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P‐Locus Is a Target for the Melanogenic Effects of MC‐1R Signaling
Author(s) -
ANCANS JANIS,
FLANAGAN NIAMH,
HOOGDUIJN MARTIN J.,
THODY ANTHONY J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2003.tb03202.x
Subject(s) - locus (genetics) , melanocortin 1 receptor , melanocortin , population , signal transduction , biology , receptor , genetics , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , allele , medicine , environmental health
A bstract : Melanocortin receptor type 1 (MC‐1R) is an important control point for ultraviolet ray (UVR)‐induced tanning response in the skin. In this study, we show that p‐locus is a downstream target for MC‐1R signaling. The expression of p‐locus was up‐regulated by α‐MSH as well as db‐cAMP, a syn‐thetic analogue of cAMP that mimics activation of MC‐1R. Furthermore, p‐locus transcript abundance was significantly increased in epidermal melanocytes of white skin with facultative (UVR‐induced) pigmentation. Because p‐locus product is essential for pigmentation and also has been shown to be highly polymorphic in human population, we propose that the pigmentary response to the melanocortin peptides/UVR would be affected not only by MC‐1R mutations but also by the functionality of p‐locus product. These factors together could account for the many different levels of tanning ability seen in the white population.