Isolation of a Melanoblast Stimulator from Dimocarpus longan, Its Structural Modification, and Structure-Activity Relationships for Vitiligo

Jae-Won Song; Sunju Choi; Gayeong Kim; Hyang Bok Lee; P Sankara Rao; Jeonghyun Shin; Eun Ki Kim; Dong-Gyu Cho

doi:10.3390/molecules27072135

Isolation of a Melanoblast Stimulator from Dimocarpus longan, Its Structural Modification, and Structure-Activity Relationships for Vitiligo

Molecules. 2022 Mar 25;27(7):2135. doi: 10.3390/molecules27072135.

Authors

Jae-Won Song¹, Sunju Choi², Gayeong Kim², Hyang Bok Lee², P Sankara Rao¹, Jeonghyun Shin³, Eun Ki Kim², Dong-Gyu Cho¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea.
² Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea.
³ Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea.

Abstract

A novel melanoblast stimulator (1) was isolated from Dimocarpus longan. Its analogs were also synthesized to support a new furan-based melanoblast stimulator scaffold for treating vitiligo. Isolated 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF, 1) is a well-known compound in the food industry. Surprisingly, the melanogenic activity of HMF (1) was discovered here for the first time. Both HMF and its synthetic analog (16) promote the differentiation and migration of melanoblasts in vitro. Typically, stimulator (1) upregulated MMP2 expression, which promoted the migration of melanoblasts in vitro.

Keywords: melanoblast; melanogenesis; stimulator; vitiligo structure–activity relationships.

MeSH terms

Cell Movement
Humans
Melanocytes / metabolism
Sapindaceae
Structure-Activity Relationship
Vitiligo* / drug therapy
Vitiligo* / metabolism

Supplementary concepts

Dimocarpus

Grants and funding

N/A/Inha University Research Grant