MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
Edinburgh Cancer Research, CRUK Scotland Centre, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
Development. 2024 Aug 1;151(15). doi: 10.1242/dev.201266. Epub 2024 Aug 2.
Melanocytes evolved to produce the melanin that gives colour to our hair, eyes and skin. The melanocyte lineage also gives rise to melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer. The melanocyte lineage differentiates from neural crest cells during development, and most melanocytes reside in the skin and hair, where they are replenished by melanocyte stem cells. Because the molecular mechanisms necessary for melanocyte specification, migration, proliferation and differentiation are co-opted during melanoma initiation and progression, studying melanocyte development is directly relevant to human disease. Here, through the lens of advances in cellular omic and genomic technologies, we review the latest findings in melanocyte development and differentiation, and how these developmental pathways become dysregulated in disease.
黑素细胞的进化产生了赋予我们头发、眼睛和皮肤颜色的黑色素。黑素细胞谱系也产生了黑色素瘤，这是最致命的皮肤癌形式。黑素细胞谱系在发育过程中由神经嵴细胞分化而来，大多数黑素细胞存在于皮肤和头发中，由黑素细胞干细胞补充。由于在黑色素瘤起始和进展过程中需要的分子机制被共同用来进行黑素细胞的特化、迁移、增殖和分化，因此研究黑素细胞的发育与人类疾病直接相关。在这里，我们通过细胞组学和基因组技术的最新进展的视角，回顾了黑素细胞发育和分化的最新发现，以及这些发育途径在疾病中是如何失调的。
