In Vitro and In Silico Studies of Maculosin as a Melanogenesis and Tyrosinase Inhibitor

The investigation of melanogenesis and tyrosinase inhibitors is essential for developing safe and effective natural compounds to treat pigmentation disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of maculosin, a cyclic dipeptide composed of tyrosine and proline, on melanin production and tyrosinase activity using the B16F10 melanoma cell model, while elucidating its mechanism of action through molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Experimental results demonstrated that maculosin inhibited intracellular melanin content and tyrosinase activity in a concentration-dependent manner in B16F10 melanoma cells. Molecular docking analyses revealed that maculosin exhibited high binding affinities with mushroom tyrosinase (mTYR), tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1), and <i>Bacillus megaterium</i> tyrosinase (<i>Bm</i>TYR) with binding energies of -7.7, -6.8, and -7.5 kcal/mol, respectively. Furthermore, MD simulations confirmed the structural stability and dynamic flexibility of maculosin-protein complexes, as indicated by RMSD, RMSF, Rg, SASA, hydrogen bond interactions, PCA, and DCCM analyses. Binding free energy calculations using the MM/PBSA method showed that maculosin exhibited binding energies of -28.76 kcal/mol with mTYR and -22.23 kcal/mol with TYRP1, outperforming standard co-crystal inhibitors such as tropolone (-12.47 kcal/mol) and kojic acid (-12.73 kcal/mol). Critical residues, including VAL-283 and HIS-263 in mTYR and HIS-381, GLY-389, and THR-391 in TYRP1, were identified as key contributors to maculosin binding, corroborating molecular docking findings and displaying strong correlations in DCCM analyses. Collectively, these results suggest that maculosin is a highly promising candidate for the treatment of pigmentation disorders, offering significant inhibitory effects on melanogenesis and tyrosinase activity.