The stemness of neural crest cells and their derivatives

Neural crest cells (NCCs) are unique to vertebrates and emerge from the border of the neural plate and subsequently migrate extensively throughout the embryo after which they differentiate into many types of cells. This multipotency is the main reason why NCCs are regarded as a versatile tool for stem cell biology and have been gathering attention for their potential use in stem cell based therapy. Multiple sets of networks comprised of signaling molecules and transcription factors regulate every developmental phase of NCCs, including maintenance of their multipotency. Pluripotent stem cell lines, such as embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, facilitate the induction of NCCs in combination with sophisticated culture systems used for neural stem cells, although at present, clinical experiments for NCC-based cell therapy need to be improved. Unexpectedly, the multipotency of NCCs is maintained after they reach the target tissues as tissue neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) that may contribute to the establishment of NCC-derived multipotential stem cells. In addition, under specific culture conditions, fate-restricted unipotent descendants of NCCs, such as melanoblasts, show multipotency to differentiate into melanocytes, neurons, and glia cells. These properties contribute to the additional versatility of NCCs for therapeutic application and to better understand NCC development. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 102:251–262, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.