Melanocytes and Melanoma Etiology

Abstract

Melanocytes are pigment-producing cells originated from the neural crest. Epidermal melanocytes contribute to photoprotection and thermoregulation by packaging melanin pigment intomelanosomes and sending them to keratinocytes. There are still many gaps in the understanding of early events of melanocyte differentiation and advanced melanoma regarding genetic and molecular processes. In this review, the authors present a summary of the main aspects of the melanocyte biology and its relation with the melanoma etiology, which are of major importance for guiding novel therapies development and to well understand this disease.