Active Site Of Tyrosinase Research Articles

Novel synthesis of gold nanoclusters templated with l-tyrosine for selective analyzing tyrosinase

l-Tyrosine (Tyr), playing roles as both a reducing reagent and a protecting ligand, has been first employed for synthesizing fluorescent gold nanoclusters (AuNCs@Tyr) via a novel one-pot strategy. The as-prepared AuNCs@Tyr exhibited a fluorescence emission at 470nm with a quantum yield of approximately 2.5%. Subsequently, the AuNCs@Tyr described here was applied for detections of tyrosinase (TR) activity, which was based on the mechanism of aggregations of AuNCs@Tyr occurring on the active sites of TR since TR was introduced, thus leading to the fluorescence quenching of AuNCs@Tyr. Accordingly, TR was analyzed in a linear range of 0.5–200umL−1 with a detection limit of 0.08umL−1 at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. Significantly, TR has been considered as a critical marker for melanoma owing to its specifically expressing in melanoma cells. Therefore, this analytical method towards investigating TR activity may broaden avenues for meaningfully clinical applications.

Synthesis and characterization of a newly designed di-copper(II)-based complex and study of its artificial enzyme catalytic activity

A di-copper(II) complex of the formula [(dien)Cu(μ-1,6-DAH)Cu(dien)(NO3)2](NO3)2, where μ-1,6-DAH = 1,6-diaminohexane, has been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography, X-ray powder diffraction, thermal gravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analyses, cyclic voltammetry, infrared, ultraviolet visible spectroscopies and elemental analysis methods. It was crystallized in a monoclinic system, space group P21/n, with a = 8.0297(8) A, b = 12.4937(14) A, c = 15.3786(15) A, β = 102.739(8) A and z = 2. Each copper(II) has a square-based pyramidal coordination geometry with four N atoms building the basal plane (three from dien and one from μ-1,6-DAH). TGA study of the complex revealed the compound to be stable up to 245 °C. Electrochemical behavior of complex and enzyme-like catalytic activity of this complex, as a potential functional model for the active site of tyrosinase, was studied extensively. Kinetic studies show that the complex has the maximum enzymatic activity at pH 8, temperature of 40 °C and ionic strength of 50 mM.

Kinetics and Computational Docking Studies on the Inhibition of Tyrosinase Induced by Oxymatrine

A combination of enzymatic inhibition kinetics and computational prediction was employed to search for an effective inhibitor of tyrosinase. We found that oxymatrine significantly inhibited tyrosinase, and that this reaction was not accompanied by detectable conformational changes. Kinetic analysis showed that oxymatrine reversibly inhibited tyrosinase in a mixed-type manner. Measurements of intrinsic and ANS-binding fluorescences showed that oxymatrine did not induce any conspicuous changes in the tertiary structure. We also conducted a docking simulation between tyrosinase and oxymatrine using two docking programs, Dock6.3 and AutoDock4.2 (binding energy was -118.81 kcal/mol for Dock6 and -8.04 kcal/mol for AutoDock4). The results also suggested that oxymatrine interacts mostly with the residues of CYS83 and HIS263 in the active site of tyrosinase. This strategy of predicting tyrosinase inhibition by simulation of docking coupling with kinetics may prove useful in screening for potential tyrosinase inhibitors. Knowledge of tyrosinase inhibition can provide medical, cosmetic, and agricultural applications. Our study suggests that oxymatrine is an important agent for various applications related to pigment formation.

