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The story of melanocyte: a long way from bench to bedside

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Abstract

Skin is composed of major layers, namely a superficial epidermis and a deeper dermis. The color of skin is influenced by a number of pigments, including melanin, which is produced by cells called melanocytes. Most skin disorders are relatively benign, but a few, including melanomas, can be fatal. A number of more noticeable disorders, namely albinism and vitiligo, affect the appearance of the skin and its accessory organs. Vitiligo is associated with significant psycho-social morbidity and a major effect on quality of life. Topical steroids, calcineurin inhibitors, phototherapy and surgery are the most common treatments for melanoma. However, there are many patients who do not respond to any of these modalities. The transplantation of cultured or non-cultured melanocyte is the most important treatment for hypopigmentory disorders. This study aims at reviewing the history of melanocyte cultivation, and evaluating the effectiveness of transplantation of cultured cells. For this purpose, the authors examined the initial process of isolation, characterization, and transplantation of epidermal cells. This review, thus, summarizes the current understanding of the cutaneous pigmentary system from the start of synthesis in the pigment cells, along with the response of repigmentation. During the production of melanin, melanosomes are transferred to neighboring keratinocyte in order to form perinuclear melanin caps. The objective of this review is to analyze the melanocytes transplantation in the last century to date, and explore the methods epidermal cells can increase pigmentation in hypo-pigmented areas in skin disorders. Moreover, the focus is on the story of the melanocyte back to 1950s. In addition, prior systemic therapy was associated with a significant increase, based on combined additional therapy, achieving desired results and improved outcomes. Despite the short study of a long way of melanocyte assessment and following up patient treatment, results of the all reports confirmed the efficacy of the method used in the treatment of stable vitiligo patients, who did not respond to the common algorithms of non-invasive treatments.

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Funding

Funding was provided by School of Biology, Royan stem cell institute, University College of Science, Enghelab St. University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran (Grant No. 01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Enghelab Street, PO Box: 14155-6455, Tehran, Iran

    Atefeh Shahbazi & Seyed Jalal Zargar

  2. Department of Photo Healing and Regeneration, Medical Laser Research Center, Yara Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

    Atefeh Shahbazi, Naser Aghdami & Masoud Habibi

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  1. Atefeh Shahbazi
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  2. Seyed Jalal Zargar
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  3. Naser Aghdami
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  4. Masoud Habibi
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Contributions

AS contributed to the study design, data collection, and writing the manuscript. SJZ contributed to data, patient evaluation and clinical data collection. Authors contributed in interpretation of the results and final preparation of the study design, data collection, writing the manuscript and financing the project.

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Correspondence to Seyed Jalal Zargar.

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Shahbazi, A., Zargar, S.J., Aghdami, N. et al. The story of melanocyte: a long way from bench to bedside. Cell Tissue Bank 25, 143–157 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10561-023-10081-5

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