Modeling melanoblast development.
Melanoblasts are a particular type of cell that displays extensive cellular proliferation during development to contribute to the skin. There are only a few melanoblast founders, initially located just dorsal to the neural tube, and they sequentially colonize the dermis, epidermis, and hair follicles. In each compartment, melanoblasts are exposed to a wide variety of developmental cues that regulate their expansion. The colonization of the dermis and epidermis by melanoblasts involves substantial proliferation to generate thousands of cells or more from a few founders within a week of development. This review addresses the cellular and molecular events occurring during melanoblast development. We focus on intrinsic and extrinsic factors that control melanoblast proliferation. We also present a robust mathematical model for estimating the doubling-time of dermal and epidermal melanoblasts for all coat color phenotypes from black to white.
Institut Curie, Centre de Recherche, Developmental Genetics of Melanocytes, 91405, Orsay, France. lionel.larue@curie.fr
Lionel
L
Larue
Florian
F
de Vuyst
Véronique
V
Delmas
D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D006801:Humans; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology*; D012880:Skin Pigmentation / Q000502:physiology*