Content of total melanin, eumelanin, and pheomelanin in wild-type and PMEL−/− mice on a C57BL/6 background (Asipa/a).

aAbsorbance at 500 nm, a measure of total melanin after Soluene-350 solubilization [34]. Total melanin content was estimated as A500/mg multiplied by a factor of 101.bPyrrole-2,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (PTCA), a degradation product of eumelanin [33]. Eumelanin content was estimated by multiplying PTCA content by a factor of 25.c4-Amino-3-hydroxyphenylalanine (4-AHP), a degradation product of pheomelanin. Pheomelanin content was estimated by multiplying 4-AHP by a factor of 9 [36].