Tyrosinase Small Interfering RNA Effectively Suppresses Tyrosinase Gene Expression In Vitro and In Vivo

Abstract EN

Tyrosinase is a bifunctional enzyme which oxidizes the initial step of melanin biosynthesis, that is, conversion of tyrosine to dopa and subsequently dopa to dopaquinone.

It is a glycosylated protein and a major regulator of melanogenesis.

To date, many approaches have been tried to regulate tyrosinase activity and melanin content.

To that end, we screened small interfering RNA sequences for sequence-inhibited tyrosinase expression in B16 cells and in C57BL/6 mice.

We analyzed tyrosinase mRNA levels by quantitative real-time PCR and determined tyrosinase activity and melanin content at 24, 48, and 72 hours after transfection.

Results showed that siNM_011661_001 was the most efficient small interfering RNA sequence in suppressing tyrosinase mRNA expression, and cells transfected with this sequence showed lower tyrosinase activity.

Moreover, intravitreous injection of siNM_011661_001 in C57BL/6 mice induced an efficient and stable gene-specific inhibition of expression at the posttranscriptional level.