The articular cartilage, which lines the joints of the limb skeleton, is distinct from the adjoining transient cartilage, and yet, it differentiates as a unique population within a contiguous cartilage element. Current literature suggests that articular cartilage and transient cartilage originate from different cell populations. Using a combination of lineage tracing and pulse-chase of actively proliferating chondrocytes, we here demonstrate that, similar to transient cartilage, embryonic articular cartilage cells also originate from the proliferating chondrocytes situated near the distal ends of skeletal anlagen. We show that nascent cartilage cells are capable of differentiating as articular or transient cartilage, depending on exposure to Wnt or BMP signaling, respectively. The spatial organization of the articular cartilage results from a band of Nogexpressing cells, which insulates these proliferating chondrocytes from BMP signaling and allows them to differentiate as articular cartilage under the influence of Wnt signaling emanating from the interzone. Through experiments conducted in both chick and mouse embryos we have developed a model explaining simultaneous growth and differentiation of transient and articular cartilage in juxtaposed domains.

Dynamic mechanical loading of synovial joints is necessary for normal joint development, as evidenced in certain clinical conditions, congenital disorders and animal models where dynamic muscle contractions are reduced or absent. Although the importance of mechanical forces on joint development is unequivocal, little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved. Here, using chick and mouse embryos, we observed that molecular changes in expression of multiple genes analyzed in the absence of mechanical stimulation are consistent across species. Our results suggest that abnormal joint development in immobilized embryos involves inappropriate regulation of Wnt and BMP signaling during definition of the emerging joint territories, i.e. reduced β-catenin activation and concomitant upregulation of pSMAD1/5/8 signaling. Moreover, dynamic mechanical loading of the developing knee joint activates Smurf1 expression; our data suggest that Smurf1 insulates the joint region from pSMAD1/5/8 signaling and is essential for maintenance of joint progenitor cell fate.

FGFs are key developmental regulators that engage a signal transduction cascade through receptor tyrosine kinases, prominently engaging ERK1/2 but also other pathways. However, it remains unknown whether all FGF activities depend on this canonical signal transduction cascade. To address this question, we generated allelic series of knockin Fgfr1 and Fgfr2 mouse strains, carrying point mutations that disrupt binding of signaling effectors, and a kinase dead allele of Fgfr2 that broadly phenocopies the null mutant. When interrogated in cranial neural crest cells, we identified discrete functions for signaling pathways in specific craniofacial contexts, but point mutations, even when combined, failed to recapitulate the single or double null mutant phenotypes. Furthermore, the signaling mutations abrogated established FGF-induced signal transduction pathways, yet FGF functions such as cell-matrix and cellcell adhesion remained unaffected, though these activities did require FGFR kinase activity. Our studies establish combinatorial roles of Fgfr1 and Fgfr2 in development and uncouple novel FGFR kinase-dependent cell adhesion properties from canonical intracellular signaling.

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Loss of FGF signaling leads to defects in salivary gland branching, but the mechanisms underlying this phenotype remain largely unknown. We disrupted expression of Fgfr1 and Fgfr2 in salivary gland epithelial cells and find that both receptors function coordinately in regulating branching. Strikingly, branching morphogenesis in double knockouts is restored by Fgfr1/2 knock-in alleles incapable of engaging canonical RTK signaling, suggesting that additional FGF dependent mechanisms play a role during salivary gland branching. Fgfr1/2 conditional null mutants showed defective cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion, both of which have been shown to play instructive roles in salivary gland branching. Loss of FGF signaling led to disordered cell-basement membrane interactions in vivo as well as in organ culture. This was partially restored upon introducing Fgfr1/2 wild type or signaling alleles incapable of eliciting canonical intracellular signaling. Together, our results identify non-canonical FGF signaling mechanisms that regulate branching morphogenesis through cell adhesion processes.