A zebrafish melanoma model reveals emergence of neural crest identity during melanoma initiation

Abstract

Visualizing the beginnings of melanoma In cancer biology, a tumor begins from a single cell within a group of precancerous cells that share genetic mutations. Kaufman et al. used a zebrafish melanoma model to visualize cancer initiation (see the Perspective by Boumahdi and Blanpain). They used a fluorescent reporter that specifically lit up neural crest progenitors that are only present during embryogenesis or during adult melanoma tumor formation. The appearance of this tumor correlated with a set of gene regulatory elements, called super-enhancers, whose identification and manipulation may prove beneficial in detecting and preventing melanoma initiation. Science , this issue p. 10.1126/science.aad2197 ; see also p. 453

Keywords

Affiliated Institutions

• Massachusetts General Hospital US
• Harvard University US
• University of Zurich CH
• Kinderkrebs-Zentrum Hamburg DE
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology US
• University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf DE
• Universität Hamburg DE
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute US
• Harvard Stem Cell Institute US
• Cornell University US
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute US
• Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research US
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center US

Related Publications