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Developmental Biology of Melanocytes

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Melanoma

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Abstract

Apart from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in the blastocyst, neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) in vertebrate embryos represent the stem cell population in our body with the broadest developmental potential, generating most of the neurons and glia of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) as well as various nonneural cell types, such as smooth muscle cells in the outflow tract of the heart, craniofacial bone, and cartilage and, in particular, melanocytes in the skin. It is assumed that a third of all congenital birth defects are due to failures in neural crest development, illustrating the significance of this stem cell population. Moreover, processes underlying melanocyte development appear to be recapitulated, at least partially, during formation of melanoma, the most aggressive skin tumor. For instance, it has recently been shown that an embryonic NCSC gene expression signature is reactivated upon tumor initiation in a zebrafish model of melanoma, suggesting a functional involvement of a NCSC program in tumors originating from neural crest derivatives. Thus, to gain insights into melanoma biology, it is important to understand the mechanisms regulating NCSC and melanocyte development, as outlined in this chapter.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stem Cell Biology, Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Lukas Sommer

Authors
  1. Lukas Sommer
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Correspondence to Lukas Sommer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Harvard/MGH Cutaneous Biology Research Center, and Melanoma Program, MGH Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    David E. Fisher

  2. Departments of Dermatology and Pathology, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Boris C. Bastian

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Dermatology, Harvard/MGH Cutaneous Biology Research Center, and Melanoma Program, MGH Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    David E. Fisher

  2. QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, Australia

    Nick Hayward

  3. QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, Australia

    David C. Whiteman

  4. Henri and Belinda Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies, MGH Cancer Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Keith T. Flaherty

  5. Framingham, MA, USA

    F. Stephen Hodi

  6. Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

    F. Stephen Hodi

  7. Auburndale, MA, USA

    Hensin Tsao

  8. Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Hensin Tsao

  9. Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Glenn Merlino

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Sommer, L. (2019). Developmental Biology of Melanocytes. In: Fisher, D., Bastian, B. (eds) Melanoma. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7147-9_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7147-9_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7148-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7147-9

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