Neural crest (NC) cells are a stem‐like multipotent population of progenitor cells that are present in vertebrate embryos, traveling to various regions in the developing organism. Known as the “fourth germ layer,” these cells originate in the ectoderm between the neural plate (NP), which will become the brain and spinal cord, and nonneural tissues that will become the skin and the sensory organs. NC cells can differentiate into more than 30 different derivatives in response to the appropriate signals including, but not limited to, craniofacial bone and cartilage, sensory nerves and ganglia, pigment cells, and connective tissue. The molecular and cellular mechanisms that control the induction and specification of NC cells include epigenetic control, multiple interactive and redundant transcriptional pathways, secreted signaling molecules, and adhesion molecules. NC cells are important not only because they transform into a wide variety of tissue types, but also because their ability to detach from their epithelial neighbors and migrate throughout developing embryos utilizes mechanisms similar to those used by metastatic cancer cells. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms required for the induction and specification of NC cells in various vertebrate species, focusing on the roles of early morphogenesis, cell adhesion, signaling from adjacent tissues, and the massive transcriptional network that controls the formation of these amazing cells.

中文翻译：

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指定神经嵴细胞：从染色质到形态发生素以及其间的因子。


神经嵴 (NC) 细胞是存在于脊椎动物胚胎中的干细胞样多能祖细胞群，可迁移至发育中生物体的各个区域。这些细胞被称为“第四胚层”，起源于神经板（NP）和非神经组织之间的外胚层，神经板将成为大脑和脊髓，非神经组织将成为皮肤和感觉器官。 NC 细胞可以响应适当的信号分化成 30 多种不同的衍生物，包括但不限于颅面骨和软骨、感觉神经和神经节、色素细胞和结缔组织。控制NC细胞诱导和特化的分子和细胞机制包括表观遗传控制、多重相互作用和冗余转录途径、分泌信号分子和粘附分子。 NC 细胞很重要，不仅因为它们可以转化为多种组织类型，还因为它们能够与上皮邻居分离并在整个发育胚胎中迁移，其机制与转移性癌细胞相似。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了各种脊椎动物物种中 NC 细胞诱导和特异化所需的机制，重点关注早期形态发生、细胞粘附、邻近组织信号传导的作用，以及控制这些惊人细胞形成的庞大转录网络。细胞。