TY - JOUR T1 - Slc7a11 modulated by POU2F1 is involved in pigmentation in rabbit JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/607978 SP - 607978 AU - Yang Chen AU - Shuaishuai Hu AU - Lin Mu AU - Bohao Zhao AU - Manman Wang AU - Naisu Yang AU - Guolian Bao AU - Cigen Zhu AU - Xinsheng Wu Y1 - 2019/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/04/13/607978.abstract N2 - Solute carrier family 7 member 11 (Slc7a11) codes for a cystine/glutamate xCT transporter and can control production of pheomelanin pigment to change fur and skin colors of animals. Previous studies found that the skin expression levels of Slc7a11 varied significantly with the fur colors of the Rex Rabbit. However, it is not yet known the molecular regulation mechanism of Slc7a11 in pigmentation. Here rabbit melanocytes were first isolated and identified. The distribution and expression pattern of Slc7a11 was confirmed in rabbit skin with different fur colors. Slc7a11 could affect the expression of pigmentation related genes and thus affect melanogenesis. Meanwhile, Slc7a11 decreased melanocytes apoptosis, but inhibition of Slc7a11 enhanced apoptosis. Furthermore, it was found that POU2F1 protein bound to the -713 to -703 bp region of Slc7a11 promoter to inhibite its activity by dual-luciferase reporter and site-directed mutagenesis assay. This study uncover the function of the Slc7a11 in melanogenesis and provided in-depth analysis of the mechanism of fur pigmentation. ER -