TITLE:
Purinergic P2Y Receptors Are Involved in Xenopus Head Formation
AUTHORS:
Ayano Harata, Haruka Nishida, Akiha Nishihara, Chikara Hashimoto
KEYWORDS:
P2Y1, P2Y11, Xenopus laevis
JOURNAL NAME:
CellBio,
Vol.5 No.4,
December
26,
2016
ABSTRACT: P2Y
receptors belong to the family of G protein-coupled receptors and are activated
by nucleotides in the extracellular space. We showed that Xenopus P2Y1 and P2Y11 were expressed in
the dorsal marginal zone from early gastrula stage and enriched in the central
nervous system from neurula stages. They were expressed in the prospective head
region during early development. Knockdown of P2Y1 and P2Y11
caused head malformation, such as small eyes, brain atrophy, and defect in
cartilage tissues, as well as reduced expression of neural, placode, and neural
crest markers. Furthermore, the expression of neural plate and epidermal
markers was affected by P2Y1 or P2Y11 depletion at early
neurula stage, suggesting that P2Y1 or P2Y11 might be required
for the neural induction. Our findings suggested that P2Y receptors might be
involved in distinguishing between neural and non-neural fates. The results
also suggested that P2Y1 or P2Y11 could play a role
in neural induction and/or maintenance of neural tissues in the head formation
processes.