Principal expression of two mRNA isoforms (ABCB5α and ABCB5β) of the ATP-binding cassette transporter gene ABCB5 in melanoma cells and melanocytes

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters play a pivotal role in physiology and pathology. We identified and cloned two novel mRNA isoforms (ABCB 5 alpha and ABCB 5 beta) of the ABC transporter ABCB 5 in human melanoma cells. The deduced ABCB 5 alpha protein appears to be an altered splice variant containing only a putative ABC, whereas the ABCB 5 beta isoform shares approximately 70% similarity with ABCB1 (MDR1) and has a deduced topological arrangement similar to that of the whole carboxyl terminal half of the ABCB1 gene product, P-glycoprotein, including an intact ABC. Northern blot, real-time PCR, and conventional RT-PCR were used to verify the expression profiles of ABCB 5 alpha/beta. We found that the melanomas included among the NCI-60 panel of cell lines preferentially expressed both ABCB 5 alpha and ABCB 5 beta. However, ABCB 5 alpha/beta expression was undetectable in two amelanotic melanomas (M14 and LOX-IMVI). The expression profile of ABCB 5 alpha/beta in all of the other melanomas of the panel was confirmed both by RT-PCR and by sequencing. Neither ABCB 5 alpha nor ABCB 5 beta expression was found in normal tissues such as liver, spleen, thymus, kidney, lung, colon, small intestines or placenta. ABCB 5 alpha/beta mRNAs were also expressed in normal melanocytes and in retinal pigment epithelial cells, suggesting that ABCB 5 alpha/beta expression is pigment cell-specific and might be involved in melanogenesis. Our findings indicate that expression of ABCB 5 alpha/beta might possibly provide two novel molecular markers for differential diagnosis of melanomas and constitute potential molecular targets for therapy of melanomas.