title: Stimulation of dendritogenesis in the epidermal melanocytes of newborn mice by melanocyte-stimulating hormone.
abstract: The number of dendrites and the total length of dendrites in the epidermal melanocytes positive for the dopa reaction were shown to increase when newborn mice were injected with alpha-MSH or DBc-AMP. Moreover, both indices of the degree of dendritogenesis increased when skin explants of newborn mice were cultured in medium containing alpha-MSH or DBc-AMP. Electron-microscopic observation showed that the number of melanosomes was also increased by alpha-MSH treatment. Many mature melanosomes were observed in the dendrites of the epidermal melanocytes of alpha-MSH-injected mice. Highly dendritic melanocytes seem to be the cells stimulated by MSH to form melanosomes and translocate them to dendrites. Dendritogenesis stimulated by the hormone was suppressed by actinomycin D or cycloheximide, suggesting that the dendritogenesis in the epidermal melanocytes requires de novo transcription and translation.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D003994:Bucladesine / Q000494:pharmacology; D003513:Cycloheximide / Q000494:pharmacology; D003609:Dactinomycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009074:Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051379:Mice; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D012867:Skin; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical
chemical_list: D003609:Dactinomycin; D003994:Bucladesine; D009074:Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormones; D003513:Cycloheximide