Fig. 4

MITF, IL-4, IL-10, and TGF-β gold labeling on melanocytes and DCs 48 h after allergic induction; Electron micrograph of MITF immunogold labeling on melanocytes with (a) or without (b) sericin treatment indicated significant downregulation of MITF by all sericin doses when compared with non-treated cells as presented in bar graph (c). Conversely, expression of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β on DCs were significantly upregulated by all sericin doses (c). The results revealed that sericin has anti-melanogenic and immunomodulatory effects on epidermal cells during the 48 h after allergic stimulation