title: Specification of neural crest into sensory neuron and melanocyte lineages.
abstract: Elucidating the mechanisms by which multipotent cells differentiate into distinct lineages is a common theme underlying developmental biology investigations. Progress has been made in understanding some of the essential factors and pathways involved in the specification of different lineages from the neural crest. These include gene regulatory networks involving transcription factor hierarchies and input from signaling pathways mediated from environmental cues. In this review, we examine the mechanisms for two lineages that are derived from the neural crest, peripheral sensory neurons and melanocytes. Insights into the specification of these cell types may reveal common themes in the specification processes that occur throughout development.
authors.affiliation: Genetic Disease Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. bpavan@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Pavan
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Raible
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D006801:Humans; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D039902:Multipotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction