Novel virtual screening approach for the discovery of human tyrosinase inhibitors

PLoS One. 2014 Nov 26;9(11):e112788. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112788. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Tyrosinase is the key enzyme involved in the human pigmentation process, as well as the undesired browning of fruits and vegetables. Compounds inhibiting tyrosinase catalytic activity are an important class of cosmetic and dermatological agents which show high potential as depigmentation agents used for skin lightening. The multi-step protocol employed for the identification of novel tyrosinase inhibitors incorporated the Shape Signatures computational algorithm for rapid screening of chemical libraries. This algorithm converts the size and shape of a molecule, as well its surface charge distribution and other bio-relevant properties, into compact histograms (signatures) that lend themselves to rapid comparison between molecules. Shape Signatures excels at scaffold hopping across different chemical families, which enables identification of new actives whose molecular structure is distinct from other known actives. Using this approach, we identified a novel class of depigmentation agents that demonstrated promise for skin lightening product development.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agaricales / chemistry
  • Agaricales / enzymology
  • Algorithms
  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Drug Discovery
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemistry*
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Fungal Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Fungal Proteins / chemistry
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays
  • Humans
  • Melanoma, Experimental / enzymology
  • Melanoma, Experimental / pathology
  • Mice
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Monophenol Monooxygenase / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Monophenol Monooxygenase / chemistry
  • Pigmentation / drug effects*
  • Pyrones / pharmacology
  • Skin / drug effects
  • Skin / enzymology
  • Skin / pathology
  • Skin Lightening Preparations / chemistry*
  • Skin Lightening Preparations / pharmacology
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemistry*
  • Small Molecule Libraries / pharmacology
  • Static Electricity
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • User-Computer Interface

Substances

  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Fungal Proteins
  • Pyrones
  • Skin Lightening Preparations
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • kojic acid
  • Monophenol Monooxygenase