Inhibition of tyrosinase by gastrodin: An integrated kinetic-computational simulation analysis

We studied the inhibitory effect of gastrodin on tyrosinase using inhibition kinetics and computational simulation. Gastrodin reversibly inhibited tyrosinase in a mixed-type manner with Ki=123.8±20.2mM. Time-interval kinetics revealed the inhibition to be a first-order process with mono- and bi-phasic components. Using AutoDock Vina, we calculated a binding energy of −6.3kcal/mol for gastrodin and tyrosinase, and we performed a molecular dynamics simulation of the tyrosinase–gastrodin interaction. The simulation results suggested that gastrodin interacts primarily with histidine residues in the active site. A 10-ns molecular dynamics simulation showed that one copper ion in the tyrosinase active site was responsible for the interaction with gastrodin. Our study provides insight into the inhibition of tyrosinase by the hydroxyl groups of gastrodin. A combination of inhibition kinetics and computational calculations may help to confirm the inhibitory action of gastrodin on tyrosinase and define the mechanisms of inhibition.

Effects of boldine on tyrosinase: Inhibition kinetics and computational simulation

Boldine is one of the most potent natural antioxidants and displays some important pharmacological activities, such as cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory activities. Based on its antioxidant properties, we studied the effects of boldine on l-DOPA oxidation by evaluating the inhibitory kinetics and a computational simulation between boldine and tyrosinase. Boldine reversibly inhibited tyrosinase from mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) in a mixed-type manner, with a Ki=7.203±0.933mM. To gain insight into the inactivation process, we computed the kinetics via time-interval measurements and continuous substrate reactions. The results indicated that the inactivation induced by boldine was a first-order reaction with biphasic processes and that the substrate can promote the inactivation process. To gain further insight, we performed computational docking and molecular dynamics simulations, and the results showed that boldine can interact with several residues near the tyrosinase active site. Our study provides insight into the inhibition of tyrosinase in response to alkaloids. Based on its tyrosinase-inhibiting effect and low toxicity, boldine is a potential natural anti-pigmentation agent.

An Integrated Study of Tyrosinase Inhibition by Rutin: Progress using a Computational Simulation

Tyrosinase inhibition studies have recently gained the attention of researchers due to their potential application values. We simulated docking (binding energies for AutoDock Vina: −9.1 kcal/mol) and performed a molecular dynamics simulation to verify docking results between tyrosinase and rutin. The docking results suggest that rutin mostly interacts with histidine residues located in the active site. A 10 ns molecular dynamics simulation showed that one copper ion at the tyrosinase active site was responsible for the interaction with rutin. Kinetic analyses showed that rutin-mediated inactivation followed a first-order reaction and mono- and biphasic rate constants occurred with rutin. The inhibition was a typical competitive type with Ki = 1.10 ± 0.25 mM. Measurements of intrinsic and ANS-binding fluorescences showed that rutin showed a relatively strong binding affinity for tyrosinase and one possible binding site that could be a copper was detected accompanying with a hydrophobic exposure of tyrosinase. Cell viability testing with rutin in HaCaT keratinocytes showed that no toxic effects were produced. Taken together, rutin has the potential to be a potent antipigment agent. The strategy of predicting tyrosinase inhibition based on hydroxyl group number and computational simulation may prove useful for the screening of potential tyrosinase inhibitors.

Betula pendula leaves: Polyphenolic characterization and potential innovative use in skin whitening products

The research of new tyrosinase inhibitors is currently important for the development of skin whitening agents; particularly, birch leaves extracts are included in many skin cosmetic products. In this study, the potential ability of Betula pendula leaves ethanolic extract (BE) was evaluated on mushroom tyrosinase activity. Results showed that BE was capable to inhibit dose-dependently l-DOPA oxidation catalyzed by tyrosinase. The inhibition kinetics, analyzed by Lineweaver–Burk plots, showed a noncompetitive inhibition of BE towards the enzyme, using l-DOPA as substrate. The inhibitory mechanism of BE as studied by spectrophotometric analysis, demonstrated its ability to chelate copper ion in the active site of tyrosinase. In addition, BE exhibited Fe2+-chelating ability (IC50=614.12±2.14μg/mL), reducing power and radical-scavenging properties (IC50=137.22±1.98μg/mL). These results suggest the usefulness of birch leaves extracts in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries for their skin-whitening and antioxidant effects. Determination of the polyphenolic compounds in BE extracts was afterward achieved by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with photodiode array (PDA) and mass spectrometry (MS) detection. A total of 25 compounds were positively identified, through the complementary analytical information, and are reported in such a matrix for the first time. Knowledge on the qualitative composition and contents of these natural sources in fact represents mandatory information, for rational consumption and correlation of the beneficial effects to the specific amounts.

