Líffræðifélag Íslands
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2015
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster V82
Stefán Árni H. Gudjohnsen(1, 2), Diahann Atacho(1, 2), Franck Gesbert(3), Graca Raposo(4), Ilse Hurbain(4), Lionel Larue(3), Eirikur Steingrimsson(2), Petur Henry Petersen(1)
1. Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Vatnsmyrarvegur 16, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland. 2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Vatnsmyrarvegur 16, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland. 3. Normal and Pathological Development of Melanocytes, Institute Curie, Paris, France. 4. Structure and Membrane Compartments, Institute Curie, Paris, France.
Kynnir / Presenter: Pétur Henry Petersen
Tengiliður / Corresponding author: Pétur Henry Petersen (phenry@hi.is)
"Melanocytes are pigment producing cells derived from the neural crest. They are primarily found in the skin and hair follicles, but can also be found in other tissues including the choroid of the eye, the inner ear and the heart. Here we describe the distribution of melanocytes in mouse meninges, the membranes that envelope the brain. Meningeal melanocytes can be found in six distinct areas in the meninges of C57BL/6J mice: on top of the olfactory bulb, underneath the olfactory bulb, between the olfactory bulb and the cortex, anteriorly around the optic and trigeminal nerves, around the pterygopalantine and middle meningeal artery at their junction and between the cerebellum and the cortex. These cells contain the pigment melanin as well as melanosomes of all four stages of development and they depend on MITF, the master regulator of melanocyte development; melanocytes are not present in any of the above areas in homozygous Mitfmi-vga9 mice which lack MITF expression. Fewer meningeal melanocytes were seen underneath the olfactory bulb and between the olfactory bulb and the cortex in Mitfmi-vga9 heterozygotes; melanocytes were not observed in other areas. Histochemical staining showed that the melanocytes are located in the leptomeninges. Their location is consistent with the location of meningeal melanomas found in an NRAS driven model for CNS melanoma, as well as with human CNS melanomas."