Institute for Melanin Chemistry, Fujita Health University, Toyoake 470-192, Aichi, Japan.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 May 5;24(9):8305. doi: 10.3390/ijms24098305.
The melanin pigments eumelanin (EM) and pheomelanin (PM), which are dark brown to black and yellow to reddish-brown, respectively, are widely found among vertebrates. They are produced in melanocytes in the epidermis, hair follicles, the choroid, the iris, the inner ear, and other tissues. The diversity of colors in animals is mainly caused by the quantity and quality of their melanin, such as by the ratios of EM versus PM. We have developed micro-analytical methods to simultaneously measure EM and PM and used these to study the biochemical and genetic fundamentals of pigmentation. The photoreactivity of melanin has become a major focus of research because of the postulated relevance of EM and PM for the risk of UVA-induced melanoma. Our biochemical methods have found application in many clinical studies on genetic conditions associated with alterations in pigmentation. Recently, besides chemical degradative methods, other methods have been developed for the characterization of melanin, and these are also discussed here.
黑色素色素真黑素 (EM) 和褐黑素 (PM) 分别为深棕色到黑色和黄色到红棕色，广泛存在于脊椎动物中。它们由表皮、毛囊、脉络膜、虹膜、内耳和其他组织中的黑素细胞产生。动物颜色的多样性主要是由它们的黑色素的数量和质量引起的，例如 EM 与 PM 的比例。我们已经开发出微分析方法来同时测量 EM 和 PM，并使用这些方法来研究色素沉着的生化和遗传基础。由于 EM 和 PM 与 UVA 诱导的黑色素瘤风险的相关性假设，黑色素的光反应性已成为研究的重点。我们的生化方法已应用于许多与色素沉着改变相关的遗传条件的临床研究中。最近，除了化学降解方法外，还开发了其他方法来表征黑色素，本文也对此进行了讨论。
