Melanosome maturation proteins Oca2, Mitfa and Vps11 are differentially required for cisplatin resistance in zebrafish melanocytes.

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, partially due to its inherent resistance to therapy. Here, we test in live larvae the hypothesis that mature melanosomes contribute to resistance to chemotherapeutic drug, cisplatin, via drug sequestration. We also compare three melanosome biogenesis proteins-microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitfa), vacuolar protein sorting 11 (Vps11) and oculocutaneous albinism 2 (Oca2) to determine their respective contributions to chemoresistance.