Department of Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology-Cervico-Facial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
Regenerative Medicine Division, CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Centre, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
J Transl Med. 2024 Apr 8;22(1):336. doi: 10.1186/s12967-024-05113-x.
Melanocytes are dendritic cells localized in skin, eyes, hair follicles, ears, heart and central nervous system. They are characterized by the presence of melanosomes enriched in melanin which are responsible for skin, eye and hair pigmentation. They also have different functions in photoprotection, immunity and sound perception. Melanocyte dysfunction can cause pigmentary disorders, hearing and vision impairments or increased cancer susceptibility. This review focuses on the role of melanocytes in homeostasis and disease, before discussing their potential in regenerative medicine applications, such as for disease modeling, drug testing or therapy development using stem cell technologies, tissue engineering and extracellular vesicles.
黑素细胞是定位于皮肤、眼睛、毛囊、耳朵、心脏和中枢神经系统的树突状细胞。其特征是存在富含黑色素的黑素小体，负责皮肤、眼睛和头发的色素沉着。它们在光保护、免疫和声音感知方面也有不同的功能。黑素细胞功能障碍可导致色素沉着障碍、听力和视力障碍或癌症易感性增加。本综述重点讨论了黑素细胞在维持体内平衡和疾病中的作用，然后讨论了它们在再生医学应用中的潜力，如利用干细胞技术、组织工程和细胞外囊泡进行疾病建模、药物测试或治疗开发。
