Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO.
Denver Police Crime Lab-Forensics and Evidence Division, Denver, CO.
Yale J Biol Med. 2020 Mar 27;93(1):69-80. eCollection 2020 Mar.
The relationship between skin color and skin cancer is well established: the less melanin in one's skin the greater the risk for developing skin cancer. This review is in two parts. First, we summarize the current understanding of the cutaneous pigmentary system and trace melanin from its synthesis in the pigment cell melanosomes through its transfer to keratinocytes. We also present new methods for reducing melanin content in hyper-pigmented areas of skin such as solar lentigenes, melasma, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Second, we present evidence that at least one mechanism for the development of metastatic melanoma and other solid tumors is fusion and hybridization of leucocytes such as macrophages with primary tumor cells. In this scenario, hybrid cells express both the chemotactic motility of the leucocyte and the de-regulated cell division of the tumor cell, causing the cells to migrate a deadly journey to lymph nodes, distant organs, and tissues.
皮肤中的黑色素越少，患皮肤癌的风险就越大。本篇综述分为两部分。首先，我们总结了目前对皮肤色素系统的认识，并追踪了黑色素从色素细胞黑素体中的合成，到向角质形成细胞的转移。我们还介绍了一些新方法，可以减少皮肤中色素沉着区域（如日光性雀斑、黄褐斑和炎症后色素沉着过度）的黑色素含量。其次，我们提出了这样一种证据，即至少有一种发生转移性黑色素瘤和其他实体瘤的机制是白细胞（如巨噬细胞）与原发性肿瘤细胞融合和杂交。在这种情况下，杂交细胞既表达了白细胞的趋化运动性，又表达了肿瘤细胞不受调节的细胞分裂，导致细胞进行致命的迁徙，到达淋巴结、远处器官和组织。
