The Eumelanin Human Skin Colour Scale: a proof-of-concept study.

Background: At present there is no standard nomenclature for describing the diversity of human constitutive skin colour.

Objectives: To develop a standard nomenclature to describe human constitutive skin colour.

Methods: Monthly focus group discussions were carried out among a multidisciplinary group of specialists over a 7-month period.

MSX1-Induced Neural Crest-Like Reprogramming Promotes Melanoma Progression.

Melanoma cells share many biological properties with neural crest stem cells. Here we show that the homeodomain transcription factor MSX1, which is significantly correlated with melanoma disease progression, reprograms melanocytes and melanoma cells toward a neural crest precursor-like state. MSX1-reprogrammed normal human melanocytes express the neural crest marker p75 and become multipotent.

A UVR-induced G2-phase checkpoint response to ssDNA gaps produced by replication fork bypass of unrepaired lesions is defective in melanoma.

UVR is a major environmental risk factor for the development of melanoma. Here we describe a coupled DNA-damage tolerance (DDT) mechanism and G2-phase cell cycle checkpoint induced in response to suberythemal doses of UVR that is commonly defective in melanomas. This coupled response is triggered by a small number of UVR-induced DNA lesions incurred during G1 phase that are not repaired by nucleotide excision repair (NER).