Purinergic P2Y Receptors Are Involved in Xenopus Head Formation

Abstract

P2Y receptors belong to the family of G protein-coupled receptors and are activated by nucleotides in the extracellular space. We showed that Xenopus P2Y1 and P2Y11 were expressed in the dorsal marginal zone from early gastrula stage and enriched in the central nervous system from neurula stages. They were expressed in the prospective head region during early development. Knockdown of P2Y1 and P2Y11 caused head malformation, such as small eyes, brain atrophy, and defect in cartilage tissues, as well as reduced expression of neural, placode, and neural crest markers. Furthermore, the expression of neural plate and epidermal markers was affected by P2Y1 or P2Y11 depletion at early neurula stage, suggesting that P2Y1 or P2Y11 might be required for the neural induction. Our findings suggested that P2Y receptors might be involved in distinguishing between neural and non-neural fates. The results also suggested that P2Y1 or P2Y11 could play a role in neural induction and/or maintenance of neural tissues in the head formation processes.