Neuronal pigments of melanic type were identified in the putamen, cortex, cerebellum, and other major regions of human brain. These pigments consist of granules 30 nm in size, contained in organelles together with lipid droplets, and they accumulate in aging, reaching concentrations as high as 1.5-2.6 g/mg tissue in major brain regions. These pigments, which we term neuromelanins, contain melanic, lipid, and peptide components. The melanic component is aromatic in structure, contains a stable free radical, and is synthesized from the precursor molecule cysteinyl-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine. This contrasts with neuromelanin of the substantia nigra, where the melanic precursor is cysteinyl-dopamine. These neuronal pigments have some structural similarities to the melanin found in skin. The precursors of lipid components of the neuromelanins are the polyunsaturated lipids present in the surrounding organelles. The synthesis of neuromelanins in the various regions of the human brain is an important protective process because the melanic component is generated through the removal of reactive/toxic quinones that would otherwise cause neurotoxicity. Furthermore, the resulting melanic component serves an additional protective role through its ability to chelate and accumulate metals, including environmentally toxic metals such as mercury and lead.lipids ͉ neuromelanin ͉ brain aging ͉ neurodegenerative

Neuromelanin (NM) isolated from the substantia nigra of the human brain is found to contain a series of dolichoic acids (dol-CA) containing 14-20 isoprene units. This is the first observation of dol-CA in a natural system. Using internally spiked nor-dolichol and nor-dolichoic acid standards, the concentrations of dolichol (dol) and dol-CA present in NM were determined. Remarkably, dol was only four times as abundant as dol-CA in NM. The distribution of dol-CA chains lengths in NM also differed from that of dol, suggesting that the enzyme(s) responsible for the conversion of dol to dol-CA prefer a dolichol substrate containing 19 isoprene units.-Ward, W.

The phospholipids present in uveal (iris/ciliary body and choroid) and retinal bovine ocular melanosomes were identified using mass spectrometry. Similar phospholipid content is found for the two types of uveal melanosome, with sphingomyelin being the major species. Significant differences are found between the uveal and retinal melanosome. Glycerophosphoethanolamine (GPEtn) is the major species in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE); 93% of the GPEtn contain polyunsaturated fatty acids, notably docosahexanoic acid and arachidonic acid, in the sn-2 position. RPE melanosomes also contain detectable quantities of glycerophosphoserine and glycerophosphate; these species were not detected in the uveal samples. While the structural and functional roles of melanosomal lipids largely remain to be determined, these different lipid compositions reported herein offer new insights into the roles of melanosomes in the different ocular tissues.

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Three naturally occurring pyrrole acids were found in Sepia, human black hair, and bovine choroid and iris melanosomes using high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry--pyrrole-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (PDCA), pyrrole-2,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (PTCA) and pyrrole-2,3,4,5-tetracarboxylic acid (PTeCA). PDCA and PTCA are common markers quantified from oxidative degradation of eumelanins. Using standards, the amounts of naturally occurring PDCA and PTCA were determined and compared to those obtained following peroxide oxidation of the same samples. Because the naturally occurring acids are water soluble, these results indicate that care must be exercised when comparing PDCA and PTCA yields from the degradation analyses of melanins isolated and prepared by different methods. This work also establishes that PTeCA is a naturally occurring pyrrole acid in melanosomes.