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Current Topics in Developmental Biology 2021The endoderm is the innermost germ layer that forms the linings of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, and their associated organs, during embryonic... (Review)
Review
The endoderm is the innermost germ layer that forms the linings of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, and their associated organs, during embryonic development. Xenopus embryology experiments have provided fundamental insights into how the endoderm develops in vertebrates, including the critical role of TGFβ-signaling in endoderm induction,elucidating the gene regulatory networks controlling germ layer development and the key molecular mechanisms regulating endoderm patterning and morphogenesis. With new genetic, genomic, and imaging approaches, Xenopus is now routinely used to model human disease, discover mechanisms underlying endoderm organogenesis, and inform differentiation protocols for pluripotent stem cell differentiation and regenerative medicine applications. In this chapter, we review historical and current discoveries of endoderm development in Xenopus, then provide examples of modeling human disease and congenital defects of endoderm-derived organs using Xenopus.
Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Disease Models, Animal; Endoderm; Humans; Morphogenesis; Organogenesis; Xenopus laevis
PubMed: 34074536
DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2021.01.001 -
Nature May 2019Here we delineate the ontogeny of the mammalian endoderm by generating 112,217 single-cell transcriptomes, which represent all endoderm populations within the mouse...
Here we delineate the ontogeny of the mammalian endoderm by generating 112,217 single-cell transcriptomes, which represent all endoderm populations within the mouse embryo until midgestation. We use graph-based approaches to model differentiating cells, which provides a spatio-temporal characterization of developmental trajectories and defines the transcriptional architecture that accompanies the emergence of the first (primitive or extra-embryonic) endodermal population and its sister pluripotent (embryonic) epiblast lineage. We uncover a relationship between descendants of these two lineages, in which epiblast cells differentiate into endoderm at two distinct time points-before and during gastrulation. Trajectories of endoderm cells were mapped as they acquired embryonic versus extra-embryonic fates and as they spatially converged within the nascent gut endoderm, which revealed these cells to be globally similar but retain aspects of their lineage history. We observed the regionalized identity of cells along the anterior-posterior axis of the emergent gut tube, which reflects their embryonic or extra-embryonic origin, and the coordinated patterning of these cells into organ-specific territories.
Topics: Animals; Blastocyst; Body Patterning; Cell Differentiation; Cell Lineage; Endoderm; Female; Gastrulation; Intestines; Male; Mice; Single-Cell Analysis
PubMed: 30959515
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1127-1 -
Trends in Cell Biology Feb 2022The endoderm, one of the three primary germ layers, gives rise to lung, liver, stomach, intestine, colon, pancreas, bladder, and thyroid. These endoderm-originated... (Review)
Review
The endoderm, one of the three primary germ layers, gives rise to lung, liver, stomach, intestine, colon, pancreas, bladder, and thyroid. These endoderm-originated organs are subject to many life-threatening diseases. However, primary cells/tissues from endodermal organs are often difficult to grow in vitro. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), therefore, hold great promise for generating endodermal cells and their derivatives for the development of new therapeutics against these human diseases. Although a wealth of research has provided crucial information on the mechanisms underlying endoderm differentiation from hPSCs, increasing evidence has shown that metabolism, in connection with epigenetics, actively regulates endoderm differentiation in addition to the conventional endoderm inducing signals. Here we review recent advances in metabolic and epigenetic regulation of endoderm differentiation.
Topics: Cell Differentiation; Endoderm; Epigenesis, Genetic; Humans; Pluripotent Stem Cells
PubMed: 34607773
DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2021.09.002 -
Development (Cambridge, England) Jun 2019The endoderm is a progenitor tissue that, in humans, gives rise to the majority of internal organs. Over the past few decades, genetic studies have identified many of... (Review)
Review
The endoderm is a progenitor tissue that, in humans, gives rise to the majority of internal organs. Over the past few decades, genetic studies have identified many of the upstream signals specifying endoderm identity in different model systems, revealing them to be divergent from invertebrates to vertebrates. However, more recent studies of the cell behaviours driving endodermal morphogenesis have revealed a surprising number of shared features, including cells undergoing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs), collective cell migration, and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transitions (METs). In this Review, we highlight how cross-organismal studies of endoderm morphogenesis provide a useful perspective that can move our understanding of this fascinating tissue forward.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Cell Differentiation; Cell Lineage; Cell Movement; Endoderm; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; Humans; Morphogenesis; Signal Transduction; Vertebrates
PubMed: 31160415
DOI: 10.1242/dev.150920 -
Nature Biotechnology Dec 2005The potential of human embryonic stem (hES) cells to differentiate into cell types of a variety of organs has generated much excitement over the possible use of hES...
