What is it about?

Skin pigmentation is a broadly appearing phenomenon in nature which plays an important task of determining the appearance and biology of all vertebrates including human beings. Skin color is a crucial attribute, determined by the synthesis of melanin pigment within melanocytes by the process of melanogenesis and is regulated by many extrinsic as well as intrinsic factors. Tyrosinase catalyzes the key step of melanogenesis, dysfunction of tyrosinase leads to reduce melanin production which results in severe clinical and aesthetical problems of hypopigmentation. Therefore, the regulation of melanin production is an important strategy in the treatment of abnormal skin pigmentation for cosmetic and medicinal purpose.

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Why is it important?

The present review covers the various aspects of mammalian melanocyte biology which will help in the identification of key regulators of melanogenesis from pharmaceutical and pharmacological point of view. Further sections of the review focus on the dysfunctions of melanogenic pathways, which result in severe clinical and aesthetical problems of hypopigmentation.

Perspectives

Writing this article was a great pleasure as it has co-authors with whom I have had long standing collaborations. This article also lead to rare pigmentation disease contacting me and ultimately to a greater involvement in rare disease research.

Kamall Zaidi
Centre for Scientific Research and Development, Peoples University,Bhopal India

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This page is a summary of: Recent Updates in Melanocyte Function: The Use of Promising Bioactive Compounds for the Treatment of Hypopigmentary Disorders, Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry, May 2017, Bentham Science Publishers,
DOI: 10.2174/1389557516666161223153953.
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