Melanocytes are highly specialised dendritic cells that transfer melanin to keratinocytes in subcellular lysosome-like organelles called melanosomes, where is synthesised and stored. Melanin a complex pigment provides colour photoprotection the skin, hair, eyes of mammals. The regulation melanogenesis includes various mechanisms factors including genetic, environmental, endocrine factors. Knowl...

Ten fatty acid alkyl esters isolated from Oxalis triangularis, were evaluated for the effects on melanogenesis using mouse B16 melanoma cells. Treatment of methyl linoleate, methyl linolenate, ethyl linoleate and ethyl linolenate significantly blocked forskolin-induced melanogenesis and inhibited tyrosinase activity. In addition, we found that they inhibited cAMP production, suggesting that the...

The human melanocortin-1 (MC1) receptor was stably expressed in the amelanotic mouse melanoma cell clone B16-G4F which does not express its own (mouse) MC1 receptor and hence is unresponsive to alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha MSH). From several stable transfectant cell lines expressing the human MC1 receptor in relatively high numbers, three melanin producing clones (G4F-12, 14, and...

Skin pigmentation disorders refer to conditions that affect the color of skin due alterations in production or distribution melanin, pigment responsible for color. The development is a complex process involving various signaling pathways, including melanin synthesis pathway, cyclic AMP and Wnt pathway. Dysregulation these pathways can lead disorders. Phytotherapeutic approaches have been increa...

Solar radiation induces both acute and chronic responses in the skin. Sun burn, sun tan, generation of reactive oxygen species and immunosuppression are acute responses. Wrinkles, lentigines, post-inflammatory pigmentation are chronic damages. According to one study done in Japan, it was found out that the annual ultraviolet dose received by people living in Kagoshima was 1.6 times higher than ...

Melanocytes are melanin-producing cells found in skin, hair follicles, eyes, inner ear, bones, heart and brain of humans. They arise from pluripotent neural crest cells and differentiate in response to a complex network of interacting regulatory pathways. Melanins are pigment molecules that are endogenously synthesized by melanocytes. The light absorption of melanin in skin and hair leads to ph...

The number of melanocytes positive to the dopa reaction in the epidermis was shown to increase after newborn mice were injected with alpha-MSH or DBc-AMP. The agents seemed to induce the initiation of melanogenesis in the pre-existing melanoblasts. Electron-microscopic observation also demonstrated that alpha-MSH induced not only maturation of melanosomes but also the formation of melanosomes.