Effects of diethylstilbestrol on the proliferation and tyrosinase activity of cultured human melanocytes

The aim of the present study was to observe the effects of different exogenous estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) concentrations on the human melanocyte proliferation and tyrosinase activity. Skin specimens were obtained following blepharoplasty, and the melanocytes were primary cultured and passaged to the third generation. The melanocytes were seeded in 96-well plates, each well had 5x10(3) cells. The medium was changed after 24 h, and contained 10(-4)-10(-8) M DES. After the melanocytes were incubated, the proliferation and tyrosinase activity were detected by the MTT assay and L-DOPA reaction. DES (10(-8)-10(-6) M) enhanced the proliferation of cultured melanocytes. The intensity was positively correlated with the concentration of drug. DES, >10(-5) M, inhibited the melanocytes proliferation or even produced the toxicity effect. Following the addition of 10(-6) M DES to the medium, the tyrosinase activity of melanocytes was significantly increased, with P<0.05. In conclusion, a certain concentration of DES promoted the proliferation of melanocytes, enhanced the activity of tyrosinase and promoted pigment synthesis of melanocytes, with the optimal concentration of 10(-6) M.