Heat promotes melanogenesis by increasing the paracrine effects in keratinocytes via the TRPV3/Ca2+/Hh signaling pathway

Lan Zhang; Hongliang Zeng; Ling Jiang; Chuhan Fu; Yushan Zhang; Yibo Hu; Xiaolin Zhang; Lu Zhu; Fan Zhang; Jinhua Huang; Jing Chen; Qinghai Zeng

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106749

Heat promotes melanogenesis by increasing the paracrine effects in keratinocytes via the TRPV3/Ca²⁺/Hh signaling pathway

iScience. 2023 Apr 26;26(5):106749. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106749. eCollection 2023 May 19.

Authors

Lan Zhang¹, Hongliang Zeng², Ling Jiang¹, Chuhan Fu¹, Yushan Zhang¹, Yibo Hu¹, Xiaolin Zhang¹, Lu Zhu¹, Fan Zhang¹, Jinhua Huang¹, Jing Chen¹, Qinghai Zeng¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China.
² Center of Medical Laboratory Animal, Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China.

Abstract

Global warming and rising temperature significantly increase the incidence of heat stress, which is known to affect the process of inflammation and aging. However, the effect of heat stress on skin melanogenesis is not fully known. We found that healthy foreskin tissues underwent significant pigmentation when exposed to 41°C. Furthermore, heat stress promoted melanogenesis in pigment cells by increasing the paracrine effects of keratinocytes. High-throughput RNA sequencing showed that heat stress activates the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway in keratinocytes. The agonists of Hh signaling promote the paracrine effect of keratinocytes on melanogenesis. In addition, transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) 3 agonists activate the Hh signaling in keratinocytes and augment its paracrine effect on melanogenesis. The heat-induced activation of Hh signaling is dependent on TRPV3-mediated Ca²⁺ influx. Heat exposure promotes melanogenesis by increasing the paracrine effects in keratinocytes via the TRPV3/Ca²⁺/Hh signaling pathway. Our findings provide insights into the mechanisms of heat-induced skin pigmentation.

Keywords: Biological sciences; Cell biology; Molecular biology.