Lineage Sets the Map, Organ Cues Finish the Wiring

Across heart, lung, pancreas and intestine, neural crest cell migratory history prefigures the spatial layout of organ intrinsic nervous systems, while local organ cues—especially ECM–integrin signaling—shape neuronal identity, differentiation and architecture; organ-derived signals can reprogram intrinsic neurons in co-culture, and ECM stabilization guides ICNS formation in vivo, revealing a dual logic where lineage prefigures layout and environment instructs final identity across organs.