Although the incidence of melanoma is increasing rapidly, its proportion is relatively low among all the malignant tumors in China, and oncologists commonly pay little attention. The first consultation place for melanoma patients is mainly the department of dermatology. Dermatologists have unique advantages in the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma since they can comprehensively integrate clinical diagnosis, pathological diagnosis, surgical treatment and drug treatment. In recent years, Chinese scholars have made great progress in melanoma research, such as regulation of cell death, epigenetic modification, resistance to targeted drugs, tumor microenvironment and tumor immune regulation. Interferon α-1b, a unique new drug in China, not only can be used for adjuvant treatment of high-risk stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ melanoma, but also shows good efficacy in the treatment of stage Ⅳ melanoma, and adverse reactions to it are far less than those to interferon α-2b. Unlike the White population, the common subtypes of melanoma are acral and mucosal melanomas in the Asian population. The combination of interferon α-1b with programmed death receptor-ligand 1 inhibitor, targeted drugs or angiogenesis inhibitors is bringing hope for patients with stage IV melanoma.

Seventeen cases of malignant melanoma (MM) were observed with transmission electron microscopy in order to clarify the significance of abberant melanosomes in its diagnosis.30 cases of nevus were also studied to serve as control.It was found that aberrant melanosomes were present in 14 cases of MM including 2 cases of amelanotic MM and absent in 2 cases of pigmented MM and one case of amelanotic MM.In addition,aberrant melanosomes were found in 4 cases of congenital nevus.The findings suggest that the significance of aberrant melanosomes in the diagnosis of MM has been overemphasized.It is believed that the diagnosis of MM must be judged comprehensively on all the ultrastructural changes under transmission electron microscope.

There are controversies concerning whether congential small nevus(CSN)is liable to undergo malignant degeneration and whether it should be resected promptly.The signif-icane of CSN in the pathogenesis of malignant melanoma(MM)was assessed with microspec-trophotometric determination of DNA quantity,the detection of the gene product of N-ras,p21 protein,with ABC technique,ultrastructural study of MM tissue with electron microscopy,and analysis of clinical data of MM.The findings were as follows:(1)The DNA content increased sequentially in order of acquired nevus(AN),CSN,congenital giant nevus(CGN)and MM,and the difference was statistically significant among the 4 groups(P

Objective To detect circulating autoantibodies to melanocytes in patients with vitiligo and its relationship to disease activity and subtypes. Methods IgG autoantibodies to melanocyte surface antigens were measured in sera from 334 patients with vitiligo and 50 normal individuals using a live cell enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay. Results Anti melanocyte IgG antibody was present in 67％ of patients(165/250) with active non segmental vitiligo, 30.3％ of patients(10/33) with inactive non segmental vitiligo, 40.54％ of patients(23/51) with active segmental vitiligo and 21.42％ of patients with inactive segmental vitiligo (3/14). The autoantibody levels were significantly higher in patients with active non segmental vitiligo and active segmental vitiligo than those with inactive disease or normal individuals. Conclusion Autoimmune mechanism may play an important role in both non segmental and segmental vitiligo.

A melanoma is a highly malignant tumor that originates from melanocytes in the skin, mucosa, or tunica pigmentosa. The incidence and mortality rate of cutaneous melanoma are increasing annually. However, the efficacy of traditional therapy is extremely limited because of its low sensitivity and high toxicity. The application of the anti-CTLA-4 antibody and the BRAF inhibitor dramatically improves the overall survival of patients with advanced melanoma. However, their limited benefit ratio and high drug resistance curtail the use of anti-CTLA-4. Since the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies for ad-vanced melanoma in 2014, a significant survival benefit has been observed in patients with advanced melanoma. This review aims to highlight the applications of the anti-PD-1 antibody (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and pidilizumab) and the anti-PD-L1 antibody (MP-DL3280A, BMS-936559, and MEDI4736) in the clinical treatment of melanoma by succinctly summarizing the results of recent reports.

Objective To investigate ?-catenin and lymphoid enhancing factor 1 (LEF-1) expression in malignant melanoma. Methods ?-catenin and LEF-1 protein expression was examined using the PowerVisionTM immunohistochemical method in 25 cases of intradermal nevus and 45 cases of malignant melanoma. Results Comparing malignant melanoma with intradermal nevi, there was a significant difference in the expression of ?-catenin (33/45= 73% vs. 9/25 = 36%, respectively; P

Objective To study the expression of double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) in malignant melanoma and ordinary nevi. Methods The expression of PKR and proliferating cell nuclear antigen was examined in 42 cases of malignant melanoma and 25 ordinary nevi by an immunohistochemical method. Results The positive rate of PKR expression was higher in the patients with malignant melanoma than that in the patients with ordinary nevi (P

Objective To investigate melanocyte membrane antigen associated with vitiligo,for further purification and cloning.Methods Sera from patients with vitiligo were screened by using a live cell enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay,98strongly positive sera were obtrained.Melanocyte antigens were immunoblotted after splitting of cultured normal human melanocytes.Thirty strong positive vitiligo sera were detected.Results There were positive bands in all screened sera as shown by immunoblotting.Whereas,positive band was seen in only one normal human sera.The antibody bound many antigens with different molecular weights(150kd,90kd,75kd,50kd,40~45kd).Positive rates for individual antigens were70%,60%,83%,16%and23%,respectively.Conclusions Antibody directed to melanocyte membrane antigens of melanocytes are present in the sera of patients with vitiligo.The molecular weights of the antigens are mainly150kd,90kd and75kd,the antigens with small molecules discovered previously maybe the degradation products of big molecules.

Objective To clone and express the mouse acidic mammalian chitinase ( AMCase ) gene and protein, and to analyze the hydrolysis of the cell walls of Trichophyton rubrum and Candida a/ft/cans by this enzyme. Methods Total RNA was isolated from the stomach of BALB/c mouse, and AMCase gene was amplified by RT-PCR. The recombinant fusion expression vector of pET28a ( + ) -AMCase was constructed. AMCase protein was expressed in prokaryotic system and purified. After incubation of AMCase with the cell wall extracts, the level of N- acetylglucosamine was measured. Results AMCase gene was cloned and expressed successfully. Purified AMCase protein can hydrolyse the chitin in the cell walls of T. rubrum and C. albicans. Conclusion The AMCase expressed in prokaryotic system can hydrolyse chitin in the cell walls of T. rubrum and C. albicans, which implies its antifungal potential.

Objective To investigate the inhibition of lymphoid enhancer factor-1 (LEF-1) expression in human malignant melanoma cell line A375 by RNA interference method. Methods Sense and antisense oligonucleotides with hairpin structures, targeted specifically at LEF-1 mRNA, were designed, synthesized, then linked to the expression vector psilencer3.1-H1 neo after annealing. After identification, the re-combinant psilencer3.1-H1/LEF-1 siRNA was used to transfect the cultured A375 cells by a liposome-medi-ated method. The cells expressing the recombinant RNA was detected by G418 screening. The mRNA and protein levels were detected by RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunocytochemistry, respectively. Results The expression vector psilencer3.1-H1/LEF-1 siRNA was successfully constructed, and its stable expression in cell clones was achieved. The mRNA and protein levels of LEF-1 were both down-regulated in the trans-fected cells. Conclusion The recombinant of psilencer3.1-HI/LEF-1 siRNA can inhibit the mRNA and protein expression of LEF-1 in A375 cells.