Nature Sub-Journal: The first "Atlas" of human melanocytes

Researchers at the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah drew the first "map" of human melanocytes

Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer.

The research team began to study human melanocytes in depth

"We also focus on single-cell resolution, studying only one cell at a time

One of the findings is a new type of melanocyte, which appears to be the cell of origin of a special subtype called acral melanoma

Judson-Torres said: "This study really locks that acral melanoma is its own thing

"This method is not particularly successful

This research also revealed three other findings

Belote said: "We have confirmed that different types of melanocytes are not only related to different biological characteristics corresponding to specific areas of the skin, but also lead to different types of melanoma

Researchers are planning follow-up studies, including the development of acral melanoma-specific in vivo and in vitro models to begin screening acral-specific treatments

Original title:

Human melanocyte development and melanoma dedifferentiation at single-cell resolution