Kato Masashi, Takeda Kozue, Kawamoto Yoshiyuki, Hossain Khaled, Ohgami Nobutaka, Yanagishita Takeshi, Ohshima Yuichiro, Kato Yoko, Ohgami Kyoko, Yamamori Tatsuya, Tateyama Keisuke, Yamanoshita Osamu
Unit of Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Life and Health Sciences, Chubu University (Building No. 50, 11F), 1200 Matsumotocho, Kasugaishi, Aichi 487-8501, Japan.
Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi. 2007 Jan;62(1):3-8. doi: 10.1265/jjh.62.3.
We previously established a RET-transgenic mouse line (304/B6), in which skin melanosis, benign melanocytic tumors and malignant melanoma spontaneously develop. We found that the activities of RET tyrosine kinase, Erk and c-Jun are definitely upregulated in malignant melanoma in the RET-transgenic mice of line 304/B6. We also established another RET-transgenic mouse line (192), in which skin melanosis and benign melanocytic tumors, but not malignant melanoma, spontaneously develop. Ultraviolet irradiation induced malignant melanoma from benign tumors in the RET-transgenic mice of line 192, and promoted RET tyrosine kinase, Erk and c-Jun activities. These results suggest that the ultraviolet irradiation-mediated enhancement of RET and the activity of its downstream molecules play important roles in malignant melanoma development.
