NRAS promotes the proliferation of melanocytes to increase melanin deposition in Rex rabbits.

Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing Country of Publication: Canada NLM ID: 8704544 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1480-3321 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 08312796 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Genome Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2011- : Ottawa, ON : Canadian Science Publishing
Original Publication: Ottawa, Canada : National Research Council of Canada, c1987-

Melanins*/genetics ; Melanins*/metabolism ; Melanocytes*/metabolism; Animals ; Rabbits ; Cell Proliferation ; Mammals ; Proteins ; RNA, Messenger/genetics ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism ; Skin/metabolism ; Membrane Proteins/metabolism ; GTP Phosphohydrolases/metabolism

Melanocytes play a major role in the formation of mammalian fur color and are regulated by several genes. Despite playing the pivotal role in the study of melanoma, the mechanistic role of NRAS (neuroblastoma RAS viral oncogene homolog) in the formation of mammalian epidermal color is still elusive. First of all, the expression levels of NRAS mRNA and protein in the dorsal skin of different colored Rex rabbits were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Then, the subcellular localization of NRAS was identified in melanocytes by indirect immunofluorescence. Next, the expression of NRAS was overexpressed and knocked down in melanocytes, and its efficiency was verified by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Subsequently, NaOH, CCK-8, and Annexin V-FITC were used to verify the changes in melanin content, proliferation, and apoptosis in melanocytes. Finally, we analyzed the regulation of NRAS on other genes ( MITF, TYR, DCT, PMEL , and CREB ) that affect melanin production. In silico studies showed NRAS as a stable and hydrophilic protein, and it is localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus of melanocytes. The mRNA and protein expression levels of NRAS were significantly different in skin of different colored Rex rabbits, and the highest level was found in black skin ( P  < 0.01). Moreover, the NRAS demonstrated impact on the proliferation, apoptosis, and melanin production of melanocytes ( P  < 0.05), and the strong correlation of NRAS with melanin-related genes was evidently observed ( P  < 0.05). Our results suggested that NRAS can be used as a gene that regulates melanin production and controls melanocyte proliferation and apoptosis, providing a new theoretical basis for studying the mechanism of mammalian fur color formation.

Keywords: NRAS; Rex rabbit; melanin; melanin-related genes; melanocytes

0 (Melanins)
0 (Proteins)
0 (RNA, Messenger)
0 (Membrane Proteins)
EC 3.6.1.- (GTP Phosphohydrolases)

Date Created: 20221128 Date Completed: 20230119 Latest Revision: 20230119

20240829

10.1139/gen-2021-0111

36440769