Membrane transport proteins in melanosomes: Regulation of ions for pigmentation.

Pattama Wiriyasermkul, Satomi Moriyama, Shushi Nagamori

Biochimica et biophysica acta. Biomembranes 2020 Dec 01

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Melanosomes are unique organelles in melanocytes that produce melanin, the pigment for skin, hair, and eye color. Tyrosinase is the essential and rate-limiting enzyme for melanin production, that strictly requires neutral pH for activity. pH maintenance is a result of the combinational function of multiple ion transport proteins. Thus, ion homeostasis in melanosomes is crucial for melanin synthesis. Defect of the ion transport system causes various pigmentation phenotypes, from mild effect to severe disorders such as albinism. In this review, we summarize the up-to-date knowledge of the ion transport system, such as transport function, structure, and the physiological roles and mechanisms of the ion transport proteins in melanosomes. In addition, we propose a model of melanosomal ion transport system-how the functional coupling of multiple transport proteins modulates and maintains ion homeostasis. We discuss melanin synthesis in terms of the ion transport system. © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Citation

Pattama Wiriyasermkul, Satomi Moriyama, Shushi Nagamori. Membrane transport proteins in melanosomes: Regulation of ions for pigmentation. Biochimica et biophysica acta. Biomembranes. 2020 Dec 01;1862(12):183318