Metastasized malignant melanoma has a poor prognosis because of its intrinsic resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The central role in the melanoma transcriptional network has the transcription factor MITF (microphthalmia-associated transcription factor). It has been shown recently that the expression of MITF and some of its target genes require the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex....

retinal pigment epithelium is responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of the retina by an efficient defense against free radicals, photo-oxidative exposure and light energy. for this purpose the main rpe line of defense is melanosomes. melanin content of retinal pigment epithelium cells in adults and neonates reveals remarkable variations. in the current study we compared melanogen...

Microphthalmia transcription factor (MITF) regulates bone homeostasis by inducing expression of critical genes associated with osteoclast function. Gpnmb is a macrophage-enriched gene that has also been shown to be expressed in osteoblasts. Here, we have shown gpnmb to be highly induced in maturing murine osteoclasts. Microarray expression profile analysis identified gpnmb as a potential target...

The microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf) has emerged as an important model for gene regulation in eukaryotic organisms. In vertebrates, it regulates the development of several cell types including melanocytes and has also been shown to play an important role in melanoma. In vitro, the activity of MITF is regulated by multiple signaling pathways, including the KITL/KIT/B-Raf pat...

The mi transcription factor (MITF) is a basic-helix-loop-helix leucine zipper (bHLH-Zip) transcription factor that is important for the normal phenotypic expression of mast cells. Most transcription factors function in cooperation with other factors by protein-protein interactions. To search proteins interacting with MITF, we carried out a yeast two-hybrid screen and isolated Myc-associated zin...

The microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf) has emerged as an important model for gene regulation in eukaryotic organisms. In vertebrates, it regulates the development of several cell types including melanocytes and has also been shown to play an important role in melanoma. In vitro, the activity of MITF is regulated by multiple signaling pathways, including the KITL/KIT/B-Raf pat...

The microphthalmia transcription factor MITF plays a pivotal role in the development and differentiation of melanocytes. The purpose of this work was to investigate the expression and function of the melanocyte-specific isoform MITF-M in human melanoma. We found that MITF-M is repressed in 8 of 14 established melanoma cell lines tested. Transfection of MITF-M into a melanoma cell line (518A2) l...

Micropthalmia transcription factor (Mitf) is involved in melanocyte development and differentiation. The current study was undertaken to determine whether there is a relationship between Mitf expression and survival in patients with intermediate-thickness (1.0-4.0 mm) melanoma. Original paraffin blocks or slides of the primary tumor were accessible in 63 such patients. Mitf expression was evalu...

The protein kinase B-RAF is a human oncogene that is mutated in approximately 70% of human melanomas and transforms mouse melanocytes. Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is an important melanocyte differentiation and survival factor, but its role in melanoma is unclear. In this study, we show that MITF expression is suppressed by oncogenic B-RAF in immortalized mouse and prim...

Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is a master regulator of pigmented cell survival and differentiation with direct transcriptional links to cell cycle, apoptosis and pigmentation. In mouse, Mitf is expressed early and uniformly in optic vesicle (OV) cells as they evaginate from the developing neural tube, and null Mitf mutations result in microphthalmia and pigmentation defe...