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Fish and frog melanophores are cells that can change colour by dispersing or aggregating pigment-containing melanosomes. A melanosome is an organelle found in animal cells and is the site for synthesis, storage and transport of melanin , the most common light-absorbing pigment found in the animal kingdom .
However, there are differences between the biology of melanophores and that of melanocytes. In addition to eumelanin, melanocytes can generate a yellow/red pigment called phaeomelanin. [citation needed] The purple-striped dottyback, Pseudochromis diadema, generates its violet stripe with an unusual type of chromatophore.
Each color is indicated by the three types of chromatophore cells: erythrophores, melanophores, and xanthophores. The first type is the erythrophores, which contains reddish pigments such as carotenoids and pteridines. The second type is the melanophores, which contains black and brown pigments such as the melanins.
Illustration of a melanocyte Micrograph of melanocytes in the epidermis. Through a process called melanogenesis, melanocytes produce melanin, which is a pigment found in the skin, eyes, hair, nasal cavity, and inner ear. This melanogenesis leads to a long-lasting pigmentation, which is in contrast to the pigmentation that originates from ...
Melanocytes, and the parallel melanophores found in fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, are derived from a strip of tissue in the embryo called the neural crest. Stem cells in the neural crest give rise to the cells of the autonomic nervous system, supportive elements of the skeleton such as chondrocytes, cells of the endocrine system, and ...
Melanocytes insert granules of melanin into specialized cellular vesicles called melanosomes. These are then transferred into the keratinocyte cells of the human epidermis . The melanosomes in each recipient cell accumulate atop the cell nucleus , where they protect the nuclear DNA from mutations caused by the ionizing radiation of the sun's ...
Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor also known as class E basic helix-loop-helix protein 32 or bHLHe32 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MITF gene.. MITF is a basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper transcription factor involved in lineage-specific pathway regulation of many types of cells including melanocytes, osteoclasts, and mast cells. [5]
Freckles are clusters of concentrated melaninized cells which are most easily visible on people with a fair complexion.Freckles do not have an increased number of the melanin-producing cells, or melanocytes, but instead have melanocytes that overproduce melanin granules (melanosomes) changing the coloration of the outer skin cells (keratinocytes).