A high-throughput screening platform for pigment regulating agents using pluripotent stem cell derived melanocytes

In this study, we describe a simple and straight-forward assay using induced pluripotent stem cell derived melanocytes and high-throughput flow cytometry, to screen and identify pigment regulating agents. The assays is based on the correlation between forward light-scatter characteristics and melanin content, with pigmented cells displaying high light absorption/low forward light-scatter, while the opposite is true for lowly pigmented melanocytes, as a result of genetic background or chemical treatments. Orthogonal validation is then performed by regular melanin quantification. Such approach was validated using a set of 80 small molecules, and yielded a confirmed hit. The assay described in this study may prove a useful tool to identify modulators of melanogenesis in human melanocytes.