Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is essential for driving plasticity during development, but is an unintentional behaviour of cells during cancer progression. The EMT-associated reprogramming of cells not only suggests that fundamental changes may occur to several regulatory networks but also that an intimate interplay exists between them. Disturbance of a controlled epithelial balance is triggered by altering several layers of regulation, including the transcriptional and translational machinery, expression of non-coding RNAs, alternative splicing and protein stability.

Successful immunogenic apoptosis in experimental cancer therapy depends on the induction of strong host anti-tumor responses. Given that tumors are often resistant to apoptosis, it is important to identify alternative molecular mechanisms that elicit immunogenic cell death. We have developed a genetic model in which direct dimerization of FADD combined with inducible expression of RIPK3 promotes necroptosis. We report that necroptotic cancer cells release damage-associated molecular patterns and promote maturation of dendritic cells, the cross-priming of cytotoxic T cells, and the production of IFN-γ in response to tumor antigen stimulation. Using both FADD-dependent and FADD-independent RIPK3 induction systems, we demonstrate the efficient vaccination potential of immunogenic necroptotic cells. Our study broadens the current concept of immunogenic cell death and opens doors for the development of new strategies in cancer therapy.

Deregulation of signaling pathways that control differentiation, expansion and migration of neural crest-derived melanoblasts during normal development contributes also to melanoma progression and metastasis. Although several epithelial-tomesenchymal (EMT) transcription factors, such as zinc finger E-box binding protein 1 (ZEB1) and ZEB2, have been implicated in neural crest cell biology, little is known about their role in melanocyte homeostasis and melanoma. Here we show that mice lacking Zeb2 in the melanocyte lineage exhibit a melanoblast migration defect and, unexpectedly, a severe melanocyte differentiation defect. Loss of Zeb2 in the melanocyte lineage results in a downregulation of the Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf) and melanocyte differentiation markers concomitant with an upregulation of Zeb1. We identify a transcriptional signaling network in which the EMT transcription factor ZEB2 regulates MITF levels to control melanocyte differentiation. Moreover, our data are also relevant for human melanomagenesis as loss of ZEB2 expression is associated with reduced patient survival. Melanocytes are specialized cells in the skin that produce melanin, a pigment that is responsible for skin and hair color and that provides protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation. During mouse embryogenesis, melanoblasts originate from the neural crest and migrate along a dorsolateral pathway from the neural tube to the developing dermis.1 Around embryonic day (E) E11 they move into the epidermis and eventually populate the developing hair follicle.2 Here they separate into two distinct populations: the differentiated pigmented melanocytes, which reside in the hair matrix, and the non-pigmented melanocyte stem cells (MSC) in the bulge. The latter cells are responsible for replenishing the hair follicle with new melanocytes during each hair cycle. Genetic studies in mice demonstrated the importance of several key players (such as sex-determining region Y (SRY)-box 10 (Sox10), paired-box 3 (Pax3), microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf), endothelin 3/endothelin receptor B (Edn3/ Ednrb), Kitl/Kit, Slug, cellular myelocytomatosis oncogene cellular homolog (cMyc) and b-Catenin (b-Cat)) for melanoblast cell fate specification, proliferation, migration and survival.2-4 The master regulator of the melanocyte development is MITF, which is spatio-temporally controlled by several key transcription factors such as SOX10, PAX3 and b-catenin.5-7 Fundamentally, MITF induces gene expression patterns that prompt a melanocyte to differentiate and initiate pigment production by activating genes important for melanin biosynthesis (such as Tyrosinase (Tyr), Dopachrome tautomerase (Dct), Tyrosinase-related protein 1 (Tyrp1) and