Transgenic Endothelin 3 Regulates Murine Pigment Production and Coat Color

The dissertation from 2019 investigated the role of the Endothelin 3 (Edn3) gene in regulating pigment production and coat color in mice. The study found that transgenic expression of Edn3 significantly increased both eumelanin and pheomelanin, leading to a hyperpigmentation phenotype due to the accumulation of melanocytes in the skin and an increase in hair pigment. No significant difference in the number of follicular melanocytes between Edn3 transgenic and non-transgenic mice was found. The study also found that Edn3 upregulates the expression of melanogenic genes and that its expression is required to maintain a dark pigmentation phenotype after birth. The results suggest that the paracrine expression of Edn3 from keratinocytes can generate and maintain a dark coat color by regulating melanogenic genes independent of Mc1r signaling. This research could potentially lead to new treatments for hypopigmentation disorders.