A Short Report on Melanocyte/Melanoma Culture, Senescence, and Reproducibility

At the 2025 ESPCR (European Society for Pigment Cell Research) meeting in Erlangen, a workshop on "Pigment Cell Models: Sensitivity, Innovation, and the Challenges of Cell Culture" brought together researchers to discuss technical, methodological, and reproducibility issues in culturing melanocytes, keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and melanoma cells. The discussion between experts in the field highlighted key and recurrent pitfalls affecting experimental outcomes, including low-density seeding, temperature fluctuations, over-passaging, and mycoplasma contamination, as well as sources of variability arising from media composition, batch effects, and environmental conditions. Importantly, the workshop distinguished between practices supported by evidence and consensus-based guidance derived from collective expert experience. Species- and donor-specific differences, especially between human, mouse, and zebrafish melanocyte models, were identified as additional major determinants of experimental variability. Emerging systems, including human and mouse pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived melanocytes, as well as avian and zebrafish melanoma lines, were discussed for their complementary mechanistic and translational value. Overall, the workshop concluded that transparent documentation, explicit reporting standards, and shared best practices are essential to improve reproducibility and further advance pigment cell research.