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Updated: Jul 26, 2026

Pharmacologic Induction of Epidermal Melanin and Protection Against Sunburn in a Humanized Mouse Model
Published on: September 7, 2013
The melanosome: membrane dynamics in black and white
1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6082, USA. marksm@mail.med.upenn.edu
Abstract:
Melanosomes are morphologically and functionally unique organelles within which melanin pigments are synthesized and stored. Melanosomes share some characteristics with lysosomes, but can be distinguished from them in many ways. The biogenesis and intracellular movement of melanosomes and related organelles are disrupted in several genetic disorders in mice and humans. The recent characterization of genes defective in these diseases has reinvigorated interest in the melanosome as a model system for understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie intracellular membrane dynamics.
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Melanin occurs in two primary forms: eumelanin that provides black and brown pigment and pheomelanin that provides red color. Dark-skinned individuals produce more melanin than those with pale...

