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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

08:49
A 3D Organotypic Melanoma Spheroid Skin Model
Published on: May 18, 2018
"Bak (and Bax) to the future"--of primary melanoma prognosis?
Martin Leverkus1, Harald Gollnick
1Laboratory for Experimental Dermatology, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany. leverkus@medizin.uni-magdeburg.de
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology
|May 17, 2006
Abstract:
Bcl-2 proteins either block or activate the "intrinsic" mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Loss of expression of proapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins, namely Bax and Bak, in primary melanomas is associated with a worse long-term prognosis. Consequently, inactivation of mitochondrial signaling pathways of apoptosis may not only be a prerequisite for melanoma progression but may also hamper therapeutic efforts with chemotherapeutic drugs.

