Melanocytes are derived from neural crest cells, which also differentiate into neurons, glial bone/cartilage and smooth muscles. Melanocyte-inducing transcription factor (MITF) promotes melanocyte development differentiation through activating pigment genes. Since MITF activates most of its target genes represses a few them, we aimed to characterize repressed by MITF. By using RNA sequencing ch...

BACKGROUND UV-B-exposed keratinocytes secrete various paracrine factors. Among these factors, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) stimulates the proliferation of melanocytes. Ginsenosides, the major active compounds of ginseng, are known to have broad pharmacological effects. In this study, we examined the antiproliferative effects of ginsenosides on bFGF-induced melanocyte proliferation. M...

The extent of adult stem cell involvement in embryonic growth is often unclear, as reliable markers or assays for whether a cell is derived from an adult stem cell, such as the melanocyte stem cell (MSC), are typically not available. We have previously shown that two lineages of melanocytes can contribute to the larval zebrafish pigment pattern. The embryo first develops an ontogenetic pattern ...

The strikingly even color of human skin is maintained by the uniform distribution of melanocytes among keratinocytes in the basal layer of the human epidermis. In this work, we investigated three possible hypotheses on the mechanism by which the melanocytes and keratinocytes organize themselves to generate this pattern. We let the melanocyte migration be aided by (1) negative chemotaxis due to ...

Using an indirect immunoperoxidase technique, we studied the location of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone-like fibers and cell bodies in the cat diencephalon. In the thalamus, almost all the immunoreactive fibers were found in the midline region, whereas in the hypothalamus immunoreactive fibers were observed in the whole structure. The hypothalamus showed a higher density of both immunorea...

Generalized vitiligo is thought to have an autoimmune etiology and has been correlated with the presence of CD8 T cells specific for melanocyte differentiation Ag. However, limited animal models for the disease have hampered its understanding. Thus, we generated TCR transgenic mice that recognize an epitope of the melanocyte protein, tyrosinase. These animals develop vitiligo with strikingly si...

258 Ann Dermatol Received January 27, 2016, Revised April 8, 2016, Accepted for publication May 11, 2016 Corresponding author: Il-Hwan Kim, Department of Dermatology, Korea University Ansan Hospital, 123 Jeokgeum-ro, Danwon-gu, Ansan 15355, Korea. Tel: 82-31-412-5186, Fax: 82-31-412-4208, E-mail: [email protected] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Comm...