Lysophosphatidic acid Inhibits Melanocyte Proliferation via Cell Cycle Arrest

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a well-known mitogen in various cell types. However, we were surprised to find that LPA inhibits melanocyte proliferation. Thus, we further investigated the possible signaling pathways involved in melanocyte growth inhibition. We first examined the regulation of the three major subfamilies of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases and of the Akt pathway by LPA. The activations of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were observed in concert with the inhibition of melanocyte proliferation by LPA, whereas p38 MAP kinase and Akt were not influenced by LPA. (omitted)