# Maintenance, germ-layer induction, and patterning of neuromesodermal progenitors

> **NIH NIH R01** · STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK · 2020 · $329,516

## Abstract

During the establishment of the vertebrate body, the head forms first and the rest of the body 
grows progressively away from the head. A population of neuromesodermal progenitor cells (NMPs) 
located at the posterior-most end of the embryo fuels this process of posterior growth. NMPs 
maintain germ-layer plasticity after the end of gastrulation, and contribute to the growing spinal 
cord, somites, and blood vessels. NMPs are critical cells required for the formation of the body, 
yet due to their late temporal role in embryogenesis and the fact that they utilize many of the 
same genes and signals that are essential for gastrulation, they have been extremely difficult to 
study. My laboratory has developed methods using the zebrafish embryo to manipulate NMPs in vivo, 
using a combination of cell transplantation and temporal genetic manipulations. These methods 
allowed us to determine the existence of zebrafish NMPs and to define some of the basic molecular 
properties that facilitate their germ-layer decision between mesoderm and ectoderm. This proposal 
builds on our past studies and will examine the molecular control of NMP maintenance and 
patterning. In Aim 1 we will use cell transplantation of new sox2 and sox3 mutant zebrafish lines 
and heat-shock inducible sox2 and Wnt signaling transgenic lines to determine how Sox2 and Wnt 
signaling collaborate to maintain NMPs through regulation of a new class of Wnt/βcat target genes. 
In Aim 2, we will determine how the Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) pathway acts as a morphogen to 
pattern the mesodermal germ layer into distinct cell types. This aim will use new methods to 
precisely regulate the intensity and duration of signaling pathway activation in individual 
transplanted cells. The results of our study will help decipher some of the basic underpinnings of 
vertebrate body formation, and will provide essential information regarding the use of stem cells 
for regenerative medicine.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9932398
- **Project number:** 5R01GM124282-03
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK
- **Principal Investigator:** Benjamin L Martin
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $329,516
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-05 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9932398

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9932398, Maintenance, germ-layer induction, and patterning of neuromesodermal progenitors (5R01GM124282-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9932398. Licensed CC0.

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