DCT Gene

Name	dopachrome tautomerase
Description	Predicted to enable dopachrome isomerase activity. Involved in response to blue light. Located in intracellular membrane-bounded organelle and plasma membrane. Implicated in oculocutaneous albinism. [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Mar 2025]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Dopachrome tautomerase (DCT), also known as tyrosinase‐related protein‐2 (TRP2), is a key melanogenic enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of dopachrome to 5,6‐dihydroxyindole‐2‐carboxylic acid, an essential step in melanin biosynthesis. DCT expression is tightly regulated by several transcription factors that determine melanocyte fate and differentiation. For instance, early studies demonstrated that Pax3 both initiates the melanogenic cascade by activating Mitf and simultaneously modulates the expression of DCT by competing with Mitf for an enhancer element, thereby maintaining melanoblasts in a committed but undifferentiated state."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, synergistic interactions between microphthalmia‐associated transcription factor (MITF) and LEF‐1 drive the transcription from the DCT gene promoter, integrating signals from the canonical Wnt pathway into melanocyte differentiation."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In addition, regulators such as SOX9, up‐regulated by UVB exposure via cAMP‐dependent pathways, further enhance DCT expression along with other critical melanogenic proteins to promote pigmentation."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Beyond its central role in melanin production, DCT contributes to melanocyte survival. In human melanoma cells, knockdown of TRP2/DCT results in increased apoptosis, suggesting an antiapoptotic function that may have implications in melanoma progression."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Furthermore, investigations into pharmacological modulation of melanogenesis have shown that agents such as gallic acid can reduce the expression of DCT (along with MITF, tyrosinase, and TRP1) via activation of inhibitory signaling cascades, thereby decreasing melanin synthesis."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Complementary evidence comes from studies on visible light–induced pigmentation, where signaling events lead to enhanced DCT expression as part of a multimeric complex that sustains tyrosinase activity in darker skin phenotypes."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n The crucial function of DCT in pigmentation is underscored by genetic studies in mice: targeted deletion of DCT results in a diluted coat color phenotype due to reduced melanin content, while the normal distribution of other melanosomal proteins remains largely unaffected, emphasizing the indispensable role of DCT in maintaining proper melanosome maturation and pigment production."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "7"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Deborah Lang, Min Min Lu, Li Huang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Pax3 functions at a nodal point in melanocyte stem cell differentiation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nature (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/nature03292"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03292"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15729346"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15729346"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ken-ichi Yasumoto, Kazuhisa Takeda, Hideo Saito, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor interacts with LEF-1, a mediator of Wnt signaling."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "EMBO J (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1093/emboj/21.11.2703"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1093/emboj/21.11.2703"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12032083"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12032083"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Thierry Passeron, Julio C Valencia, Corine Bertolotto, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "SOX9 is a key player in ultraviolet B-induced melanocyte differentiation and pigmentation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1073/pnas.0705117104"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0705117104"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17702866"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17702866"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ataman Sendoel, Ines Kohler, Christof Fellmann, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "HIF-1 antagonizes p53-mediated apoptosis through a secreted neuronal tyrosinase."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nature (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/nature09141"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09141"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20520707"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20520707"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Tzu-Rong Su, Jen-Jie Lin, Chi-Chu Tsai, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Inhibition of melanogenesis by gallic acid: possible involvement of the PI3K/Akt, MEK/ERK and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways in B16F10 cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Int J Mol Sci (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.3390/ijms141020443"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms141020443"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24129178"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24129178"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Claire Regazzetti, Laura Sormani, Delphine Debayle, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Melanocytes Sense Blue Light and Regulate Pigmentation through Opsin-3."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Invest Dermatol (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.jid.2017.07.833"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jid.2017.07.833"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "28842328"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28842328"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Laurence Guyonneau, Fabien Murisier, Anita Rossier, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Melanocytes and pigmentation are affected in dopachrome tautomerase knockout mice."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cell Biol (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1128/MCB.24.8.3396-3403.2004"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.24.8.3396-3403.2004"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15060160"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15060160"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	TRP-2, TYRP2
Proteins	TYRP2_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	1638
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

DCT has 5,802 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 118 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for DCT from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

DCT Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles	cell lines with fitness changed by DCT gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of DCT gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of DCT gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of DCT gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of DCT gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of DCT gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of DCT gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of DCT gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of DCT gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of DCT gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of DCT gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of DCT gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with DCT protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with DCT gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of DCT gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of DCT gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of DCT gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of DCT gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing DCT protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing DCT protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing DCT protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with DCT protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with DCT protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of DCT gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with DCT gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with DCT gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with DCT gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by DCT gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases involving DCT gene from the DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with DCT gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with DCT gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with DCT gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with DCT gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at DCT gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of DCT gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of DCT gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing DCT from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with DCT gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of DCT gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with DCT gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.