Abstract:

【Objective】 The experiment was made to study the relation of alpaca coat color and the expression of nitric oxide synthases (NOS) in alpaca skin. 【Method】 The relationship between the alpacas coat color and the expression of NOS was studied by determining the expression and localization of NOS in alpaca skin with different hair colors. The protein expression of NOS was determined by western blotting. The tissue localization of NOS was examined by immunohistochemistry. 【Result】 There was a positive expression of three NOS in skin of white alpaca group and brown alpaca group, the expression in hair follicle tissue significantly higher than peripheral connective tissue (P＞0.05). In hair follicle tissue of white alpaca group and brown alpaca group, the expression of NOS1 and NOS3 showed a weak positive, NOS2 showed a strong positive. The expression of NOS2 in hair follicle tissue of white alpaca group was significantly lower than those in brown alpaca group (P＞0.05). The expression of NOS1 and NOS3 showed no significant difference in hair follicle tissue of white alpaca group and brown alpaca group (P＜0.01). The expression of three NOS showed no significant difference in connective tissue (P＞0.05). Western blotting showed that the expression of NOS2 in white alpaca group was significantly lower than those in brown alpaca group (P＜0.05).【Conclusion】This is the first study on the expression of NOS in alpaca skin with different coat colors, three NOS main expression in hair follicle site. The expression of NOS1 and NOS3 is not related with coat color; the expression of NOS2 in hair follicle is related with coat color. The experiment has laid a foundation for further study on the effect of nitric oxide signal on melanin production.

Key words: nitric oxide synthase (NOS), alpaca, coat color, skin, hair follicle