Catechol-mimicking transition-state analogues as non-oxidizable inhibitors of tyrosinases

Tyrosinases are copper-containing metalloenzymes involved in several processes in both mammals, insects, bacteria, fungi and plants. Their phenol oxidation properties are especially responsible for human melanogenesis, potentially leading to abnormal pigmentation, and for postharvest vegetable tissue browning. Thus, targeting tyrosinases attracts interest for applications both in dermocosmetic and agrofood fields. However, a large part of the literature about tyrosinase inhibitors is dedicated to the report of copper-interacting phenolic compounds, that are more likely alternative substrates leading to undesirable toxic quinones production. To circumvent this issue, the use of catechol-mimicking copper-chelating groups that are analogues of the tyrosinase oxidation transition state appears as a valuable strategy. Relying on several non-oxidizable pyridinone, pyrone or tropolone moieties, innovative inhibitors were developed, especially within the past decade, and the best reported analogues reached IC50 values in the nanomolar range. Herein, we review the design, the activity against several tyrosinases, and the proposed binding modes of reported catechol-mimicking, non-oxidizable molecules, in light of recent structural data.

Efficient tyrosinase nano-inhibitor based on carbon dots behaving as a gathering of hydrophobic cores and key chemical group

Small organic molecules have been extensively applied to achieve enzymatic inhibition. Although numerous efforts have been made to deliver efficient inhibitors, small inhibitors applications are hindered by many drawbacks. Moreover, reporters comprising nanoparticle inhibitory activity against enzymes are very scarce in the literature. In this scenario, carbon nanodots (CDs) emerge as promising candidates for efficient enzyme inhibition due to their unique properties. Here, CDs specific molecular characteristics (core composition and chemical surface groups) have been investigated to produce a more potent enzyme inhibition. Mushroom tyrosinase (mTyr) has been adopted as an enzymatic prototype. The CDs revealed a high affinity to mTyr (Ka ≈ 10⁶ M^-1), mainly through hydrophobic forces and followed by slight mTyr structural alteration. CDs competitively inhibit mTyr, with low inhibition constant (K_I = 517.7 ± 17.0 nM), which is up 70 fold smaller then the commercial inhibitor (kojic acid) and the starch nanoparticles previously reported. The results expose that the CDs act as a hydrophobic agglomerate with carboxyl groups on its surface, mimicking characteristics found on small molecule inhibitors (but with superior performance). All these results highlight the CD excellent potential as an efficient low toxic Tyr inhibitor, opening the prospect of using these nanoparticles in the cosmetic and food industries.

An overview of hydroxypyranone and hydroxypyridinone as privileged scaffolds for novel drug discovery

Hydroxypyranone and hydroxypyridinone are important oxygen-containing or nitrogen-containing heterocyclic nucleus and attracted increasing attention in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery over the past decade. Previous literature reports revealed that hydroxypyranone and hydroxypyridinone derivatives exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticonvulsant, and anti-diabetic activities. In this review, we systematically summarized the literature reported biological activities of hydroxypyranone and hydroxypyridinone derivatives. In particular, we focus on their biological activity, structure-activity relationship (SAR), mechanism of action, and interaction mechanisms with the target. The collected information is expected to provide rational guidance for the development of clinically useful agents from these pharmacophores.

Novel synthetic kojic acid-methimazole derivatives inhibit mushroom tyrosinase and melanogenesis

In this study, two kojic acid-methimazole (2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole, MMI, 1) derivatives, 5-hydroxy-2-{[(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)thio]methyl}-4H-pyran-4-one (compound 4) and 5-methoxy-2-{[(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)thio]methyl}-4H-pyran-4-one (compound 5), were synthesized to examine their inhibitory kinetics on mushroom tyrosinase. Compound 4 exhibited a potent inhibitory effect on monophenolase activity in a dose-dependent manner, with an IC₅₀ value of 0.03 mM. On diphenolase activity, compound 4 exhibited a less inhibitory effect (IC₅₀ = 1.29 mM) but was stronger than kojic acid (IC₅₀ = 1.80 mM). Kinetic analysis indicated that compound 4 was both as a noncompetitive monophenolase and diphenolase inhibitor. By contrast, compound 5 exhibited no inhibitory effects on mushroom tyrosinase activity. The IC₅₀ value of compound 4 for the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity was 4.09 mM, being much higher than the IC₅₀ of compound 4 for inhibiting the tyrosinase activity. The results indicated that the antioxidant activity of compound 4 may be partly related to the potent inhibitory effect on mushroom tyrosinase. Compound 4 also exerted a potent inhibitory effect on intracellular melanin formation in B16/F10 murine melanoma cells, and caused no cytotoxicity. Furthermore, compound 4 induced no adverse effects on the Hen's egg test-chorioallantoic membrane (HET-CAM).

