Effects of melanogenesis-inducing nitric oxide and histamine on the production of eumelanin and pheomelanin in cultured human melanocytes

Melanin pigments produced in human melanocytes are classified into two categories; black coloured eumelanin and reddish-yellow pheomelanin. Stimulation of melanocytes with alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), one of several melanogenic factors, has been reported to enhance eumelanogenesis to a greater degree than pheomelanogenesis, which contributes to hyperpigmentation in skin. Nitric oxide (NO) and histamine are also melanogenesis-stimulating factors that are released from cells surrounding melanocytes following ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. In this study, the effects of NO and histamine on the ratio of eumelanin and pheomelanin were examined in human melanocytes, and then compared with that of alpha-MSH. The amounts of eumelanin and pheomelanin were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography analysis after oxidation and hydrolysis of melanin. Melanogenesis was induced by the addition of alpha-MSH, NO, or histamine to melanocytes. The amount of eumelanin production significantly increased with independent stimulation by these melanogenic factors, especially histamine, while that of pheomelanin significantly increased with alpha-MSH and NO, but only slightly with histamine. As a result, the ratio of eumelanin and pheomelanin increased significantly with the addition of NO or histamine. These results suggest that NO and histamine, as in the case of alpha-MSH, may contribute to UV-induced hyperpigmentation by enhancing eumelanogenesis.