An Explant Assay for Assessing Cellular Behavior of the Cranial Mesenchyme

The cranial mesenchyme undergoes dramatic morphogenic movements that likely provides a driving force for elevation of the neural folds^1,2. Here we describe a simple ex vivo explant assay to characterize the cellular behaviors of the cranial mesenchyme during neurulation. This assay has numerous applications including being amenable to pharmacological manipulations and live imaging analyses.