The expression of the gene Slc7a11 promotes the antioxidant capacity of cells by providing them with cysteine that can be used for the synthesis of glutathione (GSH), the most important intracellular antioxidant. In melanocytes, intracellular cysteine can also enter melanosomes and get incorporated in the pigment pheomelanin synthesis pathway, thus decreasing cysteine availability for GSH synthesis and potentially creating chronic oxidative stress. Therefore, this study hypothesized that a...

During the past decade, melanins and melanogenesis have attracted growing interest for a broad range of biomedical and technological applications. Despite considerable advances, applied research on melanins and melanogenesis is still far from being mature. The present review aims at providing an interdisciplinary perspective of melanin pigments and related pathway.