High impact information on cxcl12a

• Knocking down SDF-1 or its receptor CXCR4 results in severe defects in PGC migration [1].
• Guidance of primordial germ cell migration by the chemokine SDF-1 [1].
• Role of SDF1 chemokine in the development of lateral line efferent and facial motor neurons [2].
• The chemokine SDF-1 and its receptor CXCR4 control cell migration in the immune and nervous systems [3].

Biological context of cxcl12a

• We propose that SDF1/CXCR4-mediated cell migration is preferentially associated with movement along the anteroposterior axis of the animal [2].
• SDF-1, the presumptive cognate ligand for Cxcr4, shows a similar loss-of-function phenotype and can recruit germ cells to ectopic sites in the embryo, thus identifying a vertebrate ligand-receptor pair guiding migratory germ cells at all stages of migration towards their target [4].

Anatomical context of cxcl12a

• Here, we demonstrate that zebrafish primordial germ cells whose migration is guided by SDF-1 generate bleb-like protrusions that are powered by cytoplasmic flow [5].

References