Spectroscopy and Kinetics of Tyrosinase Catalyzed trans-Resveratrol Oxidation

The spectroscopy and kinetics of the tyrosinase catalyzed trans-resveratrol oxidation were investigated by measuring both UV-vis absorption spectra over the 200-500 nm range and Raman spectra over the 600-1800 cm(-1) region. Room temperature UV-vis absorption spectra, as a function of time, showed the presence of two isosbestic points located at λ(1) = 270 nm and λ(2) = 345.5 nm delimiting two different regions: the reactant region around 300 nm, where the absorption decreased with time, and the product region over the low wavelength (λ < 260 nm) and high wavelength (λ > 390 nm) wavelength zone in which the absorption increased with time until, in both cases, constant values were achieved. A first-order kinetics was deduced with a rate coefficient of k(1) = (0.10 ± 0.001) min(-1), which turned out to be independent of substrate concentration over the 50-5 μM range; a feature that was rationalized by invoking the limiting case of the Michaelis-Menten scheme appropriate for substrate concentration much lower than the respective Michaelis constant. The observation of the distinct resonance enhanced Raman lines, specifically those peaking at 830 cm(-1), 753 cm(-1), and 642 cm(-1) together with their time evolution, permitted us to gain insight into some crucial features and steps of the catalytic reaction. Namely, that the formation of the so-called trans-resveratrol and tyrosinase (S)P complex with its O-O bridge plays a crucial role in the first steps of this enzymatic reaction and that the hydroxylation of the ortho C-H bond of the trans-resveratrol OH group occurs after O-O bond cleavage in the tyrosinase active site. The present study makes clear that a class of potential inhibitors of tyrosinase can be found in compounds able to bind the two Cu (II) ions of the enzyme bidentate form.

Studies on Tyrosinase Inhibitory and Antioxidant Activities of Benzoic Acid Derivatives Containing Kojic Acid Moiety

Tyrosinase 1 is widely distributed in microorganisms, animals, and plants and is responsible for melanization in animals and browning in plants. Melanin plays a crucial protective role against the photodamage of skin. However, the production of abnormal melanin pigmentation is a serious esthetic problem for human beings. In the food industry, tyrosinase is responsible for enzymatic browning reactions in damaged fruit during post-harvest handling and processing. Therefore, the development of tyrosinase inhibitors that can be used as skin whitening agents 2 or preservatives 3 for fresh food has been pursued. Kojic acid 4 (1) is produced by various fungi and bacteria and is widely used as a skin whitening agent because of its tyrosinase inhibitory activity. Kojic acid has also been shown to prevent photodamage due to its free radical scavenging activity. 5 However, its inhibitory activity and storage properties are insufficient for use in cosmetics and as an anti-browning agent for food. To increase its activity, many semi-synthetic kojic acid derivatives have been synthesized. Many of these compounds were formed by modifying the C-2 hydroxyl group to form esters, 6 ethers, 7 sulfides 8 and peptide 9 derivatives because C-5 enolic hydroxyl group is considered as a pharmacophore for tyrosinase inhibition. Recently, we synthesized a 2,4-dihydroxy benzoate ester of kojic acid containing an adamantane moiety (2) and evaluated its tyrosinase activity. 10 Although compound 2 has a kojic acid moiety for chelation to copper in the active site of tyrosinase, tyrosinase inhibitory activity is not found. We also synthesized a benzoate ester of kojic acid without an adamantane moiety and investigated its tyrosinase inhibitory and radical scavenging activities. Scheme 1 shows the synthetic pathways for the benzoate ester of kojic acid. The reaction of kojic acid with thionyl chloride produces compound 6, which is conveniently converted to compound 7 using dimethylsulfate and potassium carbonate in acetone under reflux conditions. Compounds 6 and 7, which are both chlorides, react with potassium salts of benzoic acids in dimethylformamide at 110 o C - 120 o C to give the corresponding ester derivatives 4a-4m and 5a-5c. First, we evaluated the tyrosinase inhibitory activities of the kojic acid and benzoate ester derivatives. Tyrosinase is known to be the enzyme responsible for the oxidation of tyrosine. The inhibitory activities were evaluated by measuring the transformation rate of L-tyrosine to L-dopaquinone. Compounds 4a-4m exhibited potent inhibitory activities against tyrosinase. The hydrophobic benzoate increased the inhibitory activity of kojic acid. However, the numbers and

