This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Guyonneau, L. Articles by Beermann, F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Guyonneau, L. Articles by Beermann, F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Molecular and Cellular Biology, April 2004, p. 3396-3403, Vol. 24, No. 8
0270-7306/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.8.3396-3403.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Melanocytes and Pigmentation Are Affected in Dopachrome Tautomerase Knockout Mice

Laurence Guyonneau,^1, Fabien Murisier,^1, Anita Rossier,^1, Alexandre Moulin,² and Friedrich Beermann^1*

Molecular Oncology, Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, National Center of Competence in Research, 1066 Epalinges,¹ Institute of Pathology, University of Lausanne, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland²

Received 27 October 2003/ Returned for modification 7 December 2003/ Accepted 31 January 2004

The tyrosinase family comprises three members, tyrosinase (Tyr), tyrosinase-related protein 1 (Tyrp1), and dopachrome tautomerase (Dct). Null mutations and deletions at the Tyr and Tyrp1 loci are known and phenotypically affect coat color due to the absence of enzyme or intracellular mislocalization. At the Dct locus, three mutations are known that lead to pigmentation phenotype. However, these mutations are not null mutations, and we therefore set out to generate a null allele at the Dct gene locus by removing exon 1 of the mouse Dct gene. Mice deficient in Dct [Dct^tm1(Cre)Bee] lack Dct mRNA and dopachrome tautomerase protein. They are viable and do not show any abnormalities in Dct-expressing sites such as skin, retinal pigment epithelium, or brain. However, the mice show a diluted coat color phenotype, which is due to reduced melanin content in hair. Primary melanocytes from Dct knockout mice are viable in culture and show a normal distribution of tyrosinase and tyrosinase-related protein 1. In comparison to the knockout, the slaty mutation (Dct^slt/Dct^slt) has less melanin and affects growth of primary melanocytes severely. In summary, we have generated a knockout of the Dct gene in mice with effects restricted to pigment production and coat color.

L.G., F.M., and A.R. contributed equally to this work.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Kianizad, K., Marshall, L. A., Grinshtein, N., Bernard, D., Margl, R., Cheng, S., Beermann, F., Wan, Y., Bramson, J. (2007). Elevated Frequencies of Self-reactive CD8+ T Cells following Immunization with a Xenoantigen Are Due to the Presence of a Heteroclitic CD4+ T-Cell Helper Epitope. Cancer Res. 67: 6459-6467 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Osawa, M., Egawa, G., Mak, S.-S., Moriyama, M., Freter, R., Yonetani, S., Beermann, F., Nishikawa, S.-I. (2005). Molecular characterization of melanocyte stem cells in their niche. Development 132: 5589-5599 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ji, Q., Gondek, D., Hurwitz, A. A. (2005). Provision of Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Converts an Autoimmune Response to a Self-Antigen into an Antitumor Response. J. Immunol. 175: 1456-1463 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ackermann, J., Frutschi, M., Kaloulis, K., McKee, T., Trumpp, A., Beermann, F. (2005). Metastasizing Melanoma Formation Caused by Expression of Activated N-RasQ61K on an INK4a-Deficient Background. Cancer Res. 65: 4005-4011 [Abstract] [Full Text]