Abstract:

Objective To evaluate the biological effect of endothelin （ET） antagonist on cultured B16 murine melanoma cells. Methods B16 murine melanoma cells were cultured in the presence of various concentrations （31.25, 62.5, 125, 250, 500 μg/mL） of ET antagonist or licoflavone. Then, melanoma cells were harvested for the detection of tyrosinase activity and melanin content. The proliferation rate of melanoma cells was measured with MTT method. The effect of ET antagonist was compared with that of licoflavone. Results Licoflavone had a concentration-dependent inhibition on melanogenesis. The ET antagonist selectively suppressed the ET-induced stimulation of tyrosinase and cell differentiation of B16 cells, but had no direct inhibitory effect on melanogenesis in culture, and little influence on melanocyte viability. The addition of ET antagonist at 200 μg/mL could significantly inhibit ET （0.5 μg/mL） -induced melanogenesis in B16 cells. The cytotoxity of the antagonist was relatively lower than that of licoflavone. Conclusions The results suggest that the ET antagonist is a safe skin-whitening ingredient，and may have a wide application perspective in the prevention of endothelin-induced skin pigmentation after UVB irradiation.

Key words: Glabridin;ET antagonist;Tyrosinase Inhibitor