Inhibition of melanogenesis by tyrosinase siRNA in human melanocytes.
Tyrosinase (TYR) plays a critical role in cellular melanogenesis and, thus, has been the major target of pharmacological approaches for the control of skin pigmentation. This study examined an alternative molecular approach using TYR-small interfering RNA (siRNA) to control melanogenesis in the human melanocytes. Both the mRNA and protein levels of TYR were significantly lowered by TYR-siRNA treatment, whereas TYR-related protein 1 and TYR-related protein 2 displayed no such changes. TYR-siRNA treatment inhibited the cellular melanin synthesis from the externally supplied TYR substrate L-tyrosine. TYR-siRNA also suppressed melanin synthesis and decreased the viability of cells exposed to ultraviolet radiation, supporting a critical role of melanin in protection against ultraviolet radiation. These results suggest that molecular approaches using siRNA targeted to the enzymes of melanogenic pathway may provide a novel strategy for the control of cell pigmentation.
An
Sang Mi
SM
Department of Molecular Medicine and Cell and Matrix Research Institute, BK21 Medical Education Program for Human Resources, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
Koh
Jae-Sook
JS
Boo
Yong Chool
YC