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How do melanocytes transfer pigment to nearby keratinocytes?

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Learn how regenerative properties of the skin helps to protect the human body from the external environment — human skin Human skin, whose cells are generated continuously by the body, serves as a protective barrier between the inside of the human body and the environment.

Melanocytes are specialized, branched cells located primarily in the epidermis that produce the pigment melanin. To transfer this pigment to nearby keratinocytes, melanocytes utilize long, branching extensions known as dendrites.21

The melanin is synthesized, stored, and transported within membrane-bound granules called melanosomes. These granules travel through the melanocyte's dendrites to be deposited into the neighboring keratinocytes. This functional grouping of a single melanocyte and its associated keratinocytes is referred to as an epidermal melanocyte unit. Once inside the keratinocytes, the melanin granules typically position themselves above the cell nucleus, forming a protective shroud that helps shield the cell from damaging ultraviolet radiation.321