A novel LC-MS/MS method to quantify eumelanin and pheomelanin and their relation to UVR sensitivity – A study on human skin biopsies

Catharina Margrethe Lerche*, Peter Olsen, Christoffer Valdemar Nissen, Peter Alshede Philipsen, Hans Christian Wulf

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Melanin in the skin can be divided into eumelanin and pheomelanin subtypes. Simultaneous quantification of these subtypes could clarify their relation to skin type and skin cancer development. We describe a novel, sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method to quantify two eumelanin markers, pyrrole-2,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (PTCA) and pyrrole-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (PDCA), and two pheomelanin markers, thiazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid (TDCA) and thiazole-2,4,5 tricarboxylic acid (TTCA), performed in a single run using the same biopsy. Volunteers with either Fitzpatrick skin type (FST) I/II or III/IV (n = 30) each provided a 4-mm punch biopsy from the buttock. Upon analysis, the FST I + II group had significantly less of all four melanin biomarkers (PTCA, 0.75 ng/mm2; PDCA, 0.08 ng/mm2; TTCA, 0.24 ng/mm2; and TDCA, 0.10 ng/mm2) versus the FST III + IV group (PTCA, 4.89 ng/mm2; PDCA, 0.22 ng/mm2; TTCA, 2.61 ng/mm2; and TDCA, 0.72 ng/mm2), p ≤ 0.003. We find that this new LC-MS/MS method is sensitive enough to quantify eumelanin and pheomelanin markers even in the lightest skin types.

Original languageEnglish
JournalPigment Cell and Melanoma Research
Volume32
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)809-816
Number of pages8
ISSN1755-1471
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Keywords

  • eumelanin
  • mass spectrometry
  • melanin
  • pheomelanin
  • pigmentation

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