The Neural Crest

The neural crest

The neural crest is a transient and discrete embryonic cell population of profound importance to the development and the evolution of the vertebrates. This cell type emerges from the dorsal neural tube during early development. Subsequently, the cells migrate into the periphery along stereotypical paths to a number of sites at which these cells stop and differentiate into a wide variety of deri...

The neural crest.

The neural crest (NC) is a highly migratory multipotent cell population that forms at the interface between the neuroepithelium and the prospective epidermis of a developing embryo. Following extensive migration throughout the embryo, NC cells eventually settle to differentiate into multiple cell types, ranging from neurons and glial cells of the peripheral nervous system to pigment cells, fibr...

Neural Crest

Early in the process of development, vertebrate embryos develop a fold on the neural plate [6] where the neural and epidermal ectoderms meet, called the neural crest [7]. The neural crest [7] produces neural crest cells [8] (NCCs), which become multiple different cell types and contribute to tissues and organs as an embryo develops. A few of the organs and tissues include peripheral and enteric...

Neural crest inducing signals.

The formation of the neural crest has been traditionally considered a classic example of secondary induction, where signals form one tissue elicit a response in a competent responding tissue. Interactions of the neural plate with paraxial mesoderm or nonneural ectoderm can generate neural crest. Several signaling pathways converge at the border between neural and nonneural ectoderm where the ne...

SnapShot: Neural Crest