Hox/Meis-dependent gene-regulatory transition underlies cardiopharyngeal neural crest diversification

ABSTRACT: Neural crest cells (NCCs) are multipotent migratory cells essential for cardiac development, yet the lineage trajectories and gene regulatory networks underlying their differentiation in the cardiopharyngeal region remain unclear. Here, we integrate single-cell RNA-seq, spatial transcriptomics, and multiomic analyses to construct a comprehensive map of NCC lineages in developing mouse cardiopharyngeal tissues. We identify a transition from Hox-positive pharyngeal NCCs to Hox-negative intracardiac populations associated with the outflow tract cushion, accompanied by a shift in Meis transcription factor binding and gene-regulatory network architecture. By contrast, NCCs forming the aorticopulmonary septum and great vessel smooth muscle retain distinct Hox codes. A Meis2-Sox9-Scx gene-regulat

SUBMITTER: Akiyasu Iwase 

PROVIDER: S-SCDT-10_1038-S44318-026-00886-X | biostudies-other |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other