodermal ridge (AER), promotes directed outgrowth of the underlying mesenchyme, e.g., by providing polarization cues for mesenchymal cell migration. Several classical signaling pathways, such as fibroblast growth factor (Fgf), hedgehog, and Wnt signaling, are involved in the regulation of the cellular events that shape the limb/fin bud (Iovine, 2007). In this issue of EMBO Reports, Carney and colleagues surprisingly find that the Slit-Robo pathway, which is best known for its function in axon guidance, regulates the polarity of developing zebrafish fins (Mahabaleshwar et al, 2007). Intriguingly, they identify an intricate back and forth of signals between the mesenchyme and the AER. Slit ligands derived from mesenchyme act on Robo receptors in the AER to stimulate the production of sphingosine-1-phosphate, which then acts back on the mesenchyme to regulate cell polarity and orientation.