Specification and patterning of the neural plate border – special focus on lens and olfactory placodes Center for Developmental Biology

Home > Seminars and Events > Specification and patterning of the neural plate border – special focus on lens and olfactory placodes

Category	Seminar
Date and Time	2012-11-13 16:00 - 17:00
Venue	Seminar Room A7F
Speaker	Lena Gunhaga
Affiliation	Umeå University, Sweden
Title	Specification and patterning of the neural plate border – special focus on lens and olfactory placodes
Poster	click here to download(PDF)
Host	Raj Ladher
Summary	In vertebrates, most cell types and organs develop by a series of inductive events which control both multi-cellular pattern and differentiation of individual cells. During the last decade it has become evident that the early development of most tissues and organs is regulated by the concerted actions of signals such as; HH, BMP/TGFβ, FGF, Wnt, RA and Notch. Thus, the challenge now is not so much to identify novel signals, but to understand the mechanisms by which a limited number of signalling pathways interact during early development. One needs to understand how at different developmental stages, signals act in either convergent, opponent or hierarchial manners, and how different concentrations and time of exposure to signalling molecules affect cell fate. To understand the early development of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), we have established in vitro and in vivo assay systems in chick to perform gain and loss of function studies. Results on the mechanism of early specification and patterning of neural progenitor cells in the PNS, and the differential specification of olfactory epithelial and lens cells will be presented.