1242 A natural compound harmine decreases melanin synthesis through inhibition of DYRK1A in human skin melanocytes

Melanin plays important roles in protecting human skin against harmful ultraviolet lights and other environmental factors. However, hyperpigmentation in specific parts of the skin such as melasma, freckles, and age spots might become an esthetic problem. While we are searching for the compound(s) that affect melanin synthesis in MNT-1 cells, a human melanoma cell line, we found that harmine significantly decreased melanin synthesis. Harmine is known to inhibit DYRK1A. Here, we investigated whether DYRK1A is involved in harmineregulated melanin synthesis.