The Effect of Thiobarbituric Acid on Tyrosinase: Inhibition Kinetics and Computational Simulation

Tyrosinase plays various roles in organisms and much research has focused on the regulation of tyrosinase activity. We studied the inhibitory effect of thiobarbituric acid (TBA) on tyro- sinase. Our kinetic study showed that TBA inhibited tyrosinase in a reversible noncompetitive manner (K i = 14.0 ± 8.5 mM and IC50 = 8.0 ± 1.0 mM). Intrinsic and ANS-binding fluorescences studies were also performed to gain more information regarding the binding mechanism. The results showed that no tertiary structural changes were obviously observed. For further insight, we predicted the 3D structure of tyrosinase and simulated the docking between tyrosinase and TBA. The docking simulation was successful with significant scores (binding energy for AutoDock4:—5.52 kcal/mol) and suggested that TBA was located in the active site. The 11 ns molecular dynamics simulation convinced that the four HIS residues (residue numbers: 57, 90, 250, and 282) were commonly responsible for the interaction with TBA. Our results provide a new inhibition strategy that works using an antioxidant rather than targeting the copper ions within the tyrosinase active site.

Direct electron transfer enhancement of covalently bound tyrosinase to glassy carbon via Woodward's reagent K

This work describes the reaction mechanism for chemical modification of tyrosinase by Woodward's Reagent K and its covalent attachment to a glassy carbon electrode. The spectrophotometric studies revealed that the modification does not cause a significant structural change to tyrosinase. The direct electrochemistry of modified enzyme was achieved after immobilization on an oxidatively activated glassy carbon electrode. The enzyme film exhibited a pair of well-defined quasi-revesible voltammetric peaks corresponding to the Cu (II)/Cu (I) redox couple located in the active site of tyrosinase. The formal potential of immobilized enzyme was measured to be 90 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) in phosphate buffer solution at pH 7.0. The charge-transfer coefficient and apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant were estimated to be 0.5 and 0.9 ± 0.06 s − 1 , respectively. Finally, the electrochemical behavior of the immobilized enzyme in the presence of caffeic acid and L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine as substrates was investigated. The amperometric study of biosensor toward L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine resulted a linear response in the concentration range from 1.66 × 10 − 6 to 8.5 × 10 − 5 M with detection limit of 9.0 × 10 −5 M and sensitivity of 135 mA μM − 1 cm − 2 .

3D-QSAR Analysis and Molecular Docking of Thiosemicarbazone Analogues as a Potent Tyrosinase Inhibitor

Three dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships (3D-QSARs) between new thiosemicarbazone analogues (1-31) as a substrate molecule and their inhibitory activity against tyrosinase as a receptor were performed and discussed quantitatively using CoMFA (comparative molecular field analysis) and CoMSIA (comparative molecular similarity indices analysis) methods. According to the optimized CoMSIA 2 model obtained from the above procedure, inhibitory activities were mainly dependent upon H-bond acceptor favored field (36.5%) of substrate molecules. The optimized CoMSIA 2 model, with the sensitivity of the perturbation and the prediction, produced by a progressive scrambling analysis was not dependent on chance correlation. From molecular docking studies, it is supposed that the inhibitory activation of the substrate molecules against tyrosinase (PDB code: 1WX2) would not take place via uncompetitive inhibition forming a chelate between copper atoms in the active site of tyrosinase and thiosemicarbazone moieties of the substrate molecules, but via competitive inhibition based on H-bonding.

