RNAi Screen for Pigment Disorders. Abstract Melanin protects the skin and eyes from the harmful effects of UV irradiation, protects neural cells from toxic insults, and is required for sound conduction in the inner ear.
Aberrant regulation of melanogenesis underlies skin disorders (melasma and vitiligo), neurologic disorders (Parkinson's disease), auditory disorders (Waardenburg's syndrome), and opthalmologic disorders (age related macular degeneration). Much of the core synthetic machinery driving melanin production has been identified; however, the spectrum of gene products participating in melanogenesis in different physiological niches is poorly understood. Functional genomics based on RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) provides the opportunity to derive unbiased comprehensive collections of pharmaceutically tractable single gene targets supporting melanin production.
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