Abstract
THE process described by Masson1 as “cytocrine” implies that the melanocyte is the active partner in the transfer of melanin granules to Malpighian cells. Cruickshank and Harcourt2 pointed out this implication and advanced evidence that, as judged by the activity of the cell membrane, the epithelial cell appeared to play a more active part in the transfer of melanin granules. Recent investigations indicating that the Malpighian cells may be the active partner in phagocytosing melanin granules led Fitzpatrick and Breathnach3 to the development of their concept of an “epidermal melanin unit” in which the functional unit of pigmentation is seen as a melanocyte and the pool of epidermal cells to which it is connected. Such units were recently demonstrated in amphibian skin by Hadley and Quevedo4, who in addition provided evidence that the rate at which melanin granules are carried away from melanocytes may also be a decisive factor in determining the rate at which they are synthesized. This useful concept is a significant advance in the study of “melanokinetics”5, but it does not embrace other cells transporting melanin, such as leucocytes.
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WASSERMANN, H. Extension of the Concept “Vertebrate Epidermal Melanin Unit” to embrace Visceral Pigmentation and Leucocytic Melanin Transport. Nature 213, 282–283 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/213282a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/213282a0
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