Control of Melanogenesis in Mouse Melanoma Cells of Varying Metastatic Potential2

Abstract
The control of melanin production, tyrosinase activity, and cell replication by melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) and cyclic AMP (cAMP) was examined in differentially metastasizing B16 mouse melanoma variants. In B16-F1 cells (low metastatic potential), MSH or cAMP greatly elevated tyrosinase activity and melanin content while inhibiting cell replication. The same parameters in B16-F5 cells (intermediate metastatic potential) were altered to a much lesser degree, whereas B16-F10 cells (high metastatic potential) were not significantly affected by MSH or cAMP. Therefore, a correlation exists between loss of hormonal regulation and increased metastatic potential.