%0 Journal Article
%T MicroRNA 143-5p regulates alpaca melanocyte migration, proliferation and melanogenesis.
%A Ji K
%A Zhang P
%A Zhang J
%A Fan R
%A Liu Y
%A Yang S
%A Hu S
%A Liu X
%A Dong C
%J Exp Dermatol
%V 27
%N 2
%D 02 2018
%M 29230879
%F 4.511
%R 10.1111/exd.13480
%X microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be closely involved in the control of melanogenesis and hair colour in mammals. Previous data also indicate that miR-143 regulates cell growth in melanoma. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of miR-143-5p in alpaca melanocytes. We found that miR-143-5p was highly expressed in the cytoplasm of alpaca melanocytes as demonstrated by an in situ hybridization assay. Prediction analysis revealed that miR-143-5p could regulate TGF-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) expression, which we confirmed by luciferase reporter assay, indicating that miR-143-5p controls TAK1 expression by directly targeting its 3' untranslated region (UTR). miR-143-5p overexpression decreased TAK1 expression, which led to increased melanocyte migration and proliferation, and downregulation of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), which regulates melanin production. These results support a functional role for miR-143-5p in regulating alpaca melanocyte migration, proliferation and melanogenesis through direct targeting of TAK1.