*2.7. Western Blot*

HaCaT (1 × 10<sup>6</sup> cells/10 cm dish) or B16F10 (1 × 10<sup>6</sup> cells/10 cm dish) cells were pre-treated with varying concentrations of Ectoine (0.5, 1, and 1.5 μM) or α-MSH (1 μM) followed by irradiation in the absence or presence of UVA for the prescribed amount of time. PBS washed cells were harvested, the protein content (nuclear and cytosolic) was isolated after treatment. Then, the cells were subjected to the Western blot method used previously for the determination of expressions of various nuclear and cytosolic proteins [21].
