• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.231.1-231.1
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• 2001

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.91-108
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• 2002

Whitening agents are eagerly demanded especially by oriental women who often suffers from the pigmentary disorders such as melasma and solar lentigines. As these pigmentary disorders are exacerbated by ultraviolet (UV), the whitening agents could exert its effect not only by inhibiting melanin synthesis but also by inhibiting UV activated signals. Eumelanin protects UV-induced DNA damages so that the chemicals which could reduce UV-induced DNA damages might be the ideal lightening agents. The effect of newly synthesized antioxidants, a-tocopheryl ferulate, on protective effect for UV-induced DNA damages as well as inhibiting melanin synthesis are briefly shown. For clinical evaluation, our results of the efficacy of lightening agents on treating pigment macules in combination with chemical peeling are shown. Furthermore, newly developed facial image analyzers to quantitatively evaluate the improvement of pigment macules are introduced.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.492-498
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• 2024

Bioassay and HPLC-UV guided fractionations of the crude extract of marine-derived Streptomyces sp. SNA-077 have led to the isolation of a red pigment, undecylprodigiosin (1). The chemical structure of undecylprodigiosin (1) was revealed by the interpretation of NMR and mass spectroscopic (MS) data. Further, anti-melanogenic effects of undecylprodigiosin (1) were investigated. First, the melanin contents of undecylprodigiosin (1)-treated B16 cells were evaluated. Furthermore, undecylprodigiosin (1) significantly inhibited the key enzymes involved in melanogenesis, including tyrosinase, tyrosinase related protein-1 (TYRP-1), and dopachrome tautomerase (DCT). The mRNA and protein expression levels of Microphthalmia-associated transcriptian factor (MiTF), a critical transcription factor for tyrosinase gene expression, were also suppressed by undecylprodigiosin (1) treatment in B16 analyses. Collectively, our results suggest for the first time that undecylprodigiosin (1), a potent component isolated from an extract of marine Streptomyces sp. SNA-077, critically exerts the anti-melanogenic ability for melanin synthesis.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.231-240
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• 1984

The authors observed pigment cells in the dorsal skin of Korean frog (Rana nigromaculata coreana Okada) under an electron microscope. The traits of pigment cells were as follows. The three kinds of dermal chromatophores were horizontally expanded; adjacent closely contiguous and partially overlapped with one another and there were the intercellular space between a xanthophore and an iridophore, or an iridophore and a melanophore. 1. Xanthophores: Xanthophores were filled with pterinosomes and carotenoid vesicles, the formers of which were evenly distributed in each cell. Pterinosomes were five kinds of types (type I, type II, type III, type IV and type V pterinosomes). Especially typical type II and type III pterinosomes were well observed in the cytoplasm. 2. Iridophores: Xanthophores were closely contiguous to the xanthophore situated above and they were filled with reflective platelets. Mostly these platelets are arranged regularly, that is, in parallel with the surface of skin, but partly, nonparallel. 3. Melanophores: Melanophores were filled with melanin granules, each of which revealed the same electron density. The pocesses of melanophore entended to bilateral sides of iridophores and melanin granules were dispersed especially in the processes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.375-380
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• 2018

We have previously found that mycelia culture broth of eight kinds of traditional herbal extracts fermented with Phellinus linteus (previously named as 8-HsPLCB) not only inhibited melanin and tyrosinase activity, but also reduced the contents of melanogenesis-related proteins, including tyrosinase and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, in 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine-stimulated B16F0 melanoma cells. For a further study, the effect of 8-HsPLCB against skin pigmentation in brown guinea pigs with ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced hyperpigmentation was investigated. 8-HsPLCB (3%) and arbutin (2%) as positive controls were applied topically twice daily for 4 weeks to the hyperpigmented areas. 8-HsPLCB showed skin-lightening effect as effective as arbutin, one of the most widely used in whitening cosmetics. Melanin index values as the degree of pigmentation showed a significant reduction week by week post 8-HsPLCB treatment and then substantially reduced by 4 weeks. The degree of depigmentation after 4 weeks of topical application with 8-HsPLCB was 32.2% as compared with before treatment (0 week). Moreover, using Fontana-Masson staining and hematoxylin-eosin staining, 8-HsPLCB reduced melanin pigmentation in the basal layer of the epidermis and epidermal thickness changes exposed to the UV-B irradiation as compared with non-treatment and vehicle treatment. The intensity of the skin-lightening effect of 8-HsPLCB was similar to arbutin. These results suggest that the skin-lightening effect of 8-HsPLCB might be resulted from inhibition of melanin synthesis by tyrosinase in melanocytes. To conclude, 8-HsPLCB treatment showed reduction of the melanin pigment and histological changes induced by UV irradiation in brown guinea pigs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1692-1700
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• 2017

