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Melanocytes migrate long distances from the neural crest to peripheral tissues in the course of development, but how this process is affected by the responses to injury has been unknown. The follicular pattern of repigmentation following recovery from vitiligo is consistent with the idea that the hair follicle contains a reserve of melanocyte stem cells (McSCs) capable of regenerating epidermal melanocytes in humans.
Unlike humans, adult mice have only follicular (and not epidermal) melanocytes. Using a genetically engineered mouse in which melanocytes and their progeny could be tracked over time, Chou and colleagues found that McSCs migrate from the follicular bulge and secondary hair-germ stem-cell niches following excisional wounding or u…