Establishment and function of interactions between neurons and secretory cells in the mucociliary epidermis of Xenopus

• Applicant: Dr. Peter Walentek
• Subject Area: Cell Biology ; Developmental Biology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 564826654

The Xenopus embryonic mucociliary epidermis serves as a tractable vertebrate model to study airway-like mucociliary development and diseases. During development, the epidermis is initially innervated by Rohon-Beard and Dorsal Root Ganglion neurons, and synapse-like connections have been reported between neuronal and mucociliary epithelial cells. We have found that small secretory cells (SSCs) are required for normal epidermal innervation and that they form intimate direct contacts with neurons. To understand how neurons establish connections and communicate with mucociliary cells in vivo, we will study how small secretory cells facilitate neuronal invasion and connectivity, identify the surface molecules that establish direct interactions between SSCs and neurons, and test the hypothesis that SSC-neuronal interactions regulate secretion in response to physiological stimuli. The work will establish a new model to study neuro-mucociliary interactions in vivo, and promote our understanding of developmental and cell biological mechanisms with high clinical relevance in the context of human airway diseases.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2493: Heterotypic Cell-Cell Interactions in Epithelial Tissues (HetCCI)