Study on the anti-melanogenesis effect of vitamin C based on cellular autophagy
The aim of this study was to investigate the role of cellular autophagy pathway in the regulation of melanogenesis in vitamin C(VC)-inhibited mouse melanoma cells(B16).The maximum safe dose of VC on B16 cells was detected by MTT assay,the melanogenesis was induced in B16 cells by adding α-melanotropic hormone(α-MSH),and then the mechanism of cellular autophagy in the anti-melanogenic effect of VC was investigated by using an autophagy inhibitor(3-MA).The results show that VC at 500 μg/mL and below have no effect on the survival of B16 cells.VC at 20 μg/mL and 50 μg/mL significantly inhibit α-MSH-induced melanin synthesis in B16 cells(p<0.01).Compared with the blank group,VC significantly induces the expression of autophagy-related proteins LC3-Ⅱ and p62 in B16 cells,and the expression of mTOR protein decreases(p<0.05).To further investigate the effect of autophagy on melanogenesis,B16 cells are pretreated with the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA,and it is found that 3-MA abolishes VC-induced autophagy up-regulation,as well as the anti-melanogenesis effect in B16 cells.These results suggest that VC can inhibit melanogenesis by activating the autophagy system in B16 melanoma cells.