Vega-Lopez Guillermo A, Cerrizuela Santiago, Aybar Manuel J
Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO, CONICET-UNT), San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina.
Int J Dev Biol. 2017;61(1-2):5-15. doi: 10.1387/ijdb.160408gv.
Neural crest cells (NCCs) are a multipotent, migratory cell population that generates an astonishingly diverse array of cell types during vertebrate development. The trunk neural crest has long been considered of particular significance. First, it has been held that the trunk neural crest has a morphogenetic role, acting to coordinate the development of the peripheral nervous system, secretory cells of the endocrine system and pigment cells of the skin. Second, the trunk neural crest additionally has skeletal potential. However, it has been demonstrated that a key role of the trunk neural crest streams is to organize the innervation of the intestine. Although trunk NCCs have a limited capacity for self-renewal, sometimes they become neural-crest-derived tumor cells and reveal the fact that that NCCs and tumor cells share the same molecular machinery. In this review we describe the routes taken by trunk NCCs and consider the signals and cues that pattern these trajectories. We also discuss recent advances in the characterization of the properties of trunk NCCs for various model organisms in order to highlight common themes. Finally, looking to the future, we discuss the need to translate the wealth of data from animal studies to the clinical area in order to develop treatments for neural crest-related human diseases.
神经嵴细胞（NCCs）是一种多能的迁移性细胞群体，在脊椎动物发育过程中产生种类惊人的各种细胞类型。长期以来，躯干神经嵴一直被认为具有特殊意义。首先，人们认为躯干神经嵴具有形态发生作用，可协调外周神经系统、内分泌系统的分泌细胞以及皮肤色素细胞的发育。其次，躯干神经嵴还具有形成骨骼的潜能。然而，已经证明躯干神经嵴流的一个关键作用是组织肠道的神经支配。尽管躯干神经嵴细胞的自我更新能力有限，但有时它们会变成神经嵴来源的肿瘤细胞，这揭示了神经嵴细胞和肿瘤细胞共享相同分子机制这一事实。在这篇综述中，我们描述了躯干神经嵴细胞所采取的路径，并考虑了形成这些轨迹的信号和线索。我们还讨论了各种模式生物中躯干神经嵴细胞特性表征方面的最新进展，以突出共同主题。最后，展望未来，我们讨论了将动物研究中的大量数据转化到临床领域以开发神经嵴相关人类疾病治疗方法的必要性。
