Einzelzellbiologie

Abstrakt

The many roles of MITF in melanoma

Jiri Vachtenheim

Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) plays a central role in the maintenance of the melanocyte lineage, differentiation of normal and malignant melanocytes, and survival of melanoma cells. MITF regulates the expression of many genes with critical functions in cell differentiation, proliferation, and pro-survival properties. Melanoma is an extremely resilient tumor for which there is no effective therapy once the tumor metastasizes. Melanoma is a heterogeneous tumor in which microheterogeneity arises already in the earliest stages of tumor development. Because melanocyte lineage dependence on MITF is crucial, MITF is considered the paradigmatic oncogene of lineage dependence and its gene is amplified in a smaller subset of melanomas. MITF protein levels vary widely among tumor cells. Interestingly, cells with low MITF levels proliferate slowly but represent an invasive subpopulation of tumor cells. In this mini-review, I briefly discuss the many roles and activities of MITF in melanoma cells and the future prospects for melanoma therapy.