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Revisiting Epidermal Melanocytes: Regulation of Their Survival, Proliferation, and Function in Human Skin

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Melanoma Development

Abstract

Melanocytes are cells specialized in the synthesis of the pigment melanin, in the form of eumelanin, the brown/black, and pheomelanin, the red/yellow pigment (Ito and Wakamatsu 2003). Melanocytes reside in the cutaneous epidermis, within hair follicles, in the eye, the leptomeninges, the inner ear, and in the heart (Brito and Kos 2008; Goldgeier et al. 1984; Tachibana 1999; Yajima and Larue 2008). Melanin produced by melanocytes provides the skin, hair, and eyes with their distinctive coloration. In this chapter, we focus on epidermal melanocytes, since they have been the most thoroughly investigated due to their importance in photoprotection against sun-induced skin cancers, and for being the precursors for cutaneous melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and their involvement in pigmentary disorders, such as albinism and vitiligo. We, hereby, provide a brief summary of the properties of melanocytes, review how cutaneous pigmentation is regulated, and discuss the significance of paracrine and autocrine factors and their signaling pathways in modulating the survival, proliferation, and function of melanocytes, constitutively, and in response to solar ultraviolet radiation (UV), a major environmental stressor and etiological factor for skin cancers, including melanoma (Gilchrest et al. 1999). We end by briefly describing how the knowledge gained about the regulation of melanocytes can be translated into preventative and therapeutic strategies for melanoma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Zalfa A. Abdel-Malek & Viki B. Swope

  2. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Oregon State University-Oregon Health and Science University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Arup Indra

  3. Molecular Cell Biology Program, Oregon State University OSU, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Arup Indra

  4. Linus Pauling Science Institute, Oregon State University OSU, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Arup Indra

  5. Department of Dermatology, Oregon Health and Science University OHSU, Portland, OR, USA

    Arup Indra

  6. Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University OHSU, Portland, OR, USA

    Arup Indra

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  1. Zalfa A. Abdel-Malek
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Correspondence to Zalfa A. Abdel-Malek .

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  1. Institute for Biochemistry, Erlangen, Germany

    Anja K. Bosserhoff

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Abdel-Malek, Z.A., Swope, V.B., Indra, A. (2017). Revisiting Epidermal Melanocytes: Regulation of Their Survival, Proliferation, and Function in Human Skin. In: Bosserhoff, A. (eds) Melanoma Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41319-8_2

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