Diacylglycerol kinase regulates tyrosinase expression and function in human melanocytes.

ABSTRACT: Diacylglycerol (DAG) increases the melanin content of human melanocytes in vitro and increases the pigmentation of guinea pig skin in vivo, but the mechanism(s) underlying those effects remain unknown. In this study, we characterized the role of diacylglycerol kinase (DGK), which phosphorylates DAG to generate phosphatidic acid, in the regulation of pigmentation. Ten isoforms of DGK have been identified, and we show that DGKζ is the most abundant isoform expressed by human melanocytic cells. Melanin content, tyrosinase activity, and tyrosinase protein levels were significantly reduced by a DGK inhibitor, but tyrosinase and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were not changed by that inhibition, and there were no effects on the expression of other mela

SUBMITTER: Kawaguchi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3502659 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature