A method to specifically ablate melanocytes in a genetically tractable organism would facilitate the analysis of melanocyte regeneration and regulation. We have demonstrated that a Q-switched neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet dermatology laser kills larval melanocytes in zebrafish. Following melanocyte ablation, new melanocytes regenerate from unpigmented precursors. We show that melanocyte reg...

Trunk neural crest cells segregate from the neuroepithelium and enter a 'migration staging area' lateral to the embryonic neural tube. After some crest cells in the migration staging area have begun to migrate on a medial pathway, a subpopulation of crest-derived cells remaining in the migration staging area expresses mRNAs for the receptor tyrosine kinase, c-kit, and tyrosinase-related protein...

abstract meningeal melanocytoma is a primary melanocytic neoplasm with certain mr and immunohistochemical characteristics worthy to note. in a 38-year-old man with a complaint of headache for a couple of years and recently added nausea, vomiting, diplopia, progressive visual blurring and hearing loss, magnetic resonance imaging (mri) was remarkable for t1 shortening of leptomeninges and certain...

Hair follicles and sweat glands are recognized as reservoirs of melanocyte stem cells (MSCs). Unlike differentiated melanocytes, undifferentiated MSCs do not produce melanin. They serve as a source of differentiated melanocytes for the hair follicle and contribute to the interfollicular epidermis upon wounding, exposure to ultraviolet irradiation or in remission from vitiligo, where repigmentat...

Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder characterized by depigmentation of skin and hair. Melanocyte migration is an important event in re-pigmentation of vitiligo. We have demonstrated that narrow-band ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation stimulated cultured keratinocytes to release a significant amount of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Furthermore, narrow-band UVB enhanced migration of...

Melanocyte stimulating hormone coupled to Sepharose effects an increase in tryosinase (EC 1.14.18.1; monophenol monoxygenase) activity of cultivated mouse melanoma cells. Synchronized cells are found to respond to melanocyte stimulating hormone only in the G2 phase of the cell cycle, although their response to cyclic AMP is independent of position in the cell cycle. The binding of (125)I-labele...

The adrenocorticotrophic and melanocyte-stimulating peptides of the human pituitary were investigated by means of radioimmunoassay, bioassay and physicochemical procedures. Substantial amounts of adrenocorticotrophin and a peptide resembling beta-lipotrophin were identified in pituitary extracts, but alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, beta-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and corticotrophin-li...

Studies of coat color mutants have greatly contributed to the discovery of genes that regulate melanocyte development and function. Here, we generated Yy1 conditional knockout mice in the melanocyte-lineage and observed profound melanocyte deficiency and premature gray hair, similar to the loss of melanocytes in human piebaldism and Waardenburg syndrome. Although YY1 is a ubiquitous transcripti...