Melanin transfer: the keratinocytes are more than gluttons.

Skin pigmentation is tightly linked to the transfer of melanin from melanocytes to neighboring keratinocytes. For decades, cellular mechanisms underlying pigment transfer have remained enigmatic. Tarafder et al. identify a keratinocyte-initiated process coupling the exocytosis and endocytosis of melanin as a major pigment transfer mode in epidermis. These findings open new paths in our understanding of melanocyte-keratinocyte communication regulating pigmentation.