NGF reprograms metastatic melanoma to a bipotent glial-melanocyte neural crest-like precursor.

ABSTRACT: Melanoma pathogenesis from normal neural crest-derived melanocytes is often fatal due to aggressive cell invasion throughout the body. The identification of signals that reprogram de-differentiated, metastatic melanoma cells to a less aggressive and stable phenotype would provide a novel strategy to limit disease progression. In this study, we identify and test the function of developmental signals within the chick embryonic neural crest microenvironment to reprogram and sustain the transition of human metastatic melanoma to a neural crest cell-like phenotype. Results reveal that co-culture of the highly aggressive and metastatic human melanoma cell line C8161 upregulate a marker of melanosome formation (Mart-1) in the presence of embryonic day 3.5 chick trunk dorsal root ganglia. We ident

SUBMITTER: Kasemeier-Kulesa JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5829509 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature