NEW RESULTS WITH MELANODERM™, AN EPIDERMAL MODEL CONTAINING FUNCTIONAL MELANOCYTES.

• TR Number: 173
• Keywords: DOPA, Kojic acid, Melanin, MelanoDerm, Melanocytes, Melanogenesis, Photobiological effects, Phototoxicity, Pigmentation, Sun screens, UVA, UVB, Ultra-violet radiation (UV)

We have previously reported on the successful incorporation of normal human melanocytes (NHM) into a highly differentiated, three-dimensional tissue culture model of human epidermis (JID, 104(4), 616, 1995). Melanocytes exhibited dendritic morphology, were localized in the basal cell layer, and converted 1-dopa to melanin. Previously, spontaneous pigmentation of the melanocytes could not be observed using light microscopy except in the presence of 1-dopa. However, recent improvements in the culture medium formulation now yield cultures in which melanin containing NHM can be observed as early as 10 days after seeding. Over a four week period, cultures become increasingly pigmented with retention of normal epithelial morphology. Cultures containing NHM derived from Black donors show increased pigmentation versus those containing Caucasian derived NHM; both types of cultures were distinctly darker than NHM-free cultures. These results suggest that this model will be useful to study melanogenesis, skin pigmentation, and other photobiological effects on skin in vitro.