The control of gene expression in melanocytes and melanomas

Powerful evidence exists that deregulation of cell type-specific gene expression is a major feature of the genesis of several cancers, with many oncogenic proteins known to possess transcription regulation properties. As a consequence of this deregulation, melanomas may ectopically express HLA-DR and also fail to express enzymes required for melanin synthesis, resulting in amelanotic melanoma. Recent work has demonstrated that these phenomena may be accounted for by the expression of a transcription factor called Brn-2, now known to be involved with the development of neural crest-derived tissues. Brn-2 is normally expressed at high levels in melanoblasts and melanomas but only at low levels in normal melanocytes. Brn-2 may act by competing with another transcription factor, mi, necessary for normal melanocyte development.