Melanocyte

Question: What is the scientific name for Melanocyte? Melanocyte is the skin cell that contains the pigment (in melanin) for skins to tan. Does anyone know the scientific name for it?

Answer: Melanocyte is the term used in science: "The Italian zoologist Sangiovanni, (1819) was the first to describe pigment cells in the squid, but it took another two decades until Henle, (1837) identified the pigment producing cell in the epidermis and further 50 years until the word melanocyte was introduced (Meyerson, 1889)." See introduction: http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:RN0KOKzHnIsJ:www.diva-portal.org/diva/getDocument%3Furn_nbn_se_liu_diva-8880-1__fulltext.pdf+"the+word+Melanocyte"%2Bgreek&hl=de&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=de Pics and definition: http://www.definitions.net/definition/melanocyte

Question: how can you naturally restore melanin in your skin? Is there a food you can eat? what produces more melanocyte I have vitiligo and I want to restore the color to my skin naturally. As with many things there is usually a natural approach to these types of things and generally there ius a food that you can eat to stimulate production of certain body elements.

Answer: I do not know of any food that can restore melanin. I thought Vitiligo is due to the body manufacturing too much peroxide?

Question: What regulates melanocyte-stimulating hormone secretion? Is it just the pituitary gland (which also produces it)? Or is it something else?

Answer: Light/dark cycles (day and night).

Question: How can i stop melanocyte which destroy melanin?

Answer: are you concerned for a light skin color? that is genetic, good luck

Question: which lobe of the pituitary does the melanocyte stimulating hormone come from and its function?

Answer: The melanocyte-stimulating hormones (collectively referred to as MSH) are a class of peptide hormones produced by cells in the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland. In adult humans the intermediate lobe is just a thin layer of cells between the anterior and posterior pituitary. They stimulate the production and release of melanin (melanogenesis) by melanocytes in skin and hair. MSH is also produced by a subpopulation of neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. MSH released into the brain by these neurons has effects on appetite and sexual arousal.

Question: What happens when a melanocyte dies? 10 pts!!!? How does the skin get back new menalocytes (which secrete melanin) after they die? Like if your skin got inflamed and then the melanocytes died how would they get back in the "new skin" to keep producing pigment?

Answer: interesting article: http://www.thetech.org/genetics/news.php?id=15 i googled your question because it interested me too and came up with many interesting articles. LOL thought you might get a kick out of this: why do vampires hate sunlight? It has to do with ultraviolet rays and a vampire's melanocytes. UV rays are a form of ionizing radiation, which does heavy damage to the DNA structure of cells. Because ultra violet rays are at such a short wavelength (anywhere from 400 nanometres to 10 nanometres), they are especially dangerous for the cells that undergo melanogenesis. In a normal human, this damage causes your melanocytes to release more melanin and darken the pigment of the skin, ie. get a tan. In vampires, melanocytes are underfunctioning, and the photodamage to the melanocytes causes such a drastic shift in melanogenesis that cells' lysosomes actually initiate apoptosis. Dead cell matter at such a high concentration puts so much pressure on surrounding tissue that the blood vessels can become blocked, resulting in pressure buildup and the eventual failure of the cardiovascular system. Normally, the process takes somewhere from 10 to 15 minutes, and the vampire looks as though he or she died of heart failure. In extreme cases, the sudden blockage can result in internal bleeding and rhabdomyolysis from sudden internal shock on surrounding muscles. In this case, death can be instaneous of contact with sunlight.

Question: What type of cell is a melanocyte?

Answer: Melanocytes are cells located in the bottom layer of the skin's epidermis and in the middle layer of the eye, the uvea. A pigment-producing cell located in the basal layer of the epidermis with branching processes by means of which melanosomes are transferred to epidermal cells, resulting in pigmentation of the epidermis. Etymology: melano- + G. [kytos,] cell

Question: Does anyone know where to find a picture of the internal structure of a melanocyte that labels all organelles? cell wall nucleus cell membrane melanosome etc....

