The melanosome is a highly specialized organelle where
melanin is synthesized.
Tyrosinase and
tyrosinase-related protein-1 (Tyrp1) are major melanosomal
membrane proteins and key
enzymes for
melanin synthesis in melanocytes.
Inulavosin, a melanogenesis inhibitor isolated from Inula nervosa (Compositae), reduced the
melanin content without affecting either the enzymatic activities or the transcription of
tyrosinase or Tyrp1 in
B16 melanoma cells. To our knowledge, this inhibitor is previously unreported. Electron-microscopic analyses revealed that
inulavosin impaired late-stage development of melanosomes (stages III and IV), in which
melanin is heavily deposited. However, it did not alter the early stages of melanosomes (stages I and II), when filamentous structure is observed. Immunofluorescence analyses showed that
tyrosinase, but not Tyrp1, was specifically eliminated from melanosomes in cells treated with
inulavosin. Unexpectedly,
inulavosin specifically accelerated the degradation of
tyrosinase but not other melanosomal/
lysosomal membrane proteins (Tyrp1, Pmel17, and LGP85). The degradation of
tyrosinase induced by
inulavosin associated with lysosomes but not the
proteasome. Interestingly, lysosomal
protease inhibitors restored the melanogenesis but not the targeting of
tyrosinase to melanosomes in the cells treated with
inulavosin. Instead, colocalization of
tyrosinase with lysosome-associated membrane protein-1 at late endosomes/multivesicular bodies and lysosomes was accentuated. Taken together,
inulavosin inhibits melanogenesis as a result of mistargeting of
tyrosinase to lysosomes.