巴西粒毛盘菌黑色素理化性质与结构

对巴西粒毛盘菌黑色素性质和结构进行了研究,结果表明该黑色素易溶于NaOH溶液和二甲亚砜,微溶于蒸馏水,不溶于甲醇、乙酸乙酯、HCl、无水乙醇、氯仿、丙酮、乙腈;该黑色素在pH≥7时稳定,pH≤6时产生沉淀;对温度、光、UV、Na2SO3、苯甲酸钠、柠檬酸、蔗糖、K+、Na+、Ca2+、Al3+、Cu2+均具有良好的稳定性,而对H2O2、Mg2+、Fe3+、Mn2+不稳定。电镜扫描显示该黑色素是一种表面不规则的片状晶体,红外光谱分析表明该黑色素含有芳环、-OH、-NH、-COOH和噻嗪环等官能团,推断其属于真黑色素和棕黑色素混合型黑色素。     

乌鳖黑色素理化性质及其抗氧化活性研究

本试验以乌鳖肌肉为原料,采用“脱脂-酶解-酸解”三步法制备乌鳖黑色素,研究其结构特性、理化性质和抗氧化活性。采用紫外分光光度计、傅里叶红外光谱仪和元素分析仪对乌鳖肌肉黑色素结构特性进行分析,并进行了颜色检测、溶解性试验、稳定性试验、总抗氧化能力试验、羟基自由基清除能力试验、DPPH自由基清除能力试验、超氧阴离子自由基清除能力试验等理化性质和抗氧化活性检测分析。结果表明:乌鳖黑色素粉末呈黑色(L=45.04),略带红色和黄色(a=1.92,b=5.27);具有与其他黑色素相似的溶解性,溶于碱性溶液,不溶于水、有机溶剂和酸性溶液等;乌鳖黑色素在1 h内具有较强光稳定性和热稳定性;乌鳖黑色素具有较强的抗氧化能力,其中2.0 mg/mL浓度的黑色素溶液羟自由基清除率、超氧阴离子自由基清除率和DPPH自由基清除率均在40%以上。     

暗盘孢属YM421黑色素稳定性及其抗氧化活性

对暗盘菌Plectania sp.YM421菌株所产黑色素的稳定性及其抗氧化活性进行了研究。结果表明:该黑色素易溶于氢氧化钠溶液和二甲亚砜,微溶于蒸馏水,不溶于盐酸、无水乙醇、乙酸乙酯、氯仿、二甲苯、丙酮和乙醚;该黑色素在pH≥6时稳定,pH≤5时产生沉淀;对室光、日光、紫外光、亚硫酸钠、Na+和K+稳定;添加苯甲酸钠、柠檬酸钠、蔗糖、葡萄糖、乳糖、麦芽糖对黑色素有增色或护色作用;而双氧水、柠檬酸、VitC、Mg2+、Cu2+、Zn2+、Ca2+、Fe3+、Al3+降低其稳定性;该黑色素与VitC还原能力的EC50值(吸光度为0.5时的浓度)分别为169.6μg/mL和31.88μg/mL,对羟基清除作用的IC50值(清除率为50%时的浓度)分别为360.4μg/mL和183μg/mL。作为一种新型的天然色素,YM421黑色素有望应用于食品、化妆品以及医药等行业。     

短梗霉黑色素的分离纯化及结构的初步分析

采用热碱提取、水煮酸沉法从短梗霉发酵液中提取得到黑色素粗品,再经DMSO萃取、酸性甲醇(pH=2)沉淀得到不含多糖和蛋白的短梗霉黑色素。此黑色素不溶于水及常规有机溶剂,可溶于碱性溶液和DMSO;离子交换色谱分析表明黑色素组分均一,出峰时间26±0.5 m in;紫外光谱谱图最大吸收峰为215 nm左右,未见蛋白(280 nm)与核酸(260 nm)的特征吸收峰;红外光谱谱图具有黑色素3μm和6μm的特征吸收峰,并含大量的羟基、氨基,与核磁共振和液质联机谱图结合分析推出短梗霉黑色素可能含有酚羟基、羧基和吲哚等官能团,主要结构骨架为5,6-二羟基吲哚-羧酸和多巴醌,推断该黑色素为酪氨酸酶控制合成的真黑素。     

