Short-term effects of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in three distinct melanin-pigmented cell types of Anura

Ectothermic animals present melanin-containing cells in their integument and viscera. Besides cutaneous melanophores, amphibians have melanomacrophages in the hepatic parenchyma and melanocytes in the viscera, which are also present in their testicular stroma. The native melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) is the main hormone that modulates the color change in melanophores. However, we still know too little about how the α-MSH acts in vivo on visceral melanin-containing cells. In this study, we collected 30 adult males of Physalaemus nattereri (Anura, Leptodactylidae) to evaluate the short-term effects of α-MSH on melanophores, melanocytes and melanomacrophages under light microscopy. For this, we injected 0.05 ml of a single intraperitoneal dose containing 2.5x10-7 mmol/10g of α-MSH, diluted in ringer solution, in five experimental groups with five individuals each one. The different groups were analyzed after 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24h. The control group with five other individuals received only 0.05 ml of ringer solution. The skin pigmentation increased quickly after animals received the hormone α-MSH with the consequent darkening of the body (body darkness). Melanophores, melanocytes and melanomacrophages responded similarly to the test, with an increase in the area containing melanin. However, melanophores and melanomacrophages reached their darkest pigmentation in a shorter period of time in comparison to the testicular melanocytes, probably due to specific metabolic characteristics of each organ. Thus, we verified that the three types of cells, although present in different organs, are responsive to the native hormone α-MSH, which enables us to treat them as a pigmentary system.