The potential of human embryonic stem (hES) cells to differentiate into cell types of a variety of organs has generated much excitement over the possible use of hES cells in therapeutic applications. Of great interest are organs derived from definitive endoderm, such as the pancreas. We have focused on directing hES cells to the definitive endoderm lineage as this step is a prerequisite for efficient differentiation to mature endoderm derivatives. Differentiation of hES cells in the presence of activin A and low serum produced cultures consisting of up to 80% definitive endoderm cells. This population was further enriched to near homogeneity using the cell-surface receptor CXCR4. The process of definitive endoderm formation in differentiating hES cell cultures includes an apparent epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and a dynamic gene expression profile that are reminiscent of vertebrate gastrulation. These findings may facilitate the use of hES cells for therapeutic purposes and as in vitro models of development.
Topics: Animals; Cell Culture Techniques; Cell Differentiation; Cell Proliferation; Cells, Cultured; Endoderm; Humans; Mice; Stem Cells; Tissue Engineering
PubMed: 16258519
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1163 -
Annual Review of Cell and Developmental... 1999Endoderm, one of the three principal germ layers, contributes to all organs of the alimentary tract. For simplicity, this review divides formation of endodermal organs... (Review)
Review
Endoderm, one of the three principal germ layers, contributes to all organs of the alimentary tract. For simplicity, this review divides formation of endodermal organs into four fundamental steps: (a) formation of endoderm during gastrulation, (b) morphogenesis of a gut tube from a sheet of cells, (c) budding of organ domains from the tube, and (d) differentiation of organ-specific cell types within the growing buds. We discuss possible mechanisms that regulate how undifferentiated endoderm becomes specified into a myriad of cell types that populate the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.
Topics: Animals; Body Patterning; Cell Differentiation; Cell Lineage; Digestive System; Endoderm; Humans; Vertebrates
PubMed: 10611967
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.cellbio.15.1.393 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2021The mechanisms underlying thyroid gland development have a central interest in biology and this review is aimed to provide an update on the recent advancements on the... (Review)
Review
The mechanisms underlying thyroid gland development have a central interest in biology and this review is aimed to provide an update on the recent advancements on the early steps of thyroid differentiation that were obtained in the zebrafish, because this teleost fish revealed to be a suitable organism to study the early developmental stages. Physiologically, the thyroid precursors fate is delineated by the appearance among the endoderm cells of the foregut of a restricted cell population expressing specific transcription factors, including , , and . The committed thyroid primordium first appears as a thickening of the pharyngeal floor of the anterior endoderm, that subsequently detaches from the floor and migrates to its final location where it gives rise to the thyroid hormone-producing follicles. At variance with mammalian models, thyroid precursor differentiation in zebrafish occurs early during the developmental process before the dislocation to the eutopic positioning of thyroid follicles. Several pathways have been implicated in these early events and nowadays there is evidence of a complex crosstalk between intrinsic (coming from the endoderm and thyroid precursors) and extrinsic factors (coming from surrounding tissues, as the cardiac mesoderm) whose organization in time and space is probably required for the proper thyroid development. In particular, Notch, Shh, Fgf, Bmp, and Wnt signaling seems to be required for the commitment of endodermal cells to a thyroid fate at specific developmental windows of zebrafish embryo. Here, we summarize the recent findings produced in the various zebrafish experimental models with the aim to define a comprehensive picture of such complicated puzzle.
Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Embryo, Nonmammalian; Endoderm; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Morphogenesis; Stem Cells; Thyroid Gland; Zebrafish; Zebrafish Proteins
PubMed: 34149617
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2021.664557 -
Current Topics in Developmental Biology 2020Mesoderm and endoderm internalization in the Xenopus embryo are based on a number of region-specific morphogenetic processes that co-act in the vegetal half of the... (Review)
Review
Mesoderm and endoderm internalization in the Xenopus embryo are based on a number of region-specific morphogenetic processes that co-act in the vegetal half of the gastrula. In the multilayered wall surrounding the blastocoel, the apical layer engages in bottle cell formation and associated invagination and involution movements, and in cell intercalation in the plane of the layer. Of these epithelial-type processes, only bottle cell formation has been analyzed mechanistically. In the deep layers of the blastocoel wall, cell-on-cell migration drives the internalization of mesoderm by various forms of involution and of the endodermal cell mass by vegetal rotation. In the mesoderm, cells migrate in a mesenchymal mode with the aid of locomotory protrusions, whereas cells of the vegetal cell mass resemble free bottle cells that engage in ingression-type amoeboid migration. Cells rearrange by differential migration leading to parallel or orthogonal forms of intercalation and respective types of convergent extension. The interaction of the various apical and deep layer processes gives rise to dorsal multilayer invagination, ventrolateral internal involution, peak involution and orthogonal convergent extension of the dorsal posterior mesoderm, vegetal rotation, and blastopore constriction. It is speculated how these multilayer gastrulation movements could be derived from mechanisms in invertebrate single-epithelium gastrulae.
Topics: Animals; Cell Movement; Embryo, Nonmammalian; Endoderm; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Mesoderm; Morphogenesis; Signal Transduction; Xenopus Proteins; Xenopus laevis
PubMed: 31959290
DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2019.09.002 -
Regenerative Medicine Jan 2017Definitive endoderm is the cellular precursor to respiratory- and digestive-related organs such as lungs, stomach, liver, pancreas and intestine. Endodermal lineage... (Review)
Review
Definitive endoderm is the cellular precursor to respiratory- and digestive-related organs such as lungs, stomach, liver, pancreas and intestine. Endodermal lineage cells derived from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) in vitro are a potentially unlimited resource for regenerative medicine. These cells are useful tools for studying the physiology, pathogenesis and medical therapies involving these tissues, and great progress has been achieved in PSCs differentiation protocols. In this review, we will focus on the most common and/or advanced differentiation strategies currently used in generating endodermal lineage cells from PSCs. A brief discussion about the effect of early definitive endoderm differentiation on the final development products will follow.
Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Cell Lineage; Cells, Cultured; Endoderm; Humans; Pluripotent Stem Cells
PubMed: 27976977
DOI: 10.2217/rme-2016-0086 -
Current Topics in Developmental Biology 2020Gastrulation is a central process in mammalian development in which a spatiotemporally coordinated series of events driven by cross-talk between adjacent embryonic and... (Review)
Review
Gastrulation is a central process in mammalian development in which a spatiotemporally coordinated series of events driven by cross-talk between adjacent embryonic and extra-embryonic tissues results in stereotypical morphogenetic cell behaviors, massive cell proliferation and the acquisition of distinct cell identities. Gastrulation provides the blueprint of the body plan of the embryo, as well as generating extra-embryonic cell types of the embryo to make a connection with its mother. Gastrulation involves the specification of mesoderm and definitive endoderm from pluripotent epiblast, concomitant with a highly ordered elongation of tissue along the anterior-posterior (AP) axis. Interestingly, cells with an endoderm identity arise twice during mouse development. Cells with a primitive endoderm identity are specified in the preimplantation blastocyst, and which at gastrulation intercalate with the emergent definitive endoderm to form a mosaic tissue, referred to as the gut endoderm. The gut endoderm gives rise to the gut tube, which will subsequently become patterned along its AP axis into domains possessing unique visceral organ identities, such as thyroid, lung, liver and pancreas. In this way, proper endoderm development is essential for vital organismal functions, including the absorption of nutrients, gas exchange, detoxification and glucose homeostasis.
Topics: Animals; Embryo, Mammalian; Endoderm; Gastrointestinal Tract; Gastrulation; Germ Layers; Mesoderm; Mice; Morphogenesis
PubMed: 31959298
DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2019.11.012