title: The neural crest: a versatile organ system.
abstract: The neural crest is the name given to the strip of cells at the junction between neural and epidermal ectoderm in neurula-stage vertebrate embryos, which is later brought to the dorsal neural tube as the neural folds elevate. The neural crest is a heterogeneous and multipotent progenitor cell population whose cells undergo EMT then extensively and accurately migrate throughout the embryo. Neural crest cells contribute to nearly every organ system in the body, with derivatives of neuronal, glial, neuroendocrine, pigment, and also mesodermal lineages. This breadth of developmental capacity has led to the neural crest being termed the fourth germ layer. The neural crest has occupied a prominent place in developmental biology, due to its exaggerated migratory morphogenesis and its remarkably wide developmental potential. As such, neural crest cells have become an attractive model for developmental biologists for studying these processes. Problems in neural crest development cause a number of human syndromes and birth defects known collectively as neurocristopathies; these include Treacher Collins syndrome, Hirschsprung disease, and 22q11.2 deletion syndromes. Tumors in the neural crest lineage are also of clinical importance, including the aggressive melanoma and neuroblastoma types. These clinical aspects have drawn attention to the selection or creation of neural crest progenitor cells, particularly of human origin, for studying pathologies of the neural crest at the cellular level, and also for possible cell therapeutics. The versatility of the neural crest lends itself to interlinked research, spanning basic developmental biology, birth defect research, oncology, and stem/progenitor cell biology and therapy.
authors.affiliation: Embryology Unit, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute.
authors.forename: Dongcheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Samiramis
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ighaniyan
authors.forename: Lefteris
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stathopoulos
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rollo
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Landman
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hutson
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Newgreen
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D002892:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22; D015509:Developmental Biology; D004062:DiGeorge Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006627:Hirschsprung Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008342:Mandibulofacial Dysostosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000166:cytology; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology* / Q000473:pathology; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology
keywords: cell migration; neural crest; neurocristopathy; progenitor cell