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Related Concept Videos

Pigmentation01:19

Pigmentation

The color of the skin is influenced by a number of pigments, including melanin, carotene, and hemoglobin. Recall that melanin is produced by cells called melanocytes, which are found scattered throughout the stratum basale of the epidermis. The melanin is transferred to the keratinocytes via melanosomes.
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...
Pleiotropy01:33

Pleiotropy

Pleiotropy is the phenomenon in which a single gene impacts multiple, seemingly unrelated phenotypic traits. For example, defects in the SOX10 gene cause Waardenburg Syndrome Type 4, or WS4, which can cause defects in pigmentation, hearing impairments, and an absence of intestinal contractions necessary for elimination. This diversity of phenotypes results from the expression pattern of SOX10 in early embryonic and fetal development. SOX10 is found in neural crest cells that form melanocytes,...
Forced Transdifferentiation01:28

Forced Transdifferentiation

Transdifferentiation, also known as lineage reprogramming, was first discovered by Selman and Kafatos in 1974 in silkmoths. They observed that the moths’ cuticle-producing cells transformed into salt-producing cells. Many such cases of natural transdifferentiation occur in organisms. In humans, pancreatic alpha cells can become beta cells. In newts, the loss of the eye’s lens causes the pigmented epithelial cells to transdifferentiate into the lens cells.
Artificial transdifferentiation occurs...
Transcription Factors02:16

Transcription Factors

Tissue-specific transcription factors contribute to diverse cellular functions in mammals. For example, the gene for beta globin, a major component of hemoglobin, is present in all cells of the body. However, it is only expressed in red blood cells because the transcription factors that can bind to the promoter sequences of the beta globin gene are only expressed in these cells. Tissue-specific transcription factors also ensure that mutations in these factors may impair only the function of...
Epistasis01:39

Epistasis

In addition to multiple alleles at the same locus influencing traits, numerous genes or alleles at different locations may interact and influence phenotypes in a phenomenon called epistasis. For example, rabbit fur can be black or brown depending on whether the animal is homozygous dominant or heterozygous at a TYRP1 locus. However, if the rabbit is also homozygous recessive at a locus on the tyrosinase gene (TYR), it will have an unshaded coat that appears white, regardless of its TYRP1...
Master Transcription Regulators02:23

Master Transcription Regulators

Master transcription regulators are regulatory proteins that are predominantly responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Often these genes work in concert to drive a  complex process. Activation of a master transcription regulator can lead to a cascade of transcriptional activation necessary for that outcome. These regulators can directly bind to the regulatory sequences of the various genes involved, or they can indirectly regulate transcription by binding to regulatory...

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Reverse Genetic Approach to Identify Regulators of Pigmentation using Zebrafish
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Bone morphogenetic proteins differentially regulate pigmentation in human skin cells.

Suman K Singh1, Waqas A Abbas, Desmond J Tobin

  • 1Centre for Skin Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP, UK.

Journal of Cell Science
|May 30, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) regulate skin pigmentation. BMP6 stimulates melanogenesis and melanosome transfer, while BMP4 inhibits these processes in human skin cells.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Dermatology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are signaling molecules with diverse functions.
  • Previous research indicated BMP2/4 inhibit skin pigmentation by reducing tyrosinase in melanocytes.
  • The roles of other BMPs and their antagonists in melanogenesis were unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the involvement of BMP4, BMP6, noggin, and sclerostin in human melanogenesis and melanosome transfer.
  • To elucidate the signaling pathways regulating these processes.

Main Methods:

  • Primary cultures of human melanocytes and keratinocytes were used.
  • Expression levels of BMPs and antagonists were analyzed.
  • Melanogenesis and melanosome transfer were assessed following BMP treatments, siRNA knockdown (BMP receptors, Myosin-X), and antagonist application.
  • Signaling pathway involvement (p38MAPK, PI3-K, Smad) was investigated.

Main Results:

  • BMP6 significantly stimulated melanogenesis and melanosome transfer by upregulating tyrosinase and Myosin-X.
  • BMP4 inhibited melanin synthesis and transfer.
  • BMP6 utilized the p38MAPK pathway for melanogenesis regulation, independent of the Smad pathway.
  • BMP6-mediated melanosome transfer involved p38MAPK, PI3-K, and Smad pathways.

Conclusions:

  • BMP family members, including BMP4 and BMP6, along with their antagonists, play complex, differential roles in regulating melanocytes.
  • BMP6 promotes melanogenesis and melanosome transfer, whereas BMP4 inhibits these processes.
  • Pigment formation and transfer are regulated by distinct signaling pathways, highlighting the complexity of melanocyte behavior.