Tyrosinase activity in subcellular fractions of black and albino mice.

Abstract

TYROSINASE (EC 1.10.3.1.), a key enzyme in melanogenesis, seems to occur in an inactivated form in various tissues1–3. I have examined the possibility that inhibition, rather than a lack of enzymatic activity, is involved in the absence of melanin synthesis in the albino mouse; the c (albino) locus has up to now been considered the structural locus for tyrosinase4,5. I report here the effects on albino and black murine pigment tissue of physical methods and chemical and enzymatic agents which affect tyrosinase activity6–8.