Neural Crest Cells: Their Multipotency and Plasticity

Neural crest (NC) cells are a transient population of migratory multipotent cells that give rise to a wide variety of derivatives, including neurons, glial cells, Schwann cells, melanocytes, endocrine cells, smooth muscle cells, and the skeletal and connective tissue components of the craniofacial complex. Although the multipotency of NC cells is generally considered to be transient during the early stages of NC formation, accumulating evidence indicates that these cells retain their multipotent characteristics during embryonic migration. Moreover, multipotent NC stem-like cells (NCSCs) persist even within target tissues in the fetal and adult stages. Recent advances in high-throughput and integrative transcriptomic analyses have provided a comprehensive understanding of the genetic and molecular profiles of NC cells. These studies have revealed that NC cells exhibit remarkable transcriptional diversity and simultaneously express genes associated with pluripotency, lineage specification, and differentiation, underscoring their intrinsic plasticity. The multipotency and plasticity of NC cells and NCSCs thus represent a compelling field of study with significant implications for developmental biology and regenerative medicine. In this review, we summarize advances in research on NC cells and multipotent NCSCs as well as the transcription factors that maintain the multipotency of NC cells.