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Title: What are the organelles of a melanocyte? Post by: jujubee on Feb 2, 2013 I know that it has most of the organelles that a normal cell has. But which of these organelles does it NOT have? Also, does it have any special organelles?
Title: What are the organelles of a melanocyte? Post by: rizzles on Feb 2, 2013 Melanocytes have special organelles called melanosomes that are only found in melanocytes. Melanocytes are similar to lysosomes (they have a similar protein composition) but don't serve the same function.
Melanocytes are pigment cells found in skin and eyes and basically anywhere where there is pigment. The melonsomes store this protein called melanin (the primary protein pigment is made of). The melanosomes are very dark organelles and people use mainly electron microscopy to visualize them. They come in four types 1-4 (I think the darker the melanosome the higher the number but I"m not positive). Title: What are the organelles of a melanocyte? Post by: ns100 on Feb 2, 2013 Well they contain most of the same organelles that regular cells do (mitochondria, golgi, ER , ETC). but they do have specific organelles called "melanosomes". They're similar to lysosomes (similar size and protein content) but they are pigmented (with this protein called melanin). There are 4 types of melansomes each defined by how much pigment they contain.
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