Pigmented cells in the leptomeninges of the cat

Abstract

Cells laden with pigment granules are described in the leptomeningeal tissues of the cat and kitten. These cells can be identified consistently by gross observation following vascular perfusion. The fusiform or stellate pigmented cells are most often found in association with the outermost layers of the arteries of the subarachnoid space. They are typically separated from the cerebrospinal fluid by an attenuated layer of pial cells. Vessels that are described as having pigmented cells along their course are the anterior and posterior cerebellar; the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral; and the basilar. Electron microscopic studies confirm the presence of abundant pigment granules. The pigment granules are the predominant component of the cytoplasm. Few organelles are demonstrable except for a large central nucleus. The data provide support for the concept of neural crest contribution to leptomeningeal structures. Identification of this isolated, easily defined population of melanocytes may provide a model for further studies of neural crest distribution as well as experimental approaches to melanogenesis and melanoma production and control.

Meningeal Melanocytes in the Mouse: Distribution and Dependence on Mitf

“…Melanocytes have been shown to exist in other regions of the body including in the mouse heart (Yajima and Larue, 2008 ). Pigmented cells have also been described in the meninges of the mouse, rat, cat and humans (Barden and Levine, 1983 ; Goldgeier et al, 1984 ; Morse and Cova, 1984 ; Fetissov et al, 1999 ). The role of melanocytes in the heart and in the meninges is currently unknown.…”

Engraftable neural crest stem cells derived from cynomolgus monkey embryonic stem cells

“…When transplanted in chicken embryos, CmNCSCs survived, migrated, and differentiated into peripheral neurons. Furthermore, after injection into cynomolgus monkey fetuses, most CmNCSCs were found to locate in the pia mater, which is also a neural crest derivative [38,39], whereas some CmNCSCs generated pericytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. These in vivo data confirm that CmNCSCs can give rise to both neural and mesenchymal progeny in vivo.…”

Hypophysial and Meningeal Melanocytes in the Zucker Rat

“…Little information is available about the melanocytes of the brain envelopes, except for their description in the human (Goldgeier et al, 1984) and the cat (Morse and Cova, 1984). This study attempts to augment our knowledge of this area and describes the presence in Zucker rats of functionally active melanocytes found mainly in the leptomeninges and the hypophysis and their tendency to aggregate around blood vessels.…”

“…Besides their well-known cutaneous and ocular location, melanocytes have been found in the wall of blood vessels, in the larynx, the pharynx, the leptomeninges, and the inner ear (Becke, 1927;Breathnach, 1988;Goldgeier et al, 1984;Morse and Cova, 1984). In humans, leptomeningeal melanocytes are mainly distributed over the ventrolateral surface of the medulla oblongata (Goldgeier et al, 1984).…”