Comprehensive profiling of migratory primordial germ cells reveals niche-specific differences in non-canonical Wnt and Nodal-Lefty signaling in anterior vs posterior migrants.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian primordial germ cells (PGCs) migrate asynchronously through the embryonic hindgut and dorsal mesentery to reach the gonads. We previously found that interaction with different somatic niches regulates PGC proliferation along the migration route. To characterize transcriptional heterogeneity of migrating PGCs and their niches, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing of 13,262 mouse PGCs and 7,868 surrounding somatic cells during migration (E9.5, E10.5, E11.5) and in anterior versus posterior locations to enrich for leading and lagging migrants. Analysis of PGCs by position revealed dynamic gene expression changes between faster or earlier migrants in the anterior and slower or later migrants in the posterior at E9.5; these differences include migration-associated actin polymerizat

SUBMITTER: Jaszczak RG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11383659 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature