The melanocyte. Its structure, function, and subpopulations in skin, eyes, and hair

Abstract

I would like to stress that there seem to be three subpopulations of neural crest-derived melanocytes in the body that can be functionally and morphologically distinguished: the cutaneous melanocytes, which continuously synthesize small melanosomes to be transferred to keratinocytes; the uveal melanocytes, which synthesize larger melanosomes for only a short while to be retained by this melanogenically dormant cell; and the hair melanocyte, which intermittently produces melanin either in a cyclic manner or as a periodic supply from a stem population. These three types of melanocytes synthesize melanin granules by an identical bipartite system. However, the control mechanism regulating the specific differentiation and postmelanin synthesis function of these cell types needs to be addressed in future research.