蚂蚁黑色素的提取、纯化及抗氧化活性研究

对黑蚂蚁采用盐酸水解、氢氧化钠溶液提取、盐酸沉淀,以及多种有机溶剂洗涤等工艺手段提取分离、纯化得到黑蚂蚁黑色素。研究发现黑蚂蚁黑色素溶于碱性溶液,不溶于水、酸及有机溶剂;其紫外吸收光谱与红外光谱具有吲哚型黑色素典型光谱性质。利用分光光度法测定了黑蚂蚁黑色素的总抗氧化能力、羟基自由基清除能力及还原力,试验结果表明:黑蚂蚁黑色素有一定的抗氧化能力,但在试验范围内其抗氧化能力比维生素C低。     

银耳菌糠黑色素的理化性质及抗氧化和抑菌活性

银耳菌糠中存在一种银耳的伴生菌——炭团菌(俗称香灰菌),其菌丝生长到一定阶段后会产生大量的黑色素,具有广泛的应用价值。本研究从银耳菌糠中提取黑色素,研究其理化性质、抗氧化活性及抑菌作用。通过紫外-可见光谱、傅里叶红外光谱对提取的黑色素进行鉴定,表明银耳菌糠黑色素具有黑色素的典型特征。通过对银耳菌糠黑色素理化性质的研究,表明银耳菌糠黑色素是一种趋于黑色并略带红色和黄色的粉末;该黑色素易溶于碱性溶液;具有较好的热稳定性和光稳定性,其稳定性受氧化剂和还原剂的影响较小,受Ca²⁺、Cu²⁺的影响较明显。通过总抗氧化能力(FRAP法)、自由基清除能力检测银耳菌糠黑色素的抗氧化活性,研究表明黑色素具有较高的抗氧化活性,羟自由基、ABTS自由基清除的EC₅₀值分别为0.429 mg/mL和0.016 mg/mL。本研究还检测了黑色素对革兰氏阳性、革兰氏阴性细菌的抑菌能力,结果表明该黑色素在浓度为3.2 mg/mL时对供试菌株的抑菌率超过90%,且对革兰氏阳性菌会较敏感。本研究为银耳菌糠的有效利用及其黑色素产品的开发提供了理论基础,具有较高的经济价值。     

两个有趣的鱼类生理实验

下面两个实验取材容易,设备简单,操作方便,反应明显,能引起中学生的浓厚兴趣。光照强度对鱼体颜色的影响实验原理鱼体颜色的深浅取决于其体表色素细胞中黑色素的分布状况。鱼鳞中的色素细胞有许多分枝状突起。当黑色素聚缩于细胞体内时,鱼体颜色变浅;反之,当黑色素散开而布满胞体及分枝状突起时,鱼体颜色变深。周围环境光照强度的改变,可以通过神经和体液调节机制改变黑色素的分布,从而使鱼体颜色与周围环境中的光照强弱相一致(强光下体色     

OCA2基因的研究进展

OCA2基因为哺乳动物重要的色素基因,参与黑色素合成反应,同时也是人眼睛颜色的主要调控基因。其编码一个110 kD大小的跨膜蛋白,该蛋白质定位于黑素体膜。研究表明, OCA2主要通过影响黑素体成熟、调节黑素体pH值以及参与黑色素合成途径第一步这3个方面影响黑色素合成。相邻基因HERC2的rs12913832增强子位点通过影响OCA2表达水平,实现对人眼睛颜色的调控。同时, OCA2基因是Ⅱ型眼皮肤白化病(oculocutaneousalbinism typeⅡ, OCA2)的致病基因,与普拉德-威利综合征(Prader-Willi syndrome, PWS)、天使综合征(Angelman syndrome, AS)和黑色素瘤之间也存在间接关联,这些患者通常表现出皮肤或头发低色素沉着。本文从分子生物学、细胞生物学和遗传学的角度对OCA2基因进行概述,以期为进一步探究OCA2的分子机制以及相关疾病的诊疗提供思路和见解。     

黑色素及其相关基因的研究进展

黑色素对动物体色的形成起重要的作用。对黑色素的本质、功能以及生成机理做了全面的总结,并归纳了一些影响动物皮肤颜色和毛色的主要基因及其研究现状。     

异色瓢虫酪氨酸羟化酶基因不同发育历期表达及RNAi抑制黑化效果分析

酪氨酸代谢在昆虫黑色素形成中具有重要的调控作用。本研究为探讨酪氨酸代谢调控异色瓢虫黑色素代谢平衡及其发育的影响,先检测异色瓢虫不同发育阶段酪氨酸羟化酶(Tyrosine hydroxylase,TH)基因表达情况,采用RNAi技术对4龄幼虫注射dsTH RNA抑制酪氨酸羟化酶mRNA表达,探索其在蛹期和成虫羽化阶段黑色素形成中的潜在功能。研究结果表明,TH基因在4龄幼虫体内的表达量最高,而在预蛹阶段和羽化后第2天开始表达量显著性下降。其次,dsTH RNA注射后能够显著降低TH本基因的表达,且异色瓢虫4龄幼虫发育缩短,与注射dsGFP RNA组相比较,提前化蛹。最后,dsTH RNA注射后异色瓢虫蛹的重量略有增加,且发育出现异常,即蛹的颜色变化不加深,与对照组相比较,无黑色斑点出现。这些结果表明成虫是在蛹期开始形成黑色素的,及酪氨酸羟化酶能够通过调控酪氨酸代谢途径而影响异色瓢虫化蛹阶段的发育和表皮颜色的变化。相关研究结果有助于丰富酪氨酸代谢调控异色瓢虫表型的内容,为将来保护异色瓢虫,并将其用于害虫生物防治提供理论基础。     

Photo-induced destruction of DOPA-melanin

Studies of the effect of illumination at different wavelengths revealed a high stability of DOPA-melanin to the visible light. Contrariwise, UV-visible light of high intensity upon prolonged (many hours) illumination caused a significant bleaching of the diluted aqueous solution of the pigment. The absorption spectrum of DOPA-melanin in the UV- and IR-regions did not differ from the initial one; however, the illuminated pigment acquired an ability for fluorescence. Stepwise gel chromatography on Toyopearl-55 and Toyopearl-40 columns resulted in three fractions of photobleached DOPA-melanin which differed in their molecular masses, absorption spectra (UV, IR) and fluorescence. It was concluded that the photoinduced bleaching of DOPA-melanin was mainly due to the pigment depolymerization. A possible mechanism of melanin photodestruction is discussed.     

短梗霉细胞内黑色素的分离提取

采用单因素试验和正交试验对短梗霉细胞内的黑色素提取条件进行了优化,结果表明:在pH为2～3、温度为70℃、NaOH浓度为1.5mol/L、发酵液与浸提液之比1:1(V)的条件下黑色素的提取量可达2.2g/L。对提取的黑色素进行了纯化,研究了其紫外和红外光谱学性质,紫外光谱图显示随波长的减少其吸收值增大,在215nm处有特征吸收峰;红外光谱图在3和6μm处有吸收峰,证实短梗霉黑色提取物是一种以芳香环为结构主体的异聚体黑色素。     

Effect of melanin on radiation response of CHO cells

The effect of the presence of melanin on the response of mammalian cells to ionizing radiation was investigated in a model system utilizing the ability of Chinese hamster ovary cells to incorporate melanin by endocytosis. Cells were incubated in monolayer cultures from 2 to 20 hours with melanin prepared from 'beef eye' or synthesized by air oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine. For asynchronous cultures, the survival curve parameters for cells incubated with both types of melanin were indistinguishable from those of the same cells without added melanin. The radiation response to fractionated doses of 6 Gy separated by various periods did not indicate any effect of melanin on the extent or kinetics of repair of sublethal damage. Likewise, the repair of potentially lethal damage in plateau phase cultures was unaffected by the presence of melanin. Thus the explanation for the clinical radiation resistance of melanomas in the absence of a direct radiation effect might more likely be found in consideration of other factors such as the role of melanin in oxygen consumption or in differentiation.     

Ruby laser-assisted hair removal success in relation to anatomic factors and melanin content of hair follicles.

Ruby laser-assisted hair removal is thought to work via selective photothermolysis, which relies on light reaching the deeper layers of skin, and the absorption of light by the target chromophore, melanin. It is therefore possible that efficacy of treatment is affected by anatomic factors that determine the amount of light reaching the hair bulbs (i.e., skin color, depth of intracutaneous hair, epidermal thickness and dermal density) and the melanin content of hair. To examine this hypothesis, a prospective study was performed. Forty-eight volunteers were treated with the Chromos 694 Depilation Ruby Laser at a single standard fluence of 11 J/cm2. Treatment efficacy was determined by measuring hair density at 3 and 7 months after treatment. Epidermal depth and dermal density were measured from 2-mm biopsies taken before treatment, and the intracutaneous hair length was determined from plucked hair. Skin color was assessed using a spectrophotometer, and melanin content of dissolved hair was assessed using spectrophotometry. Efficacy of treatment for each patient was compared with the patient's age, intracutaneous hair length, epidermal depth, dermal density, skin color, and total melanin content and relative eumelanin content of hair. No correlation was found between the efficacy of treatment and age and the various anatomic factors. Patients with higher eumelanin content in their hair had better long-term results (Spearman rank test, p = 0.00219). The results suggested that the efficacy of treatment did not depend solely on the amount of laser light penetrating the skin but correlated well with the eumelanin content of hair. The clinical implication of this finding is discussed.     

Evaluation of 3,4-dihydroquinazoline-2(1H)-thiones as inhibitors of α-MSH-induced melanin production in melanoma B16 cells

Novel 3,4-dihydroquinazoline-2(1H)-thiones (QNTs) 1 were found to be potent inhibitors of α-MSH-induced melanin production. The effect of QNTs to inhibit melanin formation in B16 melanoma cells was screened in the presence of α-MSH. In defining the mechanism of activity, the effects on tyrosinase activity, on tyrosinase synthesis and on the depigmentation of melanin were evaluated. QNTs did not affect the catalytic activity of tyrosinase, but rather acted as an inhibitor of tyrosinase synthesis.     

红龙草红色素稳定性的研究

分析了pH值、温度、光、过氰化氢、亚硫酸钠、Vc、葡萄糖、蔗糖和苯甲酸钠等对红龙草（Altemanthera dentate ‘Ruliginosa’）红色素稳定性的影响。结果表明,红龙草红色素对热的耐受性较强,但耐光照和耐氧化性较差,且还原剂亚硫酸钠对其也有微弱的影响;在不同的pH值条件下,其吸收峰没有改变,最大吸收波长为530nm;Vc和蔗糖对该色素没有破坏作用,并有一定的护色效果;葡萄糖和苯甲酸钠对该色素也无明显影响。     

The effect of melanin on the bystander effect in human keratinocytes

The influence of melanin on radiation-induced bystander effects has been studied. Melanin is known to be a natural substance with proved radioprotective properties in different organisms and cell lines. It is non-toxic and is effective against acute and chronic irradiation. The lower the radiation dose, the higher the relative impact of melanin protection. In this study influence of melanin on human keratinocytes (HPV-G cells) has been studied using the colony-forming assay. We have shown that bystander donor medium from 0.5 Gy irradiated cells when transferred to unirradiated cells, caused almost the same effect as direct irradiation. Melanin increased the colony-forming ability of bystander recipient cells when it was added into culture medium before irradiation. The effect of melanin added after irradiation was to produce less protection in both the directly irradiated and bystander medium treated groups. The absorption spectrum of the filtered medium is identical to one of the intact culture medium showing that melanin was not present in filtered medium. Thus, it cannot protect recipient cells but reduces the amount of the bystander effect. It is concluded that melanin added before irradiation effectively decreased the radiation dose. The reduction of the impact of the bystander signal on recipient cells when melanin was added to the donor medium after harvest but before filtration, may mean that the bystander signal has a physical component as melanin can absorb all types of physical energy.     

Oxidative stress in ARPE-19 cultures: Do melanosomes confer cytoprotection?

The pigment melanin has antioxidant properties that could theoretically reduce oxidative damage to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), perhaps protecting against retinal diseases with an oxidative stress component like age-related macular degeneration. To determine whether melanin confers cytoprotection on RPE cells, melanosomes or control particles were introduced by phagocytosis into the human cell line ARPE-19 and oxidative stress was induced chemically (H2O2 or tert-butyl hydroperoxide) or with visible light. Since the iron-binding capacity of melanin is important for its antioxidant function, experiments were performed to confirm that the melanosomes were not iron saturated. Cytotoxicity was assessed by measures of plasma or lysosomal membrane integrity, mitochondrial function, and cell-substrate reattachment. Oxidative stress protocols were critically evaluated to produce modest cytotoxicity, which might allow detection of a small cytoprotective effect as expected for melanosomes. Particle internalization alone had no effect on baseline metabolic activity or on major RPE antioxidants. Particles were tested in multiple oxidative stress experiments in which culture conditions known to affect stress-induced cytotoxicity, notably culture density, were varied. No testing condition or outcome measure revealed a consistent protective (or cytotoxic) effect of melanosomes, indicating that measures of lysosome stability or whole cell viability do not demonstrate an antioxidant role for RPE melanosomes. If the melanosome, an insoluble particle, performs a cytoprotective function within cells, its effects may be limited to the local environment of the organelle and undetectable by conventional methods.