EMT is the major target for okadaic acid-suppressed the development of neural crest cells in chick embryo.

As a main marine phycotoxin, okadaic acid (OA) is mainly responsible for diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP), through specifically inhibiting phosphatase (PP1 and PP2A). It has been shown that isotope labelled-OA could cross the placental barrier in mice. However, it remains obscure how OA exposure could affect the formation of neural crest cells (NCCs), especially cranial NCCs in early embryo development. Here, we explored the effects of OA exposure on the generation of neural crest cells during embryonic development using the classic chick embryo model. We found that OA exposure at 100 nM (80.5 μg/L) could cause craniofacial bone defects in the developing chick embryo and delay the development of early chick embryos. Immunofluorescent staining of HNK-1, Pax7, and Ap-2α demonstrated that cranial NCC generation was inhibited by OA exposure. Double immunofluorescent staining with Ap-2α/PHIS3 or Pax7/c-Caspase3 manifested that both NCC proliferation and apoptosis were restrained by OA exposure. Furthermore, the expression of Msx1 and BMP4 were down-regulated in the developing chick embryonic neural tubes, which could contribute the inhibitive production of NCCs. We also discovered that expression of EMT-related adhesion molecules, such as Cadherin 6B (Cad6B) and E-cadherin, was altered following OA exposure. In sum, OA exposure negatively affected the development of embryonic neural crest cells, which in turn might result in cranial bone malformation.