Neural crest cell

Migration

Neural crest cell migration occurs in a rostral to caudal direction without the need of a neuronal scaffold such as along a radial glial cell. For this reason the crest cell migration process is termed "free migration". Instead of scaffolding on progenitor cells, neural crest migration is the result of repulsive guidance via EphB/EphrinB and semaphorin/neuropilin signaling, interactions with the extracellular matrix, and contact inhibition with one another. While Ephrin and Eph proteins have the capacity to undergo bi-directional signaling, neural crest cell repulsion employs predominantly forward signaling to initiate a response within the receptor bearing neural crest cell. Burgeoning neural crest cells express EphB, a receptor tyrosine kinase, which binds the EphrinB transmembrane ligand expressed in the caudal half of each somite. When these two domains interact it causes receptor tyrosine phosphorylation, activation of rhoGTPases, and eventual cytoskeletal rearrangements within the crest cells inducing them to repel. This phenomenon allows neural crest cells to funnel through the rostral portion of each somite.