Links between Schwann cells and melanocytes in development and disease.

Melanocytes are pigment-producing cells that reside in the skin, eyes, ears, heart, and central nervous system meninges of mammals. Schwann cells are glial cells, which closely associate with peripheral nerves, myelinating, and sheathing them. Melanocytes and Schwann cells both arise from the neural crest during development, and some melanocytes arise directly from Schwann cell precursors lining developing spinal nerves. In this review, we explore the connections between melanocytes and Schwann cells in development and transformation.