Environmental factors affecting neural crest differentiation: melanocyte differentiation by crest cells exposed to cell-free (deoxycholate-extracted) dermal mesenchyme matrix.

Deoxycholate-extracted, cell-free matrices were prepared from primary explants or dispersed cell cultures of embryonic avian dermis, ectoderm, gut mesenchyme, endoderm, pharynx, or umbilical artery. Neural crest cells in association with matrices from dermal explants or monolayers formed melanocytes after six days. Crest cells in association with matrices from all other tissues or grown on plastic did not form melanocytes. It is concluded that a deoxycholate-resistant structural component of the dermal extracellular matrix induces melanocyte differentiation.