Answer: Here you go: http://www.artem-medicalis.com/poster.htm

Question: Organelles in a melanocyte? I need to make a model showing the organelles of the melanocyte cell. It must include a nucleus, cell membrane, ribosomes, etc. I have researched and basically found nothing over a one hour time span. I know that is has a special organelle which is the melanosome. Help anyone? 10 points for best answer!!

Answer: Melanocytes have special organelles called melanosomes that are only found in melanocytes. Melanocytes are similar to lysosomes (they have a similar protein composition) but don't serve the same function. Melanocytes are pigment cells found in skin and eyes and basically anywhere where there is pigment. The melonsomes store this protein called melanin (the primary protein pigment is made of). The melanosomes are very dark organelles and people use mainly electron microscopy to visualize them. They come in four types 1-4 (I think the darker the melanosome the higher the number but I"m not positive). So I would just make your model with all the components you listed.. maybe add an Endoplasmic Reticulum and some mitochondria. Then put in a few melanosomes.... a dark circle would best represent them. Good luck.

Question: how can you influence the activity of the alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone?

Answer: The melanocyte-stimulating hormones (collectively referred to as MSH) are a class of peptide hormones produced by cells in the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland. They stimulate the production and release of melanin (melanogenesis) by melanocytes in skin and hair. MSH is also produced by a subpopulation of neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. MSH released into the brain by these neurons has effects on appetite and sexual arousal. MSH is an anti-inflammatory, regulatory hormone made in the hypothalamus. It controls production of hormones, modulates the immune system and controls nerve function, too. It is made when leptin is able to activate its receptor in the proopio-melanocortin (POMC) pathway. If the receptor is damaged by peripheral immune effects, such as the release of too many pro- inflammatory cytokines, then the receptor doesn't work right and MSH isn't made. Leptin controls storage of fatty acids as fat, so MSH and leptin are a major source of interest. Damage to the leptin receptor provides almost identical results as insulin resistance. A lot of obesity and diabetes is inappropriately blamed on overeating when the real problem is damage to these regulatory receptors. Exposure to sunlight can increase levels of alpha-MSH. Some molds have been implicated in damaging the receptors that MSH binds to, thereby blocking MSH. "Sick Building Syndrome" may be associated with such molds.

Question: Why does it take some people a longer time to tan than others? Its getting hot which means its time to get tanned. However, it takes some people more time to tan than others. Tanning occurs when the malanocytes produce melanin pigment. The more pigmentation, the more tan one can be. Why though, does it take some people a longer amount of time to tan than others? There are 3 tans total1-Brown tans produced by (eumelanin-a pigment)2-Yellow and red produced by (pheomelanin-another pigment) What about albinos, if its true that they have no melanin, then shouldn't they have cancer? And obviously, the melanocyte stimulating hormone is controlled by the pituitary gland. Some people therefore claim that wearing sun glasses can help the tanning process, is this true?If so, then what about blind people? They cant tan?

Answer: its something in the genes. when the skin is bombarded with UV rays it has a reaction in the cells that cause it to create the pigment that makes you tan and prevents burning, this is all as a protection. but with some people the cells aren't as sensitive as they should be, which causes people with fair skin that burn very easily or people who don't seem to tan at all. In the case of albinos, they have no pigments whatsoever and can burn quite easily if exposed to the sun for too long, they do stand a higher chance of getting cancer if they have repeated exposure to the sun. this is why albino's choose to live in a temperate climates, like England, where it's not always sunny every day and some go out only at night in the summer, the invention of the 24 hour supermarket was a blessing for them. Albino's though are quite rare.

Question: What can i do to make my melanocyte cells produce more melanin? (besides tanning)? i was doin a little bit of research and i found tht every one has the same amount of melanocyte cells.. bt some ppls melanocyte cells produce more melanin than other peoples, tht is why some people are darker than other people. i am light skinned and i kno i can go tannin to produce more melanin . But i want to know what i can do to make the melanocyte cells produce moreeee melanin so my skin can be a darker shade even wen im not in the sun, juss like a naturally tan person. & so that wen i AM in the sun i wont burn . Does anyone know what i can do ? pls&thnx :) OH & P.S. PLEASE DONT SAY SPRAY TAN... i dont want it last like a week then i gota keep goin bck . iheard somethin bout medicine tht makes u produce more melanin? idk anyways..VV here is my skin color: http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm283/nikkinicolepage/l_589c64cfce5d4bd381326090c499f764.jpg & i wana be thisss skin color: http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo353/nita_trackrunner/nicole-scherzinger.jpg HELPPP ! haha

Answer: melanotan... they are melanin injections-- i've never tried bc the very thought of purchasing something blindly off the internet and then injecting it into my body just freaks me out to no end.. but if you are interested google it-- it is not FDA approved, not sold in stores... it's kinda shady, but thats just my opinion..

