Potential for Melanoma Metastasis Correlates with Melastatin Down-Regulation of the Novel Gene

We have used differential cDNA display to search for genes whose expression correlates with an aggressive phenotype in variants of the B16 murine melanoma line, B16-F1 and 1516-1 10. This analysis identified a novel gene, termed melastatin, that is expressed at high levels in poorly metastatic variants of B16 melanoma and at much reduced levels in highly metastatic B16 variants. Melastatin was also found to be differentially expressed in tissue sections of human melanocytic neoplasms. Benign nevi express high levels of melastatin, whereas primary melanomas showed variable melastatin expression. Melastatin transcripts were not detected in melanoma métastases.Within the set of human primary cutaneous mel anomas examined, melastatin expression appeared to correlate inversely with tumor thickness. The expression pattern observed suggests that loss of melastatin expression is an indicator of melanoma aggressiveness.