ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Although the impact of the microphthalamia-associated transcription factor (Mitf) signaling pathway on melanocytes progression has been extensively studied, the specific molecular mechanisms behind MITF-M-enhanced melanin production in melanocytes still need to be clarified. METHODS: In this study, we analyzed the levels of Mitf-M in skin tissues of different coat mice in order to further reveal the relationship between Mitf-M and skin pigmentation. To address the function of Mitf-M on melanogenesis, we have used an overexpression system and combined morphological and biochemical methods to investigate its localization in different coat color mice and pigmentation-related genes' expression in mouse melanocytes. RESULTS: The qRT-PCR assay and Western blotting analysis revealed that Mitf-M mRNA and protein were synthesized in all tested mice skin samples, with the highest expression level in brown skin, a moderate expression level in grey skin and the lowest expression level in black skin. Simultaneously, immunofluorescence staining revealed that MITF-M was mainly expressed in the hair follicle matrix and inner and outer root sheath in the skin tissues with different coat colors. Furthermore, overexpression of MITF-M led to increased melanin content and variable pigmentation-related gene expression. CONCLUSION: These results directly demonstrate that MITF-M not only influences melanogenesis, but also determines the progression of melanosomal protein in mouse melanocytes.
