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Tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1) exhibits unusual kinetic properties in the oxidation of monohydric phenol substrates consisting of a lag period that increases with increasing substrate concentration. The cause of this is an autocatalytic process dependent on the generation of a dihydric phenol substrate, which acts as an activator of the enzyme. Experiments with N-substituted dihydric phenol substrates (N-methyldopamine, N-acetyldopamine) demonstrate that oxygen consumption is retarded in the N-acetyl substituted material due to a diminished rate of cyclization. The oxygen uptake exhibited a similar pattern when N-acetyltyramine was oxidized, and this was reflected by a prolongation of the lag period. N,N-Dipropyldopamine was oxidized with normal kinetics but with an oxygen stoichiometry of 0.5 mol of oxygen/mol of substrate. We show that this is the result of the formation of a stable indoliumolate product with oxidation-reduction properties that prevent the formation of dopaminochrome, thus blocking further stages in the tyrosinase-catalyzed oxidation.Evidence that the indoliumolate product is formed by cyclization of the ortho-quinone is presented by pulse radiolysis studies, which demonstrate the formation of the ortho-quinone (by disproportionation of the corresponding semiquinones), which cyclizes to give the indoliumolate. The rate constant for cyclization was shown to be 48 s ؊1 (at pH 6.0). Tyrosinase-catalyzed oxidation of the monohydric phenol analogue, N,N-dimethyltyramine, was shown to require the addition of a dihydric phenol. Oxygen utilization then exhibited a stoichiometry of 1.0, indicating that the reactions proceed only as far as the cyclization. The analogous stable cyclic indoliumolate product was shown to be formed, with UV absorption and NMR spectra closely similar to the indoliumolate derived from N,N-dipropyldopamine. This material was methylated by catechol O-methyltransferase but was unreactive to redox reagents. The formation of the cyclic product accounts for the indefinite lag when N,N-dimethyltyramine is used as the substrate for tyrosinase in the absence of a dihydric phenol cofactor.Tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1) is an enzyme widely distributed in nature that catalyzes the oxidation of monohydric phenols (such as tyrosine). It exhibits unusual kinetic properties. Its natural substrate is considered to be tyrosine, yet it exhibits an induction period or a lag phase in the oxidation of this substrate (1). The lag phase is explained by an autocatalytic mechanism that depends on the elaboration of dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) 1 in the initial phase of the reaction pathway of melanogenesis. There are two main mechanistic theories of tyrosinase autocatalysis: (a) allosteric activation and (b) the recruitment hypothesis, which depends on the two-electron reduction of the active site of the enzyme by the oxidation of dihydroxy substrates. There has been some controversy in the literature regarding the method of generation of DOPA and, therefore, of the explanation of the kinetics. According to on...

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A pulse radiolytic investigation has been conducted to establish whether a redox reaction takes place between dopaquinone and 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI) and its 2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) and to measure the rate constants of the interactions. To obviate possible confounding reactions, such as nucleophilic addition, the method employed to generate dopaquinone used the dibromide radical anion acting on dopa to form the semiquinone which rapidly disproportionates to dopaquinone. In the presence of DHI the corresponding indole-5,6-quinone (and/or tautomers) was also formed directly but, by judicious selection of suitable relative concentrations of initial reactants, we were able to detect the formation of additional indolequinone from the redox exchange reaction of DHI with dopaquinone which exhibited a linear dependency on the concentration of DHI. Computer simulation of the experimental time profiles of the absorption changes showed that, under the conditions chosen, redox exchange does proceed but not quite to completion, a forward rate constant of 1.4 x 10(6)/M/s being obtained. This is in the same range as the rate constants previously established for reactions of dopaquinone with cyclodopa and cysteinyldopa. In similar experiments carried out with DHICA, the reaction more obviously does not go to completion and is much slower, k (forward) =1.6 x 10(5)/M/s. We conclude that, in the eumelanogenic pathway, DHI oxidation may take place by redox exchange with dopaquinone, although such a reaction is likely to be less efficient for DHICA.

. The Mechanism of Suicide-Inactivation of Tyrosinase: A Substrate Structure Investigation. Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2007, 212 (4), [341][342][343][344][345][346][347][348] Tyrosinase is a copper-containing mono-oxygenase, widely distributed in nature, able to catalyze the oxidation of both phenols and catechols to the corresponding ortho-quinones. Tyrosinase is characterised by a hitherto unexplained irreversible inactivation which occurs during the oxidation of catechols. Although the corresponding catechols are formed during tyrosinase oxidation of monophenols, inactivation in the presence of monophenolic substrates is minimal. Previous studies have established the kinetic features of the inactivation reaction which is first-order in respect of the enzyme concentration. The inactivation reaction exhibits the same pH-profile and saturation properties as the oxidation reaction, classing the process as a mechanism-based suicide inactivation. The recent elucidation of the crystallographic structure of tyrosinase has stimulated a new approach to this long-standing enigma. Here we report the results of an investigation of the tyrosinase-catalysed oxidation of a range of hydroxybenzenes which establish the structural requirements associated with inactivation. We present evidence for an inactivation mechanism based on catechol hydroxylation, with loss of one of the copper atoms at the active site. The inactivation mechanism involves two linked processes occurring in situ: (a) catechol presentation resulting in α -oxidation, and (b) deprotonation of an adjacent group. On the basis of our experimental data we believe that a similar mechanism may account for the inhibitory action of resorcinols.tyrosinase; suicideinactivation; catecholase; cresolase; α -oxidation; deprotonation © 2007 Tohoku University Medical Press When catechols are oxidised by tyrosinase there is a consistent anomaly in the oxygen stoichiometry. This phenomenon is amplified as the enzyme concentration is reduced. At low enzyme concentration the reaction ceases before either the substrate or the oxygen are depleted and further substrate supplementation or re-oxygenation have no effect. However, further enzyme addition re-initiates the reaction and the extent of further oxidation is a linear function of the amount of enzyme added. The effect is not due to a nonspecific influence of protein addition and re-initiation of oxidation is not observed when heat-inactivated tyrosinase is added to the reaction mixture. It is clear, therefore, that, during the oxidation of the substrate, a process occurs that

Tyrosinase oxidizes tyrosine to dopaquinone, which undergoes nonenzymatic reactions leading to precursors of melanin pigments. Cyclization of dopaquinone gives cyclodopa, which participates in redox exchange with dopaquinone to give the eumelanin precursor dopachrome plus dopa. The indirect formation of the catechol (dopa) from the phenol (tyrosine) leads to unusual enzyme kinetics. Using a combination of enzyme oximetry, pulse radiolysis, and chemical oxidation, the study of structurally modified dopaquinones provides firm evidence of nonenzymatic catechol formation during tyrosinase oxidation of phenols and reveals significant differences in their modes of reaction.