Electron microscopic and cytochemical observations of theophylline and melanocyte-stimulating hormone effects on melanoma cells in culture.

The effects of theophylline and melanocyte-stimulating hormone on B16 melanoma cells in culture cells were studied by electron microscopy and dopa cytochemistry. The data show that theophylline and melanocyte-stimulating hormone enhance melanogenesis by activating tyrosinase synthesis and its transfer but that neither affects the synthesis of the well-organized eumelanosome matrix. Their pigmenting effects appear to be limited to the melanogenic cells and result from a marked increase, particularly in theophylline-treated cells, in pheomelanosome formation.