Figure 6: An overview model of phenotype switching factors in melanoma.
From: Microenvironment-derived factors driving metastatic plasticity in melanoma
The major driver of both proliferation and differentiation is EDN3 (synthesized by ECE2b), whereas proliferation alone can be augmented by pro-proliferation signals such as SCF and IGF1 and differentiation augmented by L-DOPA. These convergent signals yield cells that transition from the invasive gene signature to an MITF-dominated gene signature with expression of proliferation genes (MYC) and differentiation genes (PMEL, TYRP1, TYR).
