P-Protein: A Novel Target for Skin-whitening Agent

Skin pigmentation is the most visible phenotype character of human beings and is regulated by many factors. Despite recent advances, the whole process of melanogenesis is not well understood. More than 400 genes are involved in human pigmentation and one of them is the pink-eyed dilution gene (p-gene). The p-gene mutation causes oculocutaneous albinism-2 (OCA-2) in humans. OCA type 2 has a highly variable phenotype. The reaction mechanism of the p-gene is still a mystery. In this review, we focused on the role of the p-gene in the process of melanogenesis. Melanogenesis occurs in a specialized cellular organelle termed as melanosome in which the skin pigment (melanin) is produced. This review is to provide the function of p-gene, their product (p-protein) and their potentials in developing new generation cosmetics.