ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2019
Human nonvisual opsin 3 regulates pigmentation of epidermal melanocytes through functional interaction with melanocortin 1 receptor.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04417348 (Expression of Opsins Receptors in Melasma and Its Modification With UV-Visible Light Sunscreen and 0.05% Retinoic Acid.), which is not on this map. Cited by 69 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Expression of Opsins Receptors in Melasma and Its Modification With UV-Visible Light Sunscreen and 0.05% Retinoic Acid.
Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 118 citations in OpenAlex.
- The expression of opsins in the human skin and its implications for photobiomodulation: A Systematic Review.Photodermatology, photoimmunology & photomedicine · 2020Pooled it
- Benefits of a Multifunctional Sunscreen Formulation Containing Nanoencapsulated Antioxidants in the Skin Protection Against UV Radiation and Blue Light: Clinical and Preclinical Studies.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2025Trial
- Protective Effects of Antioxidant Mix Pre-Treatment Against Visible Light-Induced Damage in Dark Skin Phototype.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The role of accessory proteins and co-factors in regulation of melanocortin-4 receptor signalling: An update.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2026Review
- Photobiomodulation of tissue regeneration: low-power light therapy accelerates wound healing in earthworms.Biologia futura · 2026Article
- Non-visual opsins and their role in circadian photoentrainment.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2026Review
- Blue light and ultraviolet radiation: comparative biophysical properties and their roles in skin carcinogenesis and photoaging.Journal of dermato-oncology · 2026Article
- The role and signal pathways of opsin 3 in the skin: from light perception to pathophysiological mechanisms.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- The physiological functions of OPN5m.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2025Review
- Validation of phiC31-mediated expression and functional knockout of Opn3 in the Opn3-phiC31o knock-in mouse.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2025Article
- Article
- Effects of pine needle essential oil on melanin synthesis in B16F10 cells and its mechanism.Biomedical reports · 2025Article
- Pathogenesis of Melasma Explained.International journal of dermatology · 2025Review
- Article
- OPN3-mediated positive regulation of angiogenesis in HUVECs through VEGFR2 interaction.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Melanin and Neurotransmitter Signalling Genes Are Differentially Co-Expressed in Growing Feathers of White and Rufous Barn Owls.Pigment cell & melanoma research · 2025Article
- Article
- Hypothalamic opsin 3 suppresses MC4R signaling and potentiates Kir7.1 to promote food consumption.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Graphene Quantum Dots in Bacterial Cellulose Hydrogels for Visible Light-Activated Antibiofilm and Angiogenesis in Infection Management.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Opposing expression pattern of opsin 3 and opsin 5 in the developing and adult nasal epithelium.Chemical senses · 2025Article
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Opsins form a family of light-activated, retinal-dependent, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that serve a multitude of visual and nonvisual functions. Opsin 3 (OPN3 or encephalopsin), initially identified in the brain, remains one of the few members of the mammalian opsin family with unknown function and ambiguous light absorption properties. We recently discovered that OPN3 is highly expressed in human epidermal melanocytes (HEMs)-the skin cells that produce melanin. The melanin pigment is a critical defense against ultraviolet radiation (UVR), and its production is mediated by the Gαs-coupled melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R). The physiological function and light sensitivity of OPN3 in melanocytes are yet to be determined. Here, we show that in HEMs, OPN3 acts as a negative regulator of melanin production by modulating the signaling of MC1R. OPN3 negatively regulates the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response evoked by MC1R via activation of the Gαi subunit of G proteins, thus decreasing cellular melanin levels. In addition to their functional relationship, OPN3 and MC1R colocalize at both the plasma membrane and in intracellular structures, and can form a physical complex. Remarkably, OPN3 can bind retinal, but does not mediate light-induced signaling in melanocytes. Our results identify a function for OPN3 in the regulation of the melanogenic pathway in epidermal melanocytes; we have revealed a light-independent function for the poorly characterized OPN3 and a pathway that greatly expands our understanding of melanocyte and skin physiology.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.