Abstract
Human
SOX10 and mouse
Sox10 have been cloned and shown to be expressed in the neural crest derivatives that contribute to formation of the peripheral nervous system during embryogenesis. Mutations in
Sox10 have been identified as a cause of the Dominant megacolon mouse and Waardenburg–Shah syndrome in human, both of which include defects in the enteric nervous system and pigmentation (and in the latter, sometimes hearing). We have cloned a chick
Sox10 ortholog (
cSox10) in order to study its role in neural crest cell development. This cDNA reveals a 1383 bp open reading frame encoding 461 amino acids which is highly conserved with human SOX10 and mouse Sox10. In situ hybridization showed
cSox10 is expressed in migrating neural crest cells just after the zinc finger transcription factor
Slug, but is lost as cells undergo neuronal differentiation in ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. In addition,
cSox10 is expressed in the developing otic vesicle, the developing central nervous system and pineal gland.