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Cutaneous malignant melanoma and Parkinson disease: Common pathways?
Author(s) -
Inzelberg Rivka,
Flash Shira,
Friedman Eitan,
Azizi Esther
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.24802
Subject(s) - neurodegeneration , biology , melanoma , gene , disease , parkinson's disease , cancer research , germline , genetics , neuroscience , medicine , pathology
The mechanisms underlying the high prevalence of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) in Parkinson disease (PD) are unclear, but plausibly involve common pathways. 129Ser‐phosphorylated α‐synuclein, a pathological PD hallmark, is abundantly expressed in CMM, but not in normal skin. In inherited PD, PARK genes harbor germline mutations; the same genes are somatically mutated in CMM, or their encoded proteins are involved in melanomagenesis. Conversely, genes associated with CMM affect PD risk. PD/CMM‐targeted cells share neural crest origin and melanogenesis capability. Pigmentation gene variants may underlie their susceptibility. We review putative genetic intersections that may be suggestive of shared pathways in neurodegeneration/melanomagenesis. Ann Neurol 2016;80:811–820