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Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Feeder-free Derivation of Melanocytes from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Published on: March 3, 2016
v-Myb can transform and regulate the differentiation of melanocyte precursors
1Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK.
Abstract:
The activity of the c-Myb transcription factor is essential for the development of definitive multi- and uni-lineage progenitors of the haemopoietic system. Reflecting this requirement, c-Myb has been oncogenically activated by transduction in the E26 avian retrovirus which elicits an acute leukaemia by transforming haemopoietic progenitors. Here, we report the novel finding that Myb in cooperation with EGF receptor signalling can be used to generate clonally expanded populations of transformed cells which have the phenotype of melanocyte precursors. Through the use of a conditional temperature sensitive mutant of Myb, we show that in the transformed cells Myb regulates commitment to melanocyte differentiation and possibly proliferation. These results add to our understanding of the roles of c-Myb beyond the haemopoietic system and to our knowledge and means of investigating the importance of transcription factors in the melanocyte lineage.
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