Melanin is a prominent pigment of skin and hair, and its deficiency can cause various disorders such as hair graying and albinism. The improvement of melanin production at a genetic level could offer an effective and permanent solution. Recently, SIRT7 has evoked an interest in the study of hair follicle stem cells, but its role in melanin synthesis remains unclear. In the present study, we have first successfully developed SIRT7 gene KO melanoma cells using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. It was found that the SIRT7 gene KO enhanced melanin production in melanoma cells. To validate the role of SIRT7 in melanin production, RT-PCR, western blot, and immunofluorescence staining assays were performed. The expression levels of melanin-producing genes and proteins (MITF, TRP1, TRP-2, TYR, TH) were significantly increased in SIRT7 gene KO cells compared to normal cells. In addition, melanin production was increased in KO cells higher than in normal cells through the image analysis. All these results suggest that SIRT7 could play an essential role in regulating melanin production, providing an alternative drug target to treat pigmentary disorders.

黑色素是皮肤和头发的一种突出色素，缺乏它会导致头发变白和白化病等各种疾病。在基因水平上改善黑色素生成可以提供有效和永久的解决方案。最近，SIRT7 引起了对毛囊干细胞研究的兴趣，但其在黑色素合成中的作用仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们首先使用 CRISPR/Cas9 系统成功开发了 SIRT7 基因 KO 黑色素瘤细胞。发现 SIRT7 基因 KO 增强了黑色素瘤细胞中黑色素的产生。为了验证 SIRT7 在黑色素生成中的作用，进行了 RT-PCR、蛋白质印迹和免疫荧光染色测定。黑色素生成基因和蛋白质（MITF、TRP1、TRP-2、TYR、与正常细胞相比，SIRT7 基因 KO 细胞中的 TH) 显着增加。此外，通过图像分析，KO 细胞的黑色素生成量高于正常细胞。所有这些结果表明 SIRT7 可以在调节黑色素生成方面发挥重要作用，为治疗色素疾病提供了一种替代药物靶点。