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Letters to Nature
Nature 208, 493-494 (30 October 1965) | doi:10.1038/208493a0
Response of Melanocytes of Dermis and Epidermis to Lightening Agents
JOSEPH MCGUIRE & HALVOR MÖLLER
- Section of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Yale-New Haven Medical Center, New Haven, Connecticut.
Abstract
THE frog has been prominent in investigations of hormonal control of human skin colour. The excised skin of Rana pipiens is sensitive to 
-melanocyte stimulating hormone (-MSH); less than 10-11 g added to 20 ml. of Ringer's solution containing the specimen produces darkening. The responsiveness of frog skin to MSH led to its use in an in vitro frog skin assay1 which played an important part in the isolation and identification of - and 
-MSH2. These peptides when administered systemically darken human skin3,4. The use of the frog skin assay led also to the isolation of an indole, melatonin, which is synthesized in the pineal5. When added to frog skin previously darkened with MSH, melatonin was found to be a very potent lightening agent. Other compounds sharing this ability to lighten MSH darkened frog skin are nor-epinephrine and acetylcholine6.
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