Mechanistic Insights into Tyrosinase-Catalyzed Metabolism of Hydroquinone: Implications for the Etiology of Exogenous Ochronosis and Cytotoxicity to Melanocytes

TL;DR

This study explores how tyrosinase processes hydroquinone, revealing pathways that may cause skin conditions like exogenous ochronosis.

Contribution

The study identifies distinct metabolic pathways of hydroquinone by tyrosinase and introduces 4-aminophenol as a novel marker for oxidation.

Findings

Tyrosinase converts hydroquinone to 2-hydroxyhydroquinone via the HBQ pathway, forming HQ-eumelanin.

In the presence of cysteine, the BQ pathway leads to HQ-pheomelanin and 4-aminophenol as a degradation product.

Hydroquinone acts as both a pseudo and true substrate for tyrosinase, influencing melanin formation and potential skin toxicity.

Abstract

The metabolism of hydroquinone (HQ) by tyrosinase presents significant biochemical and dermatological challenges, particularly due to its association with adverse effects such as exogenous ochronosis (EO). Despite its widespread use in skin-lightening products, the detailed mechanistic pathways of HQ metabolism by tyrosinase remain inadequately understood. This study aims to elucidate the mechanistic insights into the tyrosinase-catalyzed metabolism of HQ, leading to the production of HQ-eumelanin (HQ-EM) and HQ-pheomelanin (HQ-PM). We employed HPLC analysis to detect key intermediates and final metabolites. Results show that mushroom tyrosinase catalyzes the hydroxylation of HQ to 2-hydroxyhydroquinone (HHQ) via the 2-hydroxybenzoquinone (HBQ) pathway, giving rise to HQ-EM. However, in the presence of cysteine, a shift from HBQ to the benzoquinone (BQ) pathway occurs, giving rise to HQ-PM. Hydroiodic acid hydrolysis of HQ-PM and subsequent HPLC-electrochemical analysis identified 4-aminophenol (AP) as degradation product, thereby serving as a novel marker to monitor HQ oxidation in vitro. These results indicate that HQ functions both as a “pseudo” substrate for tyrosinase—undergoing redox exchange with dopaquinone to form BQ—and as a true substrate, yielding HBQ. This dual role contributes to the formation of HQ-EM and HQ-PM. It would be possible that EO is caused by a continuous oxidation of HQ mediated by tyrosinase activity in the skin.

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