Voigt lines

Separation lines between the supply areas of cutaneous nerves. Voigt's lines are not seen in fair-skinned individuals. During pregnancy, Voigt lines may become more prominent (see Melasma gravidarum - Ambros-Rudolph C 2018). The activation of previously inactive melanocyte populations at these separation lines is suspected.

It has been shown that in peripheral nerves (inactive) Schwann progenitor cells persist, originating from the neural crest. They are multipotent and can be recruited and activated in loco. These Schwann progenitor cells include melanocyte precursors, parasympathetic neurons, endoneural fibroblasts, mesenchymal stem cells, and mature Schwann cells (Petersen J et al. 2017).

1. Ambros-Rudolph C (2018) Pregnancy dermatoses. In: G. Plewig et al. (ed.), Braun-Falco`s Dermatology, Venerology and Allergology, Springer Reference Medicine. S. 1521
2. Bronner ME et al (2016) The Neural Crest Migrating into the Twenty-First Century.Curr Top Dev Biol 116:115-134.
3. Petersen J et al (2017) Nerve-associated neural crest: peripheral glial cells generate multiple fates in the body.Curr Opin Genet Dev 45:10-14.
4. Voigt J et al (2006) A dominant-negative form of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Cullin-1 disrupts the correct allocation of cell fate in the neural crest lineage.Development 133:559-568.