- Melanin (we will refer to Eumelanin = the most frequent) is the main pigment the skin. (red heads have different variant called pheomelanin).
- It is produced in organelles (specialized vesicles) of pigment cells (melanocytes) – called melanosomes from tyrosine by an enzyme called tyrosinase; it is then transferred to neighbouring keratinocytes.
- Melanin (Eumelanin) allows protection of the skin from UV light and disperses it. Pheomelanin on the other hand generatives Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) right away which damages the cell. Melanin is not completely protective as it damages DNA once “dark” (To read more, click HERE).
- Exposure to sunlight generates tanning by the production of melanin.
- In darker skin phototypes, melanosomes are larger and increase, but the melanin remains the same and there is no change in the number of cells producing them.
- Synthesis of melanin is not possible in albinism, because the enzyme tyrosinase is absent.
- To read all our articles on melanin, click HERE (Some disorders also lie in the formation and metabolism of melanosomes: click HERE to read more)
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Melanin (pigment)
About Dr Christophe HSU
Dr HSU is an internationally seasoned dermatologist who has lived as an expatriate and who therefore understands the difficulty in finding a like-minded healthcare provider in a sometimes intimidating environment. [(dermatologue) in French]
4 Boulevard James-Fazy, 1201 Geneva (Genève), Switzerland
+41 22 738 18 48
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