ACTA VETERINARIA ET ZOOTECHNICA SINICA ›› 2013, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (7): 1070-1077.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2013.07.012

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The Effects of Endothelin-3 on the Melanocyte Characteristic and Expression of Hair Color Genes in Melanocytes from Alpaca (Lama Pacos) in vitro

GENG Jian-jun*, BAI Jun-ming, FAN Rui-wen, YANG Shan-shan, PANG Ya-miao, DONG Chang-sheng   

  1. College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
  • Received:2013-03-07 Online:2013-07-23 Published:2013-07-23

Abstract:

The study aimed to investigate the effects of endothelin-3 (EDN3) on the expression of hair color genes of alpaca. The activity of melanocyte, the production of melanin in melanocytes and the expressions of related genes and proteins including Endothelin receptor B (EDNRB), KIT, Microphthalmia-associtated transcription factor (MITF) and Tyrosinase (TYR) in alpaca melanocytes in cultures with addition of different dose of EDN30, 10-9, 10-8, 10-7 mol·L-1, were examined by MTT, ultraviolet spectrophotometry, qRT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The results showed that the amount of melanocytes was increased with the increasing double- or tri- dendrites; At the addition dose of 10-8 mol·L-1 for 72 h after adding EDN3, compared to control group, the proliferation of melanocytes was obvious and the expressions of EDNRB, KIT, MITF and TYR significantly up-regulated at the level of both transcription and translation in melanocytesP<0.05. Moreover, the production of melanin in melanocytes significantly increasedP<0.05. These findings indicate that EDN3 play an important role in regulating melanins production in melanocytes in alpaca.

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