Transgenic mouse model for skin malignant melanoma

Masashi Kato, Masahide Takahashi, Anwarul A. Akhand, Wei Liu, Yan Dai, Satoru Shimizu, Takashi Iwamoto, Haruhiko Suzuki, Izumi Nakashima

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

186 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We report here on a novel metallothionein-I (MT)/ret transgenic mouse line in which skin melanosis, benign melanocytic tumor and malignant melanoma metastasizing to distant organs develop stepwise. The process of tumor development and its malignant transformation in this line may resemble that of the human giant congenital melanocytic nevus that is present at birth and that frequently gives rise to malignant melanoma during aging. We observed an increase in the expression level and activity of the ret transgene during the disease progression. That increase in transgene expression accompanied an activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and c-Jun as well as matrix metalloproteinases. These results suggest that progressive dysregulation of the expression level of the ret transgene might play a crucial role in the malignant transformation of melanocytic tumors developed in the MT/ret transgenic mouse line.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1885-1888
Number of pages4
JournalOncogene
Volume17
Issue number14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 08-10-1998
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Cancer Research

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