Phenotypic chemical screening using a zebrafish neural crest EMT reporter identifies retinoic acid as an inhibitor of epithelial morphogenesis.

ABSTRACT: The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a highly conserved morphogenetic program essential for embryogenesis, regeneration and cancer metastasis. In cancer cells, EMT also triggers cellular reprogramming and chemoresistance, which underlie disease relapse and decreased survival. Hence, identifying compounds that block EMT is essential to prevent or eradicate disseminated tumor cells. Here, we establish a whole-animal-based EMT reporter in zebrafish for rapid drug screening, calledTg(snai1b:GFP), which labels epithelial cells undergoing EMT to producesox10-positive neural crest (NC) cells. Time-lapse and lineage analysis ofTg(snai1b:GFP)embryos reveal that cranial NC cells delaminate from two regions: an early population delaminates adjacent to the neural plate, whereas a later po

SUBMITTER: Jimenez L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4852498 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature