Bennett-Sviderskaya Laboratory
Dorothy C Bennett,
Professor of Cell Biology |
Elena V Sviderskaya |
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Looking for our cell lines? - See Wellcome Trust Functional Genomics Cell Bank
Looking for cell culture methods? See Materials and Methods used in melanocyte culture
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Current group members Our research interests Current research projects
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Dr Lauren Godwin (Postdoctoral Scientist)
David Kallenberg (Research Assistant/ Research Student)
Shyamal Amin (Research Student)
Mehnaz Hossain (Research Student)
Rim Aglagal (Visiting Research Student)
Iman Adare (Project Student)
Caitriona Grace (Project Student)
Zehra Imam (Project Student)
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The melanocyte, or pigment cell. (Available in a range of pleasing, natural colours, including gold if you count fish.)
- Its cancer - malignant melanoma. (Not pleasing; a common, highly malignant and rapidly progressing disease.) Molecular genetics of melanoma.
- The role of cell senescence and immortalization in melanoma development and therapy
- Genetics of melanocytes.. Pigmentation is an attractive and accessible system for genetic study; for example over 300 genetic loci required for normal pigmentation are known in the mouse.
- Pigmentary defects, like vitiligo and Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome. Their molecular and genetic basis.
- Development.of melanocytes. Characterization of the developmental precursors of melanocytes. Analysis and control of gene expression during differentiation.
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Melanocyte senescence and immortalization: relations to genetics and progression in cutaneous malignant melanoma
The therapeutic potential of cell senescence pathways
Molecular genetics of pigmentation in mice and humans
Control of differentiation and determination of immortal mouse neural crest-like stem cell lines
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The Wellcome Trust Functional Genomics Cell Bank :
Our research group maintains the Wellcome Trust Functional Genomics Cell Bank, Director Dr Elena Sviderskaya.
The bank holds over 250 immortal lines of mammalian cells of various types, including:
- 6 lines of mouse melanoblasts, and
- around 40 lines of human melanoma cells from various stages of melanoma progression.
- 4 lines/10 sublines of immortalized normal human melanocytes
Many of these are freely available to researchers on request, with some restrictions on unpublished lines and lines obtained from other laboratories.
Most frequently requested line:
melan-a a/a (nonagouti, black) mouse melanocytes, from C57BL/6 mice. (Shown below)
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Recent group publications (from 2010):
Mishra PJ, L Ha, J Rieker, EV Sviderskaya, DC Bennett, MD Oberst, K Kelly & G Merlino (2010). Dissection of RAS downstream pathways in melanomagenesis: a role for RAL in transformation. Oncogene 29, 2449-2456.
Jin Y, SA Birlea, PR Fain, K Gowan, SL Riccardi, PJ Holland, CM Mailloux, AJD Sufit, SM Hutton, A Amadi-Myers, DC Bennett, MR Wallace, WT McCormack, EH Kemp, DJ Gawkrodger, AP Weetman, M Picardo, G Leone, A Taïeb, T Jouary, K Ezzedine, N van Geel, J Lambert, A Overbeck & RA Spritz (2010). Variant of TYR and autoimmunity susceptibility loci in generalized vitiligo. New Engl. J. Med. 362, 1686-1697.
Jin Y, SA Birlea, PR Fain, CM Mailloux, SL Riccardi, K Gowan, PJ Holland, DC Bennett , MR Wallace, WT McCormack, EH Kemp, DJ Gawkrodger, AP Weetman, M Picardo, G Leone, A Taïeb, T Jouary, K Ezzedine, N van Geel, J Lambert, A Overbeck & RA Spritz (2010). Common variants in FOXP1 are associated with generalized vitiligo . Nature Genet. 42 , 576-578.
Peres J, E Davis, S Mowla, DC Bennett , J Li, S Wansleben & S Prince (2010). The highly homologous T-box transcription factors, TBX2 and TBX3, have distinct roles in the oncogenic process. Genes and Cancer 1, 272-282.
Sviderskaya EV, DM Kallenberg & DC Bennett (2010). Resource. The Wellcome Trust Functional Genomics Cell Bank: holdings. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 23, 147-150.
BOOK: Lamoreux ML, V Delmas, L Larue & DC Bennett (2010). The Colors of Mice: A model genetic network. ISBN: 978-1-4051-7954-6 (Wiley, New York).
Lee T, G Yao, DC Bennett , J Nevins & L You (2010). Stochastic E2F activation and reconciliation of phenomenological cell-cycle models. PLoS Biology 8 , e1000488.
Shah M, A Bhoumik, V Goel, A Dewing, W Breitwieser, H Kluger, S Krajewski, M Krajewska, J DeHart, E Lau, DM Kallenberg, H Jeong , A Eroshkin, DC Bennett, L Chin, M Bosenberg, N Jones & ZA Ronai (2010). A role for ATF2 in regulating MITF and melanoma development. PLoS Genetics. 6, e1001258.
Birlea SA, Y Jin, DC Bennett, DM Herbstman, MR Wallace, WT McCormack, EH Kemp, DJ Gawkrodger, AP Weetman, M Picardo, G Leone, A Taïeb, T Jouary, K Ezzedine, N van Geel, J Lambert, A Overbeck, PR Fain & RA Spritz (2011). Comprehensive association analysis of candidate genes for generalized vitiligo supports XBP1 , FOXP3, and TSLP. J. Inv Dermatol. 131 , 371-381.
Easty DJ, S Gray, KJ O'Byrne, D O'Donnell & DC Bennett (2011). Receptor tyrosine kinases and their activation in melanoma. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 24 , 446-461. (Review)
Jin Y, SA Birlea, PR Fain, K Gowan, SL Riccardi, PJ Holland, DC Bennett, MR Wallace, WT McCormack, EH Kemp, DJ Gawkrodger, AP Weetman, M Picardo, G Leone, A Taïeb, T Jouary, K Ezzedine, N van Geel, J Lambert, A Overbeck & RA Spritz (2011). Genome-wide analysis identifies a QTL in the MHC class II region associated with generalized vitiligo age-of-onset. J. Inv Dermatol. 131 , 1308-1312.
van Geel N, R Speeckaert, A Taïeb, M Picardo, M Böhm, DJ Gawkrodger, K Schallreuter, DC Bennett, W van der Veen, S Moretti, W Westerhof, K Ezzedine & Y Gauthier (2011). Koebner's phenomenon in vitiligo: European position paper. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 24 , 564-573. (Review)
Soo JK, AD MacKenzie Ross, DM Kallenberg, C Milagre, H Chong, J Chow, L Hill, T Hoare, RS Collinson, M Hossain, WN Keith, R Marais & DC Bennett. Malignancy without immortality? Cellular immortalization as a possible late event in melanoma progression. Pigm. Cell Melanoma Res. 24 , 490-503.
Soo JK, AD MacKenzie Ross & DC Bennett (2011). Isolation and culture of melanoma and naevus cells and cell lines. In: Cancer Cell Culture: Methods and Protocols, 2nd ed., editor IA Cree. Methods Mol. Biol. 731 , 141-150. (Springer, New York).
Bennett DC (2011). Profile: Richard A Spritz. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 24, 741.
Rae J, A Viros, R Hayward, DC Bennett, N Dhomen, BJ Longley, JS Reis-Filho & R Marais (2012). K14-Kitl does not translocate V600E Braf melanoma to the mouse epidermis. J. Inv. Dermatol., online early.
Huang Z-M, M Chinen, P Chang, T Xie, L Zhong, S Demetriou, MP Patel, R Scherzer, EV Sviderskaya, DC Bennett, G Millhauser, DH Oh, JE Cleaver & ML Wei (2012). Targeting protein-trafficking pathways alters melanoma treatment sensitivity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. Online early .
Carney CJ, AE Bilsland, TRJ Evans, J Roffey, DC Bennett, M Narita, CJ Torrance & WN Keith (2012, in press). Cancer cell senescence: a new frontier in drug development. Drug Discovery Today.
Selected oldies (most-cited):
Bennett DC, PJ Cooper & IR Hart (1987). A line of non-tumorigenic mouse melanocytes, syngeneic with the B16 melanoma and requiring a tumour promoter for growth. Int. J. Cancer 39, 414-418.
Bennett DC, LA Peachey, H Durbin & PS Rudland (1978). A possible mammary stem cell line. Cell 15, 283-298.
Bennett DC & ML Lamoreux (2003). The color loci of mice - a genetic century. Pigment Cell Res. 16, 333-344.
Jin Y, CM Mailloux, K Gowan, SL Riccardi, G LaBerge, DC Bennett, PR Fain & RA Spritz (2007). NALP1 in vitiligo-associated multiple autoimmune disease. New Engl. J. Med. 356, 1216-1225.
Brooks, RF, DC Bennett & JA Smith (1980). Mammalian cell cycles need two random transitions. Cell 19, 493-504.
Alkhateeb A, PR Fain, A Thody, DC Bennett & RA Spritz (2003). Epidemiology of vitiligo and associated autoimmune diseases in Caucasian probands and their families. Pigment Cell Res. 16, 208-214.
Gray-Schopfer VC, SC Cheong, H Chong, J Chow, A Moss, ZA Abdel-Malek, R Marais, D Wynford-Thomas & DC Bennett (2006). Cellular senescence in naevi and immortalisation in melanoma: a role for p16? Br. J. Cancer 95, 496-505.
Bennett DC, PJ Cooper, TJ Dexter, LM Devlin, J Heasman & B Nester (1989). Cloned mouse melanocyte lines carrying the germline coat colour mutations, albino and brown. Development 105, 379-385.
Bennett DC (2003). Human melanocyte senescence and melanoma susceptibility genes. Oncogene 22, 3063-3069.
Easty DJ, SP Hill, M-Y Hsu, ME Fallowfield, VA Flørenes, M Herlyn & DC Bennett (1999). Upregulation of ephrin-A1 during melanoma progression. Int. J. Cancer 84, 494-501.
Easty DJ, BA Guthrie, K Maung, CJ Farr, RA Lindberg, RJ Toso, M Herlyn & DC Bennett (1995). Protein B61 as a new growth factor; expression of B61 and up-regulation of its receptor epithelial cell kinase during melanoma progression. Cancer Res. 55, 2528-2532. [Note: B61 is ephrin A1 and the receptor is EPHA2.]
Bennett DC (1983). Differentiation in mouse melanoma cells: initial reversibility and an on-off stochastic model. Cell 34 , 445-453.
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Sorry, no vacancies at present.
We are always interested to hear from bright and creative researchers who are thinking about applying for their own funding/ fellowships on topics related to ours, and need a host lab.
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International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies (IFPCS) Home Page
(DCB is Past President of the IFPCS)
European Society for Pigment Cell Research
(DCB is Past President of the ESPCR)
The Journal:- Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research
(DCB is on the Editorial Board)
(DCB is a member of the Senectus Team)
The Society for Melanoma Research
Information on Melanoma (Cancer Research UK)
Information on Melanoma (National Cancer Institute, USA)
The Vitiligo Society (for patients, UK)
(DCB is past Chair of the Society's Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee)
The National Vitiligo Foundation (for patients, USA)
ARIV-Onlus (for vitiligo patients, Italy [vitiligine, Italia])
The Vitiligo European Task Force (for researchers. DCB is a member.)
Information on Albinism (National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation)
Information on Waardenburg Syndrome (National Institutes of Health)
The Coat Colors of Mice: A Model for Mammalian Gene Action and Interaction by W.K. Silvers:- An online adaptation of a classic textbook.
The Colors of Mice: A model genetic network by ML Lamoreux, V Delmas, L Larue & DC Bennett (2010). Our update of Silvers.
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