# Mechanisms of neural crest specification

> **NIH NIH R01** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2021 · $470,272

## Abstract

This proposal concerns molecular mechanisms leading to the early development of the
vertebrate nervous system, including neural crest cells. The neural crest is a population of stem-
cell-like cells, which form in vertebrate embryos at the neural plate border and migrate to
diverse locations in the body to give rise to diverse cell types, such as the peripheral nervous
system. Neural crest forms as a result of inductive interactions of neuroectoderm, epidermal
ectoderm and the underlying mesoderm. The proposed experiments aim to connect
cytoskeleton reorganization to neural crest specification. The function of several genes that
control actomyosin dynamics will be perturbed to understand the regulatory network that is
involved in neural crest formation. These experiments will be carried out in Xenopus embryos,
which represent a rapid in vivo system for gene function and allow classical cell biological and
biochemical experiments. By connecting upstream regulators, such as Wnt signals, to actin-
dependent processes during the initial stages of craniofacial development, the proposed
experiments will contribute to the understanding of both the basic developmental mechanisms
and are relevant to the disease. A large number of human diseases, such as craniosynostosis,
Waardenburg and Hirschsprung's syndromes, and cancer, have been associated with neural
crest abnormalities. Studying the mechanisms underlying the development of the neural crest
cell should provide insights into human diseases associated with stem cell disorders and
cancer.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10190895
- **Project number:** 5R01DE027665-04
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** Sergei Sokol
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $470,272
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-15 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10190895

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10190895, Mechanisms of neural crest specification (5R01DE027665-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10190895. Licensed CC0.

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