1. A pre-vertebrate endodermal origin of calcitonin-producing neuroendocrine cells.
- Author
-
Rees, Jenaid M., Kirk, Katie, Gattoni, Giacomo, Hockman, Dorit, Sleight, Victoria A., Ritter, Dylan J., Benito-Gutierrez, Èlia, Knapik, Ela W., Crump, J. Gage, Fabian, Peter, and Gillis, J. Andrew
- Subjects
FATE mapping (Genetics) ,CIONA intestinalis ,NEURAL crest ,NEUROENDOCRINE cells ,PEPTIDE hormones ,AMPHIOXUS - Abstract
Vertebrate calcitonin-producing cells (C-cells) are neuroendocrine cells that secrete the small peptide hormone calcitonin in response to elevated blood calcium levels. Whereas mouse C-cells reside within the thyroid gland and derive from pharyngeal endoderm, avian C-cells are located within ultimobranchial glands and have been reported to derive from the neural crest. We use a comparative cell lineage tracing approach in a range of vertebrate model systems to resolve the ancestral embryonic origin of vertebrate C-cells. We find, contrary to previous studies, that chick C-cells derive from pharyngeal endoderm, with neural crest-derived cells instead contributing to connective tissue intimately associated with C-cells in the ultimobranchial gland. This endodermal origin of C-cells is conserved in a ray-finned bony fish (zebrafish) and a cartilaginous fish (the little skate, Leucoraja erinacea). Furthermore, we discover putative C-cell homologs within the endodermallyderived pharyngeal epithelium of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis and the amphioxus Branchiostoma lanceolatum, two invertebrate chordates that lack neural crest cells. Our findings point to a conserved endodermal origin of C-cells across vertebrates and to a pre-vertebrate origin of this cell type along the chordate stem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF