Highly Effective Protocol for Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) into Melanin-Producing Cells
Melanin is a black/brown pigment present in abundance in human skin. Its main function is photo-protection of underlying tissues from harmful UV light. Natural sources of isolated human melanin are limited; thus, in vitro cultures of human cells may be a promising source of human melanin. Here, we p...
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/23/12787 |
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| author | Maciej Sułkowski Marta Kot Bogna Badyra Anna Paluszkiewicz Przemysław M. Płonka Michał Sarna Dominika Michalczyk-Wetula Fabio A. Zucca Luigi Zecca Marcin Majka |
| author_facet | Maciej Sułkowski Marta Kot Bogna Badyra Anna Paluszkiewicz Przemysław M. Płonka Michał Sarna Dominika Michalczyk-Wetula Fabio A. Zucca Luigi Zecca Marcin Majka |
| author_sort | Maciej Sułkowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Melanin is a black/brown pigment present in abundance in human skin. Its main function is photo-protection of underlying tissues from harmful UV light. Natural sources of isolated human melanin are limited; thus, in vitro cultures of human cells may be a promising source of human melanin. Here, we present an innovative in vitro differentiation protocol of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) into melanin-producing cells, delivering highly pigmented cells in quantity and quality incomparably higher than any other methods previously described. Pigmented cells constitute over 90% of a terminally differentiated population and exhibit features characteristic for melanocytes, i.e., expression of specific markers such as MITF-M (microphthalmia-associated transcription factor isoform M), TRP-1 (tyrosinase-related protein 1), and TYR (tyrosinase) and accumulation of black pigment in organelles closely resembling melanosomes. Black pigment is unambiguously identified as melanin with features corresponding to those of melanin produced by typical melanocytes. The advantage of our method is that it does not require any sophisticated procedures and can be conducted in standard laboratory conditions. Moreover, our protocol is highly reproducible and optimized to generate high-purity melanin-producing cells from iPS cells; thus, it can serve as an unlimited source of human melanin for modeling human skin diseases. We speculate that FGF-8 might play an important role during differentiation processes toward pigmented cells. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:52:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1234b11b98894e50b071b30ac881e84f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:52:57Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-1234b11b98894e50b071b30ac881e84f2023-11-23T02:28:11ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672021-11-0122231278710.3390/ijms222312787Highly Effective Protocol for Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) into Melanin-Producing CellsMaciej Sułkowski0Marta Kot1Bogna Badyra2Anna Paluszkiewicz3Przemysław M. Płonka4Michał Sarna5Dominika Michalczyk-Wetula6Fabio A. Zucca7Luigi Zecca8Marcin Majka9Department of Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 30-663 Cracow, PolandDepartment of Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 30-663 Cracow, PolandDepartment of Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 30-663 Cracow, PolandDepartment of Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 30-663 Cracow, PolandDepartment of Biophysics, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Cracow, PolandDepartment of Biophysics, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Cracow, PolandDepartment of Biophysics, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Cracow, PolandInstitute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, 20054 Milan, ItalyInstitute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, 20054 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 30-663 Cracow, PolandMelanin is a black/brown pigment present in abundance in human skin. Its main function is photo-protection of underlying tissues from harmful UV light. Natural sources of isolated human melanin are limited; thus, in vitro cultures of human cells may be a promising source of human melanin. Here, we present an innovative in vitro differentiation protocol of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) into melanin-producing cells, delivering highly pigmented cells in quantity and quality incomparably higher than any other methods previously described. Pigmented cells constitute over 90% of a terminally differentiated population and exhibit features characteristic for melanocytes, i.e., expression of specific markers such as MITF-M (microphthalmia-associated transcription factor isoform M), TRP-1 (tyrosinase-related protein 1), and TYR (tyrosinase) and accumulation of black pigment in organelles closely resembling melanosomes. Black pigment is unambiguously identified as melanin with features corresponding to those of melanin produced by typical melanocytes. The advantage of our method is that it does not require any sophisticated procedures and can be conducted in standard laboratory conditions. Moreover, our protocol is highly reproducible and optimized to generate high-purity melanin-producing cells from iPS cells; thus, it can serve as an unlimited source of human melanin for modeling human skin diseases. We speculate that FGF-8 might play an important role during differentiation processes toward pigmented cells.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/23/12787melanininduced pluripotent stem cells (iPS)differentiation protocolUV lightmelanization disorders |
| spellingShingle | Maciej Sułkowski Marta Kot Bogna Badyra Anna Paluszkiewicz Przemysław M. Płonka Michał Sarna Dominika Michalczyk-Wetula Fabio A. Zucca Luigi Zecca Marcin Majka Highly Effective Protocol for Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) into Melanin-Producing Cells International Journal of Molecular Sciences melanin induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) differentiation protocol UV light melanization disorders |
| title | Highly Effective Protocol for Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) into Melanin-Producing Cells |
| title_full | Highly Effective Protocol for Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) into Melanin-Producing Cells |
| title_fullStr | Highly Effective Protocol for Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) into Melanin-Producing Cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | Highly Effective Protocol for Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) into Melanin-Producing Cells |
| title_short | Highly Effective Protocol for Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) into Melanin-Producing Cells |
| title_sort | highly effective protocol for differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells ips into melanin producing cells |
| topic | melanin induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) differentiation protocol UV light melanization disorders |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/23/12787 |
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