International Immunology Advance Access originally published online on April 18, 2005
International Immunology 2005 17(5):549-558; doi:10.1093/intimm/dxh237
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Presence and distribution of neural crest-derived cells in the murine developing thymus and their potential for differentiation
1 Division of Regenerative Medicine and Therapeutics, Department of Genetic Medicine and Regenerative Therapeutics, Institute of Regenerative Medicine and Biofunction, Tottori University Graduate School of Medical Science, Yonago 683-8503, Japan
2 Division of Immunology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, School of Life Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago 683-8503, Japan
3 Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
4 Technology and Development Team for Mammalian Cellular Dynamics, RIKEN Tsukuba Institute, BioResource Center, Tsukuba 305-0074, Japan
5 Division of Developmental Genetics, Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 862-0976, Japan
6 Department of Tissue and Organ Development, Regeneration and Advanced Medical Science, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu 500-8705, Japan
Correspondence to: H. Yamazaki; E-mail: yamazaki{at}grape.med.tottori-u.ac.jp
Neural crest (NC) cells are multipotent cells that can differentiate into melanocytes, neurons, glias and myofibroblasts. They migrate into the fetal thymus on embryonic day (E) 12 in mice and may participate in thymic organogenesis. Although the abnormality of migration and distribution of NC cells in the thymus results in immunodeficiency, the spatial and temporal presence of their progeny cells has not been defined in detail. In this study, we traced NC-derived cells based on the myelin protein zero gene promoter-Cre-mediated excision. We demonstrated that large numbers of NC-derived cells in the thymus were detected on E11.5 to E16.5 but rarely on E17.5. A colony formation assay of single thymic cells demonstrated that multipotent cells with the potential to differentiate into melanocytes, neurons and/or glias were present in the E14.5 and E15.5 but not in the E17.5 fetal thymus. Furthermore, we confirmed that these multipotent cells were NC-derived cells. Taken together, these findings imply that multipotent NC-derived cells are present in the developing thymus, but rarely in this organ at a later stage, suggesting that NC-derived cells may play roles in thymic organogenesis at an early embryonic stage.
Keywords: colony assay, Cre, melanocytes, organogenesis, protein 0
Transmitting editor: T. Kurosaki
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