Application of FTIR microspectroscopy for characterization of biomolecular changes in human melanoma cells treated by sesamol and kojic acid

BACKGROUND

Hyperpigmentation is aesthetic undesirable. Sesamol and the standard antimelanogenic agent (kojic acid) were shown to hinder melanogenesis by blocking tyrosinase and reducing melanin content.

OBJECTIVE

The FTIR microspectroscopy was used in an attempt to find a novel method to define biological alternation in a melanogenesis inhibition of sesamol and kojic acid.

METHODS

Tyrosinase inhibition and melanin content of sesamol and kojic acid were evaluated. The FTIR microspectroscopy was adopted to define the vibrational characteristic involved with the melanogenesis in the untreated SK-MEL2 cells vs. the sesamol- and kojic-treated SK-MEL2 cells.

RESULTS

Sesamol and kojic acid inhibited mushroom tyrosinase at IC₅₀ of 0.33 μg/ml and 6.1±0.4 μg/ml, respectively. Moreover, 30 μg/ml sesamol inhibited 23.55±8.25% cellular tyrosinase activity in human SK-MEL2 cells, while 600 μg/ml kojic acid inhibited 33.9±1.4% cellular tyrosinase activity in the same cells. In the SK-MEL2-treated with two inhibitors, the FTIR spectra assigned to the lipid and nucleic acid bands were significantly depleted with the secondary protein structure shifted to a more β-pleated secondary protein one.

CONCLUSION

Both sesamol and kojic acid display a similar pattern of antimelanogenesis activity albeit to a different degree. The mechanism of their whitening effect may be via the alteration of (a) the enzyme conformation disallowing the ordinary enzyme-substrate interaction and maybe (b) the integrity of the lipid-containing melanosome. Our results support the alternative use of FTIR microspectroscopy as a simple and reagent-free method for characterization of biomolecular changes in human melanoma cells.

Kojic acid derivatives as histamine H(3) receptor ligands

The histamine H(3) receptor (H(3)R) is a promising target in the development of new compounds for the treatment of mainly centrally occurring diseases. However, emerging novel therapeutic concepts have been introduced and some indications in the H(3)R field, e.g. migraine, pain or allergic rhinitis, might take advantage of peripherally acting ligands. In this work, kojic acid-derived structural elements were inserted into a well established H(3)R antagonist/inverse agonist scaffold to investigate the bioisosteric potential of γ-pyranones with respect to the different moieties of the H(3)R pharmacophore. The most affine compounds showed receptor binding in the low nanomolar concentration range. Evaluation and comparison of kojic acid-containing ligands and their corresponding phenyl analogues (3-7) revealed that the newly integrated scaffold greatly influences chemical properties (S Log P, topological polar surface area (tPSA)) and hence, potentially modifies the pharmacokinetic profile of the different derivatives. Benzyl-1-(4-(3-(piperidin-1-yl)propoxy)phenyl)methanamine ligands 3 and 4 belong to the centrally acting diamine-based class of H(3)R antagonist/inverse agonist, whereas kojic acid analogues 6 and 7 might act peripherally. The latter compounds state promising lead structures in the development of H(3)R ligands with a modified profile of action.

InCl3 mediated one-pot multicomponent synthesis, anti-microbial, antioxidant and anticancer evaluation of 3-pyranyl indole derivatives

A simple and convenient method for the one-pot three-component synthesis of 3-pyranyl indoles has been accomplished by tandem Knoevenagel-Michael reaction of 3-cyanoacetyl indole, various aromatic aldehydes and malononitrile catalyzed by InCl(3) in ethanol under reflux conditions. The newly synthesized 3-pyranyl indoles were evaluated for anti-microbial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Some of the compounds showed good anticancer activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines on comparison with of standard drug.