WAKU, Tsuyoshi, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Life and Medical Sciences, unraveled the Nrf3-mediated mechanism of melanogenesis, which can guide skin pigmentation-related therapeutic and pharmaceutical research. The skin produces melanin to protect our body from DNA damage, genetic mutations, and skin cancer. Although abundantly found in the basal layer of the epidermis, the precise role of the transcription factor “Nrf3” in the complex process of melanin production remained unknown.

Reference

Waku, Tsuyoshi, Sota Nakada, Haruka Masuda, Haruna Sumi, Ayaka Wada, Shuuhei Hirose, Iori Aketa, and Akira Kobayashi. The CNC-Family Transcription Factor Nrf3 Coordinates the Melanogenesis Cascade through Macropinocytosis and Autophagy Regulation. Cell Reports 42, no. 1 (31 January 2023).https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111906


For more details, please see the website of Organization for Research Initiatives and Development, Doshisha University.
Research News: Study Sheds Novel Insights on the Mechanism of Melanin Formation

This achievement has also been featured in the “EurekAlert!.”
NEWS RELEASE 10-JAN-2023, Study sheds novel insights on the mechanism of melanin formation