Current Update and Trends in Melanin Pigmentation and Melanin Biology.

Melanin and Its Role in Hyper-Pigmentation – Current Knowledge and Future Trends in Research

Interrelationship of Smoking, Lip and Gingival Melanin Pigmentation, and Periodontal Status

Background: Cigarette smoking is a significant risk factor for periodontal disease. It also causes pigmentation of oral mucosa. The present study was aimed to assess the effects of smoking on lip and gingival pigmentation and periodontal status and the relationship between pigmentation and periodontal parameters. Methods: A total of 109 smokers and an equal number of non-smoker controls (mean a...

Melanin, melanin "ghosts," and melanin composition in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Melanin synthesis is associated with virulence for the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Exposure of nonmelanized C. neoformans 4067 cells to 4 M guanidinium isothiocyanate followed by 6 M HCl at 100 degrees C resulted in complete solubilization of cellular structures. However, exposure of melanized C. neoformans 24067 to the same conditions produced a suspension of black particles. An...

Melanin pigmentation in mammalian skin and its hormonal regulation.

Cutaneous melanin pigment plays a critical role in camouflage, mimicry, social communication, and protection against harmful effects of solar radiation. Melanogenesis is under complex regulatory control by multiple agents interacting via pathways activated by receptor-dependent and -independent mechanisms, in hormonal, auto-, para-, or intracrine fashion. Because of the multidirectional nature ...

Melanin: the biophysiology of oral melanocytes and physiological oral pigmentation

The presence of melanocytes in the oral epithelium is a well-established fact, but their physiological functions are not well defined. Melanin provides protection from environmental stressors such as ultraviolet radiation and reactive oxygen species; and melanocytes function as stress-sensors having the capacity both to react to and to produce a variety of microenvironmental cytokines and growt...