Neural Crest Stem Cell Cultures: Establishment, Characterization and Potential Use

Abstract

The neural crest (NC) is a remarkable structure of vertebrate embryos that continues to fascinate biologists due to its importance in development, evolu- tion and disease. NC cells emerge in the neurulating embryo at the closing borders of the neural plate and, after a phase of extensive migration, settle in different parts of the body and contribute to the formation of a diversity of tissues and organs. Because of their broad potential, NC cells constitute an attractive system to investi- gate fundamental developmental processes, such as cell commitment and lineage diversification. Moreover, recent evidence for the persistence of multipotent NC-like stem cell in several adult locations opens up opportunities for use of human NC stem cells as a source of material for cell-based transplantation therapies. In this chapter, we describe procedures for the isolation and characterization of NC cells from mouse and avian embryos, as well as adult NC-derived stem cells from the mouse hair follicle. These cultures constitute an accessible in vitro system for mod- eling NC stem cell morphogenesis and have been extensively used to study intrinsic and environmental cues that regulate migration, self-renewal and fate choice.