Flavone 유도체들의 Tyrosinase 저해활성화 반응에서 Hydroxyl 치환기들의 역할

Tyrosinase 저해활성화 반응에 대한 polyhydroxy 치환된 flavone 유도체(1-25) 중, hydroxyl-치환기(<TEX>$R_1-R_9$</TEX>)들의 역할을 이해하기 위하여 Free-Wilson 분석과 tyrosinase (PDB ID: Deoxyform (2ZMX) 및 Oxy-form; 1WX2)의 활성화 지점에 대한 분자도킹이 연구되었다. Free-Wilson 분석으로부터 <TEX>$R_1-R_9$</TEX> 치환기중에서 <TEX>$R_1$</TEX>=hydroxyl 치환기가 tyrosinase 저해활성에 가장 큰 영향을 미치고 있음을 알았다. 기질분자의 hydroxyl 치환기들과 tyrosinase의 반응점 내 아미노산 잔기들 사이의 수소결합들은 안정한 기질-수용체 착 화합물을 형성하는데 기여하였다. 특히, 수소결합성에 기초한 비경쟁적 저해활성화 반응은 기질분자의 hydroxyl 치환기들과 tyrosinase의 반응점 내 peroxide 산소원자(Per404) 사이의 수소결합을 경유하여 일어날 것임을 제안하였다. Molecular docking of polyhydroxy substituted flavone analogues (1-25) as substrate molecules to the active site of tyrosinase (PDB ID: Deoxy-form (2ZMX) & Oxy-form (1WX2)) and Free-Wilson analysis were studied to understand the roles of hydroxyl substituents (<TEX>$R_1-R_9$</TEX>) in substrate molecules for the tyrosinase inhibitory activation. It is founded from Free-Wilson analysis that the <TEX>$R_1$</TEX>=hydroxyl among <TEX>$R_1-R_9$</TEX> substituents had the strongest influence on the tyrosinase inhibitory activity. H-bonds between the hydroxyl substituents of substrate molecules and amino acid residues in the active site of tyrosinase were contributed to make a stable substrate-receptor complex compound. Particularly, it is proposed from the findings that the noncompetitive inhibitory activation would take place via H-bonding between peroxide oxygen (Per404) atom in the active site of tyrosinase and the hydroxyl substituents in substrate molecule.

Inhibitory activities of hydroxyphenolic acid–amino acid conjugates on tyrosinase

The inhibitory effects of hydroxyphenolic acid–aromatic amino acid conjugates on the activity of mushroom tyrosinase were investigated. Amongst the hydroxyphenolic acid–amino acid derivatives, protocatechuic acid–amino acid amide (PA-AA-NH 2) showed highly increased tyrosinase inhibitory activity. The results show that it could strongly inhibit both the monophenolase and diphenolase activities of tyrosinase. The IC 50 values, inhibition type, and K I values of these hydroxyphenolic acid derivatives (PA-F-NH 2, PA-W-NH 2, PA-Y-NH 2) were evaluated and compared. Kinetic analyses of PA-AA-NH 2 as a tyrosinase inhibitor revealed that it acted as a reversible mixed-І type inhibitor, possibly by chelating copper at the active site of tyrosinase. These results suggest that aromatic amino acid conjugation assisted PA in binding to the active site of mushroom tyrosinase where it interrupted access to the substrate.

