The melanocyte lineage in development and disease

Melanocyte development provides an excellent model for studying more complex developmental processes. Melanocytes have an apparently simple aetiology, differentiating from the neural crest and migrating through the developing embryo to specific locations within the skin and hair follicles, and to ot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDevelopment (Cambridge) Vol. 142; no. 4; pp. 620 - 632
Main Authors Mort, Richard L, Jackson, Ian J, Patton, E Elizabeth
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England The Company of Biologists 15.02.2015
Subjects
Animals
Danio rerio
Humans
Melanocytes - cytology
Melanocytes - metabolism
Melanoma - metabolism
Melanoma - pathology
Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor - metabolism
Neural Crest - cytology
Reviews
Stem Cells - cytology
Stem Cells - metabolism
MITF
Neural crest
Melanoma
Stem cells
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Summary:Melanocyte development provides an excellent model for studying more complex developmental processes. Melanocytes have an apparently simple aetiology, differentiating from the neural crest and migrating through the developing embryo to specific locations within the skin and hair follicles, and to other sites in the body. The study of pigmentation mutations in the mouse provided the initial key to identifying the genes and proteins involved in melanocyte development. In addition, work on chicken has provided important embryological and molecular insights, whereas studies in zebrafish have allowed live imaging as well as genetic and transgenic approaches. This cross-species approach is powerful and, as we review here, has resulted in a detailed understanding of melanocyte development and differentiation, melanocyte stem cells and the role of the melanocyte lineage in diseases such as melanoma.
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ISSN:0950-1991
1477-9129
DOI:10.1242/dev.106567