Development and plasticity in the sympathoadrenal lineage of the neural crest

Abstract

The study of neural crest cell differentiation provides the opportunity to address some basic questions regarding mechanisms of cell lineage segregation, in the context of a developmental system that is unique to vertebrate embryos. Neural crest cells emerge from the dorsal aspect of the neural tube, shortly after tube closure, and migrate throughout the embryo to generate a diverse set of differentiated derivatives (Figure 2). These include several broad classes of peripheral neurons, such as sensory, sympathetic and parasympathetic, as well as several different types of non-neuronal cells. The latter include melanocytes, peripheral glia (e.g., Schwann cells), mesenchymal cells of the facial bones and endocrine cells of the thyroid and adrenal medulla. Not only are several different cell types generated from the crest at a given point along the rostral-caudal axis of the embryo, but in addition there are positional differences in crest derivatives according to their axial origin.

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