Structural insights into the hot spot amino acid residues of mushroom tyrosinase for the bindings of thujaplicins

Tyrosinase inhibitors are important agents for cosmetic products. We examined here the inhibitory effects of three isomers of thujaplicins (α, β and γ) on mushroom tyrosinase and analyzed their binding modes using a homology model from the crystal structure of Streptomyces castaneoglobisporus tyrosinase (PDB ID: 1wx2). All the thujaplicins were found to be competitive inhibitors and γ-thujaplicin has the most potent inhibitory activity (IC 50 = 0.07 μM). It is noted that there are good correlations between their observed IC 50 values and their binding free energies calculated by MM-GB/SA. The binding modes of thujaplicins were predicted to be similar to that of Tyr98 of caddie protein (ORF378), which was co-crystallized with S. castaneoglobisporus tyrosinase. Furthermore, free energy decomposition analysis indicated that the potent inhibitory activity of γ-thujaplicin is due to the interactions with His242, Val243 and Pro257 (hot spot amino acid residues) at the active site of tyrosinase. These results provide a novel structural insight into the hot spot of mushroom tyrosinase for the specific binding of γ-thujaplicin.

Study of the docking of competitive inhibitors at a model of tyrosinase active site: Insights from joint broken-symmetry/spin-flip DFT computations and ELF topological analysis

Following our previous study (Piquemal et al., New J. Chem., 2003, 27, 909), we present here a DFT study of the inhibition of the Tyrosinase enzyme. Broken-symmetry DFT computations are supplemented with Spin-Flip TD-DFT calculations, which, for the first time, are applied to such a dicopper enzyme. The chosen biomimetic model encompasses a dioxygen molecule, two Cu(II) cations, and six imidazole rings. The docking energy of a natural substrate, namely phenolate, together with those of several inhibitor and non-inhibitor compounds, are reported and show the ability of the model to rank the most potent inhibitors in agreement with experimental data. With respect to broken-symmetry calculations, the Spin-Flip TD-DFT approach reinforces the possibility for theory to point out potent inhibitors: the need for the deprotonation of the substrates, natural or inhibitors, is now clearly established. Moreover, Electron Localization Function (ELF) topological analysis computations are used to deeply track the particular electronic distribution of the Cu-O-Cu three-center bonds involved in the enzymatic Cu(2)O(2) metallic core (Piquemal and Pilmé, J. Mol. Struct.: Theochem, 2006, 77, 764). It is shown that such bonds exhibit very resilient out-of-plane density expansions that play a key role in docking interactions: their 3D-orientation could be the topological electronic signature of oxygen activation within such systems.

Kinetic Evaluation of Aminoethylisothiourea on Mushroom Tyrosinase Activity

This study demonstrates that aminoethylisothiourea (AET), a potent inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase, is an irreversible competitive inhibitor of mushroom tyrosinase by chelation to the active site of tyrosinase when L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine was assayed spectrophotometrically. The spectrophotometric recordings of the inhibition of tyrosinase by AET were characterized by the presence of a lag period prior to the attainment of an inhibited steady-state rate. The lag period corresponded to the time in which AET was reacting with the enzymatically generated o-quinone. Increasing AET concentrations provoked longer lag periods as well as a concomitant decrease in the tyrosinase activity. Both lag period and steady-state rate were dependent on AET, substrate, and tyrosinase concentrations. The inhibition of diphenolase activity of tyrosinase by AET showed positive kinetic cooperativity which arose from the protection of both substrate and o-quinone against inhibition by AET. The UV-visible spectrum of a mixture of tyrosinase and AET exhibited a characteristic shoulder peak ascribed to the chelation of AET to the active site of tyrosinase. Moreover, the presence of copper ions only partially prevented but not reverted mushroom tyrosinase inhibition when CuSO(4) was added to the assay medium on tyrosinase activity.