Ralstonia solanacearum causes bacterial wilt in a wide variety of host plant species and produces a melanin-like blackish-brown pigment in stationary phase when grown in minimal medium supplemented with tyrosine. To study melanin production regulation in R. solanacearum, five mutants exhibiting overproduction of melanin-like pigments were selected from a transposon (Tn) insertion mutant library of R. solanacearum SL341. Most of the mutants, except one (SL341T), were not complemented by the original gene or overproduced melanins. SL341T showed Tn insertion in a gene containing a conserved domain of eukaryotic transcription factor. The gene was annotated as a hypothetical protein, given its weak similarity to any known proteins. Upon complementation with its original gene, the mutant strains reverted to their wild-type phenotype. SL341T produced 3-folds more melanin at 72 h post-incubation compared with wild-type SL341 when grown in minimal medium supplemented with tyrosine. The chemical analysis of SL341T cultural filtrate revealed the accumulation of a higher amount of homogentisate, a major precursor of pyomelanin, and a lower amount of dihydroxyphenylalanine, an intermediate of eumelanin, compared with SL341. The expression study showed a relatively higher expression of hppD (encoding hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase) and lower expression of hmgA (encoding homogentisate dioxygenase) and nagL (encoding maleylacetoacetate isomerase) in SL341T than in SL341. SL341 showed a significantly higher expression of tyrosinase gene compared with SL341T at 48 h post-incubation. These results indicated that R. solanacearum produced both pyomelanin and eumelanin, and the novel hypothetical protein is involved in the negative regulation of melanin production.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.391.3-392
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• 2002

Melanin is a main pigment found in skin. hair and eyes, and tyrosinase plays an important role in the process of melanin polymer biosynthesis. Caesalpinia sappan L.(C. sappan) has been commonly used in Oriental folk medicines to promote blood circulation and as analgesic as well as remedy for thrombosis. This present study was designed to investigate the effect of ethyl acetate extract from C. sappan on melanogenesis in Melan-a cells. (omitted)

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.697-700
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• 2002

Primary malignant melanoma of the mediastinum is extremely rare : To date, there have been only 8 cases reported in the literature. We report a case of a 50-year-old woman presented with an anterior mediastinal mass. The mass invaded the lung parenchyme of right upper lobe, which was wedge-resected with the mass. Microscopically, spindle or polygonal tumor cells with prominent nucleoli and intracytoplasmic melanin pigments are characterized and Fontana stain confirmed the presence of melanin pigment. Immunohistochemical studies showed diffuse positive staining for HMB45, S100 protein and vimentin, which further suggested melanoma.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.282-289
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• 2018

Melanin is a pigment produced from tyrosine in melanocytes. Although melanin has a protective role against UVB radiation-induced damage, it is also associated with the development of melanoma and darker skin tone. Tyrosinase is a key enzyme in melanin synthesis, which regulates the rate-limiting step during conversion of tyrosine into DOPA and dopaquinone. To develop effective RNA interference therapeutics, we designed a melanin siRNA pool by applying multiple prediction programs to reduce human tyrosinase levels. First, 272 siRNAs passed the target accessibility evaluation using the RNAxs program. Then we selected 34 siRNA sequences with ${\Delta}G{\geq}-34.6kcal/mol$, i-Score value ${\geq}65$, and siRNA scales score ${\leq}30$. siRNAs were designed as 19-bp RNA duplexes with an asymmetric 3' overhang at the 3' end of the antisense strand. We tested if these siRNAs effectively reduced tyrosinase gene expression using qRT-PCR and found that 17 siRNA sequences were more effective than commercially available siRNA. Three siRNAs further tested showed an effective visual color change in MNT-1 human cells without cytotoxic effects, indicating these sequences are anti-melanogenic. Our study revealed that human tyrosinase siRNAs could be efficiently designed using multiple prediction algorithms.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.248-254
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• 2005

Integumentary structure of the amberjack, Seriola dumerili, was examined by light and transmission electron microscopy. Integument of the amberjack consists of epidermal and dermal layers. The epidermal thickness is about $28.32{\mu}m$. The epidermal layer could be classified into superficial, intermediate, and basal layers by morphology and position of the supporting cells. Secretory cells of the epidermal layer were classified into mucous cells and club cells in the amberjack. Mucous cells contained acidic mucous and were alcian-blue positive with AB-PAS (pH 2.5) reaction. The club cells contained well-developed rough endoplasmic reticula and large central vacuole. Also, filament-rich cells were identified in the epidermal layer. The dermal layer consists mainly of collagenous fiber, and it contains fibrocytes and pigment cells. The cytoplasm of fibrocyte had a well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum. The pigment cells contained electron-dense melanin granules.