Ocular albinism type 1-induced melanoma cell migration is mediated through the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway

Malignant melanoma has the highest risk of mortality among all types of skin cancer due to its highly metastatic potential. The ocular albinism type 1 (OA1) protein is a pigment cell-specific glycoprotein, which shares significant structural and functional features with G protein-coupled receptors. However, the role of OA1 in melanoma has yet to be elucidated. The present study aimed to investigate whether OA1 is involved in melanoma cell migration. OA1 was found to stimulate cell migration in a dose-dependent manner in cultured human melanoma cells. Furthermore, knockdown of OA1 using small interfering RNA was observed to significantly inhibit melanoma cell migration. In addition, the mechanism underlying OA1-induced melanoma cell migration was investigated. Stimulation of the RAS/RAF/mitogen activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway using growth factors enhanced OA1 expression and melanoma cell migration, whereas inhibition of this pathway using U0126 was observed to markedly decrease OA1 expression and the number of migrated cells. These findings indicate that OA1 is involved in melanoma cell migration and that OA1-induced melanoma cell migration is mediated through the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway. Therefore, OA1 may serve as a novel therapeutic target for melanoma.