Chiral Dicopper Complexes with a Doubly Asymmetric Ligand as Models for the Tyrosinase Active Site: Synthesis, Structure, O2‐Reactivity and Comparison with Their Symmetric Analogs

AbstractIn order to model the asymmetric active site of the type‐3 copper enzyme tyrosinase the “doubly asymmetric” binucleating ligand 1‐[bis‐N,N‐(pyrid‐2‐ylmethyl)aminomethyl]‐3‐[N‐(pyrid‐2‐ylmethyl)‐N‐(2‐pyrid‐2‐ylethyl)aminomethyl]benzene (“unsDMPA”) is synthesized and coordinated to copper(I). The O2‐reactivity of the CuI(unsDMPA) complex and its analog derived from the symmetric counterpiece of unsDMPA, DMPA, is investigated. Oxygenation in methanol leads to dicopper(II) bis(μ‐hydroxo) and bis(μ‐methanolato) complexes; the dicopper(II) bis(μ‐hydroxo) complex of the unsDMPA ligand is chiral. Oxygenation in dichloromethane leads to oxidative N‐dealkylation. This is attributed to a tendency of DMPA and unsDMPA complexes to form dicopper bis(μ‐oxo) intermediates, as evidenced by DFT. The implications of these results with respect to the design of tyrosinase model systems are discussed.

Dual effects of aliphatic carboxylic acids on cresolase and catecholase reactions of mushroom tyrosinase

Catecholase and cresolase activities of mushroom tyrosinase (MT) were studied in presence of some n-alkyl carboxylic acid derivatives. Catecholase activity of MT achieved its optimal activity in presence of 1.0, 1.25, 2.0, 2.2 and 3.2 mM of pyruvic acid, acrylic acid, propanoic acid, 2-oxo-butanoic acid, and 2-oxo-octanoic acid, respectively. Contrarily, the cresolase activity of MT was inhibited by all type of the above acids. Propanoic acid caused an uncompetitive mode of inhibition (Ki=0.14 mM), however, the pyruvic, acrylic, 2-oxo-butanoic and 2-oxo-octanoic acids showed a competitive manner of inhibition with the inhibition constants (Ki) of 0.36, 0.6, 3.6 and 4.5 mM, respectively. So, it seems that, there is a physical difference in the docking of mono- and o-diphenols to the tyrosinase active site. This difference could be an essential determinant for the course of the catalytic cycle. Monophenols are proposed to bind only the oxyform of the tyrosinase. It is likely that the binding of acids occurs through their carboxylate group with one copper ion of the binuclear site. Thus, they could completely block the cresolase reaction, by preventing monophenol binding to the enzyme. From an allosteric point of view, n-alkyl acids may be involved in activation of MT catecholase reactions.

Senile hair graying: H 2 O 2 ‐mediated oxidative stress affects human hair color by blunting methionine sulfoxide repair

Senile graying of human hair has been the subject of intense research since ancient times. Reactive oxygen species have been implicated in hair follicle melanocyte apoptosis and DNA damage. Here we show for the first time by FT-Raman spectroscopy in vivo that human gray/white scalp hair shafts accumulate hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) in millimolar concentrations. Moreover, we demonstrate almost absent catalase and methionine sulfoxide reductase A and B protein expression via immunofluorescence and Western blot in association with a functional loss of methionine sulfoxide (Met-S=O) repair in the entire gray hair follicle. Accordingly, Met-S=O formation of Met residues, including Met 374 in the active site of tyrosinase, the key enzyme in melanogenesis, limits enzyme functionality, as evidenced by FT-Raman spectroscopy, computer simulation, and enzyme kinetics, which leads to gradual loss of hair color. Notably, under in vitro conditions, Met oxidation can be prevented by L-methionine. In summary, our data feed the long-voiced, but insufficiently proven, concept of H(2)O(2)-induced oxidative damage in the entire human hair follicle, inclusive of the hair shaft, as a key element in senile hair graying, which does not exclusively affect follicle melanocytes. This new insight could open new strategies for intervention and reversal of the hair graying process.