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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
09:07
Dissection of Xenopus laevis Neural Crest for in vitro Explant Culture or in vivo Transplantation
Published on: March 4, 2014
Ric-8A controls Cited2 subcellular localization and transcriptional programs during neural crest development
Carla Castelli1, Andrea Beyer2, María José Ruiz1
1Laboratory of Signaling and Development (LSD), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Group for the Study of Developmental Processes (GDeP), Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
|July 30, 2026
Summary
Researchers discovered a new link between Ric-8A and Cited2 in developing frog neural crest (NC) cells. Ric-8A controls Cited2
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Neural crest (NC) cells are crucial for vertebrate development, exhibiting high migration and multipotency.
- NC cell behavior relies on integrating signaling pathways, transcriptional programs, and cytoskeletal dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional relationship between Ric-8A and Cited2 in Xenopus neural crest development.
- To elucidate how Ric-8A influences Cited2's role in NC cell biology.
Main Methods:
- Proteomic analyses and proximity ligation assays to identify Ric-8A-associated factors.
- Gain- and loss-of-function experiments and rescue assays in Xenopus embryos.
- Single-cell transcriptomic analyses to define transcriptional states.
Main Results:
- Cited2 was identified as a Ric-8A-associated factor, with dynamic expression in developing NC cells.
- Ric-8A regulates the nuclear-cytoplasmic localization of Cited2, impacting its transcriptional programs.
- Co-expression of xtcited2 and xtric-8a correlates with genes involved in cytoskeletal organization, Rho GTPase signaling, and cell migration.
- Ric-8A is essential for maintaining sox2 expression, linking the regulatory axis to NC identity.
Conclusions:
- A novel regulatory mechanism where Ric-8A modulates Cited2 function was uncovered.
- This axis connects protein localization, transcriptional regulation, and NC cell behavior during vertebrate development.
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