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Dedifferentiation of human epidermal melanocytes into melanoblasts in vitro

Zhiguo Zhao1, Cheng Jin, Keyun Ding

  • 1Department of Dermatology, the Affiliated of People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Jiangsu, China. pfzzg5665ok@yahoo.cn

Experimental Dermatology
|May 1, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Mature human melanocytes (MC) can dedifferentiate into melanoblast (MB) precursor cells. This study identified a novel cell type induced by endothelin 1 (EDN1), providing evidence for cellular atavism in human MC.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Dermatology

Background:

  • Melanoblasts (MB) are melanocyte (MC) precursor cells, successfully cultivated in vitro.
  • Previous research showed EDN3 induces avian MC dedifferentiation into MB progenitors.
  • The dedifferentiation potential of in vitro cultivated human MC remained uninvestigated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the dedifferentiation potential of in vitro cultivated human melanocytes (MC).
  • To characterize a novel cell type derived from human MC dedifferentiation.
  • To explore the possibility of cellular atavism in mature human MC.

Main Methods:

  • Purification and in vitro cultivation of human MC.
  • Induction of dedifferentiation using endothelin 1 (EDN1) without PMA.
  • Separation, purification, cloning, and multi-approach identification of the novel cell type.

Main Results:

  • EDN1 induced a subset of human MC to dedifferentiate into a new cell type.
  • The new cell population exhibited a G0-G1 phase dominant cell cycle (88.7%) with low apoptosis (0.09%).
  • Characterization revealed features of dedifferentiated melanoblasts (MB), including Stage I melanosomes and specific antigen expression (TRP-2+, c-kit+/-, S-100-, HMB45-).

Conclusions:

  • Mature human melanocytes (MC) can dedifferentiate into melanoblast (MB) precursor cells under specific in vitro conditions (EDN1 treatment).
  • This finding provides evidence for cellular atavism in human MC.
  • The identified novel cell type represents dedifferentiated human MB.

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