Question: Some cures or anything that helps with hypo-pigmentation? Hypopigmentation is the loss of skin color. It is caused by melanocyte depletion — a decrease in the amino acid tyrosine, which is used by melanocytes to make melanin. I have a scar from a long time ago that's stayed white and discolored and I am sick of having it. Anything that could fix it?

Answer: First of all,the best thing you could do about the "white" scar is by applying a topical cream on it to reduce the discoloration of the spot itself.Try topical corticosteroids or topical immunomodulators since both of these make the white spots fade until you get rid of it.You could get these at a local pharmacy though.You could also opt for a laser treatment since it is really effective.My cousin done it and she's spot free now.You could choose either way though.Hope this helps:-) P/s:However,do seek help from a dermatologist if you need to since your derm could improve your chance of healing by prescribing you the right cream to apply.Good luck!!

Question: Is the colour with which we are born our true genetic colour? I heard that it is but it can change depending on the secretion of melanocyte stimulating hormone. Can someone explain it to me clearly? And can you regulate the secretion of this hormone naturally?

Answer: Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) stimulates the melanocytes in skin and in hair bulbs to produce melanin pigment so changes in MSH levels will lead to alterations in melanin production. MSH production does vary during a person's lifetime. It is commonly low in young children and increases as they get older, so blonds at age 2 can end up with brown hair as they get older (this happened to me). Likewise levels of sex hormones can affect MSH levels. Pregnant women sometimes have an increase in MSH due to higher levels of estrogen for example. Of course as we age, MSH production and melanin production, especially in hair bulbs, decreases. Of course you can easily change the amount of melanin in your skin by exposing your skin to UV light (tanning) as well. So a baseline level of MSH is programmed by our genes but environment and other genes can modify it.

Question: why the skin colour on palm/soles is lighter than the rest of the body? ? I understand that melanocyte synthesize melanin, which gives out the skin colour. The darker the skin, the more melanin it contains. But when it comes to palms & soles, they seems to maintain white no matter how long the skin were exposed to the sun (tanning).. Is it because there are no melanocytes exist in the area?

Answer: your palms and soles are not exposed to the sun rays like the rest of the body

Question: Cold weather make your skin lighter or darker? I heard that melanocyte is sensitive to cold exposure.

Answer: it dont do either the sun darkens you skin but when not expose to it it lightens uo in the winter it lightens by it self the cold weather dont make it lighter but it does make your skin cold

Question: Is growth hormone a neurosecretory hormone? I had a single best answer question in my exam yesterday stating which one of these hormones is a neurosecretory hormone? the options were Growth Hormone, Melanocyte stimulating hormone, ACTH, Prolactin. So i thought a few of these are NS hormones. But what would be the 'Single Best Answer'.

Answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_hormone Yes it is a growth hormone...

Question: can anyone help me find something on this? ITs called a melanocyte I can't really find anything on it can someone please help. I know its a eukaryotic cell found in the human body.

Answer: Here are a couple of links http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanocyte http://www.answers.com/topic/melanocyte?cat=health

Question: I need a good labeled cell diagram of the any of the following cells? Hepatocyte Neuron Osteocyte Epithelial cell Sperm cell Goblet cell Rod cell Glial cell Erythrocyte Epithelial cell egg cell cone cell skeletal muscle cell b-lymphocyte t-lymphocyte Melanocyte Adipocyte

Answer: i know a few of them but its difficuilt to draw

Question: Which of the following hormones affects the greatest diversity of cells? A.adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) B.antidiuretic hormone (ADH) C.growth hormone (GH) D. melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) E.prolactin

Answer: C. growth hormone (GH).