Proteomic Analysis During Neural Crest Cell Migration
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Guo, Fiona
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Abstract
Neural crest cells (NCCs) are a multipotent cell population that undergoes extensive migration during embryogenesis. Errors in this migratory program can lead to significant developmental disorders, and many of the mechanisms that regulate NCC motility parallel those used during cancer metastasis. This thesis investigates the proteomic landscape underlying cranial NCC migration using Xenopus laevis as the model organism. By isolating premigratory, collectively migrating, and single-cell migrating NCCs and analyzing their protein expression profiles, I identified stage-specific differences in protein abundance. I focused on the collective migratory cells over the premigratory and single-cell migratory clusters. Statistical analysis (ANOVA, FDR < 0.01) revealed several enriched functional clusters, including mitochondrial metabolic modules, endolysosomal trafficking pathways, ribonucleoprotein complexes, and cytoskeletal regulators. Gene Ontology enrichment and STRING network analyses highlighted a prominent metabolic signature, with proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and mitochondrial organization being significantly upregulated during collective migration. These findings align with emerging evidence that mitochondrial membrane potential, spatial metabolic heterogeneity, and integrin-dependent signaling influence leader–follower dynamics and collective cell movement. Additional enriched pathways involving the prohibitin complex and the TRPML1 endolysosomal channel suggest key roles for vesicular trafficking and adhesion turnover, specifically E-cadherin and β1-integrin, in coordinating cell motility. Together, these results provide new insight into how metabolic, trafficking, and adhesion networks interact to regulate NCC migration and offer a proteomic foundation for future mechanistic studies relevant to developmental biology and disease.
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Date
2026-05
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Undergraduate Thesis