Project description:<p>In order to create a melanocyte-specific eQTL resource, we obtained primary human melanocyte cultures isolated from foreskin of 106 healthy newborn males predominantly of European descent. Melanocytes were cultured in lot-matched culture medium in randomized batches to minimize variability that could be introduced by culturing conditions. RNA sequencing and direct SNP genotyping of these samples produced an average of ~87.9 million reads (paired-end, stranded, 126bps), and ~713,000 SNP genotypes, respectively.</p>
Project description:Little is known about the mechanisms underlying the localization of human melanocytes during embryogenesis, and how the characteristics of melanocytes differ in various body sites. Immunohistochemical studies of biopsy tissue obtained from four different anatomic sites (scalp, back, abdomen, and sole) of 31 aborted fetuses following the approval of the ethics committee for the study of human gene analysis revealed that the melanocyte-associated marker gp100 was expressed earlier in embryogenesis than other melanocyte markers. Human fetal melanocytes are initially localized in the epidermis, and then migrate to the hair buds from the epidermis but not the dermis. In the sole, melanocytes localize in eccrine sweat gland ducts. Cultured fetal melanocytes did not stain positively for any melanocyte markers other than MITF and nestin. When co-cultured with normal human keratinocytes and fibroblasts, fetal melanocytes stained positively for gp100. Gene expression studies indicated that fetal melanocytes were topographically diverse, especially sole-derived melanocytes compared with other melanocytes. Expression of several genes, including CHI3L1 and FGF7, was higher in sole-derived melanocytes. These findings suggest that human fetal melanocytes derived from the sole have different profiles both in vivo and in vitro compared with melanocytes from other sites. In this study, microarray analyses were performed using cultured fetal melanocytes from 4 different sites (scalp, back, abdomen and sole) obtained at 19 WOG, and newborn normal epidermal melanocyte as a control. RNA purification was performed using an RNeasy Mini kit (Qiagen, Germany) and those 5 samples, were analyzed using GeneChip 1.0 ST Array (Affymetrix, CA, USA).
Project description:Little is known about the mechanisms underlying the localization of human melanocytes during embryogenesis, and how the characteristics of melanocytes differ in various body sites. Immunohistochemical studies of biopsy tissue obtained from four different anatomic sites (scalp, back, abdomen, and sole) of 31 aborted fetuses following the approval of the ethics committee for the study of human gene analysis revealed that the melanocyte-associated marker gp100 was expressed earlier in embryogenesis than other melanocyte markers. Human fetal melanocytes are initially localized in the epidermis, and then migrate to the hair buds from the epidermis but not the dermis. In the sole, melanocytes localize in eccrine sweat gland ducts. Cultured fetal melanocytes did not stain positively for any melanocyte markers other than MITF and nestin. When co-cultured with normal human keratinocytes and fibroblasts, fetal melanocytes stained positively for gp100. Gene expression studies indicated that fetal melanocytes were topographically diverse, especially sole-derived melanocytes compared with other melanocytes. Expression of several genes, including CHI3L1 and FGF7, was higher in sole-derived melanocytes. These findings suggest that human fetal melanocytes derived from the sole have different profiles both in vivo and in vitro compared with melanocytes from other sites.
Project description:Target genes of ultraviolet stress response in cutaneous melanocytes, potentially associated with solar induced melanocarcinogenesis, were characterized by cDNA microarray technology. In cultured normal human melanocytes, 198 genes out of »9000 arrayed were found modulated > 1.9 times following artificial ultraviolet (mainly ultraviolet-B) irradiation (100 mJ per cm2).
Project description:Notch1 Activation Confers Transforming Properties to Primary Human Melanocytes and Promotes Human Melanoma Progression We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression underlying cellularisation and identified distinct classes of up-regulated genes during this process. Human neonatal melanocytes and Notch transformed human neonatal melanocytes were selected for RNA extraction and hybridization on Illumina gene expression array chip. Expression intensities were calculated and normalized for each gene probed on the array for all hybridizations using illumina Beadstudio#3 software. Microarray analyses were subsequently performed in GeneSpring to aid in the identification of genes differentially-expressed between Notch-infected and control melanocytes that may be responsible for the phenotypic changes described in the NIC-infected cells.
Project description:To identify microRNAs potentially involved in melanomagenesis we compared microRNA transcription profiles between melanoma cell lines and cultured melanocytes.