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Updated: Dec 25, 2025

Pharmacologic Induction of Epidermal Melanin and Protection Against Sunburn in a Humanized Mouse Model
Published on: September 7, 2013
Regulation of Melanogenesis by the Amino Acid Transporter SLC7A5
Céline Gaudel1, Frédéric Soysouvanh2, Justine Leclerc2
1Nunii Laboratoire, Grasse Biotech, Grasse, France; Université Nice Côte d'Azur, C3M, INSERM, U1065, Biology and pathologies of melanocytes, Nice, France.
Abstract:
Integration of chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing and microarray data enabled us to identify previously unreported MITF-target genes, among which the amino acid transporter SLC7A5 is also included. We reported that small interfering RNA-mediated SLC7A5 knockdown decreased pigmentation in B16F10 cells but neither affected morphology nor dendricity. Treatment with the SLC7A5 inhibitors 2-amino-2-norbornanecarboxylic acid (BCH) or JPH203 also decreased melanin synthesis in B16F10 cells. Our findings indicated that BCH was as potent as reference depigmenting agent, kojic acid, but acted through a different pathway not affecting tyrosinase activity. BCH also decreased pigmentation in human MNT1 melanoma cells or normal human melanocytes. Finally, we tested BCH on a more physiological model, using reconstructed human epidermis and confirmed a strong inhibition of pigmentation, revealing the clinical potential of SLC7A5 inhibition and positioning BCH as a depigmenting agent suitable for cosmetic or dermatological intervention in hyperpigmentation diseases.
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