title: Tyrosinase small interfering RNA effectively suppresses tyrosinase gene expression in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: Tyrosinase is a bifunctional enzyme which oxidizes the initial step of melanin biosynthesis, that is, conversion of tyrosine to dopa and subsequently dopa to dopaquinone. It is a glycosylated protein and a major regulator of melanogenesis. To date, many approaches have been tried to regulate tyrosinase activity and melanin content. To that end, we screened small interfering RNA sequences for sequence-inhibited tyrosinase expression in B16 cells and in C57BL/6 mice. We analyzed tyrosinase mRNA levels by quantitative real-time PCR and determined tyrosinase activity and melanin content at 24, 48, and 72 hours after transfection. Results showed that siNM_011661_001 was the most efficient small interfering RNA sequence in suppressing tyrosinase mRNA expression, and cells transfected with this sequence showed lower tyrosinase activity. Moreover, intravitreous injection of siNM_011661_001 in C57BL/6 mice induced an efficient and stable gene-specific inhibition of expression at the posttranscriptional level.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China.
authors: Jia
authors: J
authors: Xiu-Hua
authors: Lin
authors: L
authors: Shao-Chun
authors: Huang
authors: H
authors: Bing
authors: Zhu
authors: Z
authors: Xiang
authors: Zhuang
authors: Z
authors: Jing
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Wei-Hua
authors: Liu
authors: L
authors: Qian
authors: Luo
authors: L
authors: Ting
authors: Xu
authors: X
authors: Xiao-Ping
authors: Chen
authors: C
authors: Xi-Gu