Abstract
The present study was designed to clarify the role of the agouti gene in the regulation of the proliferation and differentiation of mouse epidermal melanocytes using serum-free primary culture of epidermal melanocytes from 0.5-d-old black (a/a; C57BL/10JHir) mice and congenic, agouti (A/A; C57BL/10JHir-A/A) mice. There was no significant difference in the proliferation or differentiation of melanocytes between ala and A/A mice. However, the content of pheomelanin in culture media from A/A melanocytes was increased by L-tyrosine compared with ala melanocytes. In addition, the content of the pheomelanin precursor, 5-S-cysteinyldopa, in culture media from A/A melanocytes was dramatically increased by L-tyrosine. Moreover, pheomelanin content in the epidermis from 3.5- and 5.5-d-old A/A mice was much higher than in ala mice. Analysis of the A gene using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed that cultured keratinocytes and melanocytes do not express the A gene. Moreover, the A gene was expressed in the A/A dermis of 0.5-, 3.5- and 5.5-d-old mice, but not in the ala dermis nor in the A/A or ala epidermis. These results suggest that A/A epidermal melanoblasts are influenced by the A gene from the dermis of neonatal mice, and are capable of synthesizing pheomelanin in the culture. Pheomelanin production in the epidermis from 3.5- and 5.5-d-old A/A mice may be induced by the expression of the agouti gene in the dermis.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 506-514 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Pigment Cell Research |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 1 2004 |
Keywords
- 5
- 5-S-Cysteinyldopa
- 5-tricarboxylic acid
- 6-Dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid
- Aminohydroxyphenylalanine
- Keratinocyte
- Melanin
- Melanoblast
- Pyrrole-2, 3
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agronomy and Crop Science
- Plant Science
- Developmental Biology
- Clinical Biochemistry
- Cell Biology