Kunisada Takahiro, Tezulka Ken-Ichi, Aoki Hitomi, Motohashi Tsutomu
Department of Tissue and Organ Development, Regeneration, and Advanced Medical Science, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1, Yanagido, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan.
Birth Defects Res C Embryo Today. 2014 Sep;102(3):251-62. doi: 10.1002/bdrc.21079. Epub 2014 Sep 15.
Neural crest cells (NCCs) are unique to vertebrates and emerge from the border of the neural plate and subsequently migrate extensively throughout the embryo after which they differentiate into many types of cells. This multipotency is the main reason why NCCs are regarded as a versatile tool for stem cell biology and have been gathering attention for their potential use in stem cell based therapy. Multiple sets of networks comprised of signaling molecules and transcription factors regulate every developmental phase of NCCs, including maintenance of their multipotency. Pluripotent stem cell lines, such as embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, facilitate the induction of NCCs in combination with sophisticated culture systems used for neural stem cells, although at present, clinical experiments for NCC-based cell therapy need to be improved. Unexpectedly, the multipotency of NCCs is maintained after they reach the target tissues as tissue neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) that may contribute to the establishment of NCC-derived multipotential stem cells. In addition, under specific culture conditions, fate-restricted unipotent descendants of NCCs, such as melanoblasts, show multipotency to differentiate into melanocytes, neurons, and glia cells. These properties contribute to the additional versatility of NCCs for therapeutic application and to better understand NCC development.
神经嵴细胞（NCCs）是脊椎动物所特有的，它们起源于神经板的边缘，随后在胚胎中广泛迁移，之后分化为多种类型的细胞。这种多能性是NCCs被视为干细胞生物学通用工具并因其在基于干细胞的治疗中的潜在用途而备受关注的主要原因。由信号分子和转录因子组成的多套网络调控着NCCs的每个发育阶段，包括维持其多能性。多能干细胞系，如胚胎干细胞和诱导多能干细胞（iPS细胞），结合用于神经干细胞的复杂培养系统，有助于诱导NCCs，尽管目前基于NCCs的细胞治疗的临床试验仍有待改进。出乎意料的是，NCCs到达靶组织后作为组织神经嵴干细胞（NCSCs）仍保持多能性，这可能有助于建立源自NCCs的多能干细胞。此外，在特定培养条件下，NCCs的命运受限的单能后代，如成黑素细胞，表现出分化为黑素细胞、神经元和神经胶质细胞的多能性。这些特性有助于NCCs在治疗应用中的额外多功能性，并有助于更好地理解NCCs的发育。
