Japan Society for the Promotion of Science:Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research
Date (from‐to) : 2013/04 -2016/03
Author : Nakamura Motoki; MORITA Akimichi; SUGIURA Mayumi; YAMAGUCHI Yuji; NISHIDA Emi; KATO Hiroshi; FURUHASHI Takuya; TORII Kan; Fukunaga-Kalabis Mizuho; MIZUNO Toshihiko
We obtained 4-mm punch biopsies from the scalp, back, abdomen, and right sole of 36 aborted fetuses (gestational age 12-21 weeks). We compared the migration process between hairly areas and volar areas by immunohistochamical staining. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that gp100 (HMB-45) sensitively detects human melanocytes in embryogenesis. Melanocytes were present at the epidermal base, where hair placodes/buds form at 12-15 weeks gestation. Fetal melanocytes in hair follicles are supplied from the epidermis. In volar skin, melanocytes originally localize only in the acrosyringium, where they migrate deeper into with gland development at 16-18 weeks gestation. Palmoplantar melanocyte migration and maturation processes differ considerably from those of the other hairy skin sites. Eccrine sweat glands seem to have a central role in the palmoplantar melanocyte migration process, similar to the role of hair follicles in hairy sites.