Are melanocytes involved in the blood vessel structure of the mouse uvea and the stria vascularis ductus cochlearis?

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Melanocytes originate from the neural crest, a vertebrate-specific embryonic cell population, and migrate to a variety of tissues and organs, including the skin, choroid, inner ear, heart, brain, adipose tissue, lung, etc. Although the functions of skin melanocytes are well analyzed, the roles of those extracutaneous melanocytes scattered all over the body, where only a very small fraction of light illuminate their existence, are scarcely understood. It is significant to elucidate such roles and functions in order not only to uncover the functional divergence of these pigment cells during evolution but also to help us find those accompanied symptoms with pigment disorder, which then lead to make such mouse coat color mutants important disease model animals. Morphological and histochemical studies using a recessive mouse coat color allele Mitfmi-bw that impairs melanocyte differentiation suggest that melanocytes may be involved in the structure of the uveal blood vessel structure.