Alpha-Synuclein and Its Role in Melanocytes

Rachinger N, Mittag N, Böhme-Schäfer I, Xiang W, Kuphal S, Boßerhoff AK (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Cells MDPI

Book Volume: 11

Article Number: 2087

Journal Issue: 13

DOI: 10.3390/cells11132087

Abstract

Pigmentation is an important process in skin physiology and skin diseases and presumably also plays a role in Parkinson’s disease (PD). In PD, alpha-Synuclein (aSyn) has been shown to be involved in the pigmentation of neurons. The presynaptic protein is intensively investigated for its pathological role in PD, but its physiological function remains unknown. We hypothesized that aSyn is both involved in melanocytic differentiation and melanosome trafficking processes. We detected a strong expression of aSyn in human epidermal melanocytes (NHEMs) and observed its regulation in melanocytic differentiation via the microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), a central regulator of differentiation. Moreover, we investigated its role in pigmentation by performing siRNA experiments but found no effect on the total melanin content. We discovered a localization of aSyn to melanosomes, and further analysis of aSyn knockdown revealed an important role in melanocytic morphology and a reduction in melanosome release. Additionally, we found a reduction of transferred melanosomes in co-culture experiments of melanocytes and keratinocytes but no complete inhibition of melanosome transmission. In summary, this study highlights a novel physiological role of aSyn in melanocytic morphology and its so far unknown function in the pigment secretion in melanocytes.

Authors with CRIS profile

Nicole Rachinger Lehrstuhl für Biochemie und Molekulare Medizin Ines Böhme-Schäfer Lehrstuhl für Biochemie und Molekulare Medizin Wei Xiang Department of Molecular Neurology Silke Kuphal Lehrstuhl für Biochemie und Molekulare Medizin Anja Katrin Boßerhoff Lehrstuhl für Biochemie und Molekulare Medizin

Involved external institutions

Klinikum der Universität München DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Rachinger, N., Mittag, N., Böhme-Schäfer, I., Xiang, W., Kuphal, S., & Boßerhoff, A.K. (2022). Alpha-Synuclein and Its Role in Melanocytes. Cells, 11(13). https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells11132087

MLA:

Rachinger, Nicole, et al. "Alpha-Synuclein and Its Role in Melanocytes." Cells 11.13 (2022).

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