Protein involved in early steps of melanoma development revealed
Melanoma is one of the least common types of skin cancer, but it is also the most deadly. Melanocytes (pigment-producing skin cells) lose the genetic regulatory mechanisms that normally limit their number, allowing them to divide and proliferate out of control. One such regulator, called MITF, controls an array of genes that influence melanocyte development, function and survival. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and their collaborators recently used a melanoma mouse model, cell cultures and human tissue samples to unravel the relationship between MITF and ATF2, a transcription factor (or protein that controls gene expression) that is more active in melanomas. The study, published December 23 in PLoS Genetics, demonstrates that the MITF is subject to negative regulation by ATF2, and such regulation is a key determinant in melanoma development. This work also reveals that the ratio of ATF2 to MITF in the nucleus of melanoma cells can...