Oral communication, iL2

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

Cellular origin of melanocytes: newly resolved routes to melanocyte cell lineages

A migratory cell population originated from the anterior neural tube was reported to differentiate exclusively into pigment cells in nonvertebrate urochordates. In vertebrates, multipotential migratory cells were delaminated from the neural tube were named as neural crest cells and only those migrating along the dorsolateral pathway were thought to be the main source of melanocytes in the skin. However this concept was challenged by the fact that Schwann cell precursors are the major cellular source of skin melanocytes. In addition, we recently observed that presumptive neural crest cell population not derived from dorsal neuroepithelial cells differentiate into significant portion of skin melanocytes. Later, they clearly segregate from those originated from dorsal neuroepithelial cell derived neural crest cells in the mouse body skin. These findings provide more complex views on the cellular origin of melanocytes, possibly lead to the functional discrimination of mlanocytes. Functionally distinct melanocyte populations revealed in mice: noncutaneous and dermal melanocytes versus epidermal melanocytes.

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