tyrosinase
Last updated 18 Aug 2020
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The TYR gene provides instructions for making an enzyme called tyrosinase. This enzyme is located in melanocytes, which are specialized cells that produce a pigment called melanin. Melanin is the substance that gives skin, hair, and eyes their colour. Melanin is also found in the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (the retina), where it plays a role in normal vision.
Normal function
The TYR gene provides instructions for making an enzyme called tyrosinase. This enzyme is located in melanocytes, which are specialized cells that produce a pigment called melanin. Melanin is the substance that gives skin, hair, and eyes their colour. Melanin is also found in the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (the retina), where it plays a role in normal vision.
Tyrosinase is responsible for the first step in melanin production. It converts a protein building block (amino acid) called tyrosine to another compound called dopaquinone. A series of additional chemical reactions convert dopaquinone to melanin in the skin, hair follicles, the colored part of the eye (the iris), and the retina.
Conditions referring to this gene or chromosome
Other names
LB24-AB
Monophenol monooxygenase
OCA1A
OCAIA
SK29-AB
Tumour Rejection Antigen AB
TYRO_HUMAN
Further reading and references
- tyrosinase; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
- King RA, Pietsch J, Fryer JP, Savage S, Brott MJ, Russell-Eggitt I, Summers CG, Oetting WS. Tyrosinase gene mutations in oculocutaneous albinism 1 (OCA1): definition of the phenotype. Hum Genet. 2003 Nov;113(6):502-13. doi: 10.1007/s00439-003-0998-1. Epub 2003 Sep 10.
- Lewis RA. Oculocutaneous Albinism Type 1 - RETIRED CHAPTER, FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE ONLY. 2000 Jan 19 [updated 2013 May 16]. In: Adam MP, Bick S, Mirzaa GM, Wallace SE, Amemiya A, editors. GeneReviews(R) [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2026. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1166/
- Murisier F, Beermann F. Genetics of pigment cells: lessons from the tyrosinase gene family. Histol Histopathol. 2006 May;21(5):567-78. doi: 10.14670/HH-21.567.
- Oetting WS, Fryer JP, Shriram S, King RA. Oculocutaneous albinism type 1: the last 100 years. Pigment Cell Res. 2003 Jun;16(3):307-11. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0749.2003.00045.x.
- Oetting WS. The tyrosinase gene and oculocutaneous albinism type 1 (OCA1): A model for understanding the molecular biology of melanin formation. Pigment Cell Res. 2000 Oct;13(5):320-5. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0749.2000.130503.x.
- Opitz S, Kasmann-Kellner B, Kaufmann M, Schwinger E, Zuhlke C. Detection of 53 novel DNA variations within the tyrosinase gene and accumulation of mutations in 17 patients with albinism. Hum Mutat. 2004 Jun;23(6):630-1. doi: 10.1002/humu.9248.
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