Modulating mucins makes melanin

The outermost layer of skin, the epidermis has evolved to provide a physical barrier of protection from harmful substances and invasion of pathogens. The skin barrier consists in part of highly glycosylated proteins called mucins and the epithelium. Epidermal homeostasis is maintained by the proliferation and differentiation of its basal layer keratinocytes that migrate to the superficial layer of the epidermis, and through its regulated inter-cellular communication with the pigment producing cells, the melanocytes.