Oral communication, PS8 / C104

Official XXIst International Pigment Cell Conference website - 21-24 Sept 2011, Bordeaux - France | updated: September 04 2011

Live imaging and mathematical modeling of the role of Kit/Kitl in melanoblast behaviour

Melanoblasts, the embryonic precursors of melanocytes, are derived from the neural crest and migrate along the dorsolateral pathway. They populate the epidermis around embryonic day 12 (E12) and localise to embryonic hair follicles between E13.5 and E16.5. Partial failure of this developmental process leads to white spotting phenotypes often associated with mutations in the tyrosine kinase Kit or its receptor Kitl. To investigate this process we fluorescently labeled the melanoblast lineage by crossing transgenic mice that express Cre recombinase under the control of the tyrosinase promoter with R26EYFP reporter mice. We cultured embryonic skin in an ex vivo system and for the first time were able to perform live imaging of melanoblast migration. Analysis of time lapse sequences reveals that melanoblasts are highly motile and allows measurement of the dynamics of their migration. Preliminary evidence confirms a chemokinetic role for Kitl in melanoblast motility and localisation to developing hair follicles. We have begun to construct mathematical models from this data to allow us to explain how individual cellular properties, tissue expansion and signalling through Kit/Kitl can contribute to the net dispersal of the melanoblast population and its subsequent localisation to the developing hair follicles.

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