Protein-sulfenic acid stabilization and function in enzyme catalysis and gene regulation

Nitrosation and oxidation in the regulation of gene expression

A growing body of evidence suggests that the cellular response to oxidative and nitrosative stress is primarily regulated at the level of transcription. Posttranslational modification of transcription factors may provide a mechanism by which cells sense these redox changes. In bacteria, for example, OxyR senses redox-related changes via oxidation or nitrosylation of a free thiol in the DNA binding region. This mode of regulation may serve as a paradigm for redox-sensing by eukaryotic transcription factors as most-including NF-kappaB, AP-1, and p53-contain reactive thiols in their DNA binding regions, the modification of which alters binding in vitro. Several of these transcription factors have been found to be sensitive to both reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide-related species in vivo. It remains entirely unclear, however, if oxidation or nitrosylation of eukaryotic transcription factors is an important mode of regulation, or whether transcriptional activating pathways are principally controlled at other redox-sensitive levels.-Marshall, H. E., Merchant, K., Stamler, J. S. Nitrosation and oxidation in the regulation of gene expression.

Redox regulation of yeast flavin-containing monooxygenase

The flavin-dependent monooxygenase from yeast (yFMO) oxidizes biological thiols such as cysteine, cysteamine, and glutathione. The enzyme makes a major contribution to the pools of oxidized thiols that, together with reduced glutathione from glutathione reductase, create the optimum cellular redox environment. We show that the activity of yFMO, as a soluble enzyme or in association with the ER membrane of microsomal fractions, is correlated with the redox potential. The enzyme is active under conditions normally found in the cytoplasm, but is inhibited as GSSG accumulates to give a redox potential similar to that found in the lumen of the ER. Site-directed mutations show that Cys 353 and Cys 339 participate in the redox regulation. Cys 353 is the principal residue in the redox-sensitive switch. We hypothesize that it may initiate formation of a mixed disulfide that is partially inhibitory to yFMO. The mixed disulfide may exchange with Cys 339 to form an intramolecular disulfide bond that is fully inhibitory.

Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase from Clostridium oroticum is a class 1B enzyme and utilizes a concerted mechanism of catalysis

Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase from Clostridium oroticum was purified to apparent homogeneity and found to be a heterotetramer consisting of two alpha (32 kDa) and two beta (28 kDa) polypeptides. This subunit composition, coupled with known cofactor requirements and the ability to transfer electrons from L-dihydroorotate to NAD(+), defines the C. oroticum enzyme as a family 1B dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. The results of steady-state kinetic analyses and isotope exchange studies suggest that this enzyme utilizes a ping-pong steady-state kinetic mechanism. The pH-k(cat) profile is bell-shaped with a pK(a) of 6.4 +/- 0.1 for the ascending limb and 8. 9 +/- 0.1 for the descending limb; the pH-k(cat)/K(m) profile is similar but somewhat more complex. The pK(a) values of 6.4 and 8.9 are likely to represent the ionizations of cysteine and lysine residues in the active site which act as a general base and an electrostatic catalyst, respectively. At saturating levels of NAD(+), the isotope effects on (D)V and (D)(V/K(DHO)), obtained upon deuteration at both the C(5)-proR and C(5)-proS positions of L-dihydroorotate, increase from a value of unity at pH >9.0 to sizable values at low pH due to a high commitment to catalysis at high pH. At pH = 6.5, the magnitude of the double isotope effects (D)V and (D)(V/K(DHO)), obtained upon additional deuteration at C(6), is consistent with a mechanism in which C(5)-proS proton transfer and C(6)-hydride transfer occur in a single, partially rate-limiting step.

Regulation of protein function by S-glutathiolation in response to oxidative and nitrosative stress

Protein S-glutathiolation, the reversible covalent addition of glutathione to cysteine residues on target proteins, is emerging as a candidate mechanism by which both changes in the intracellular redox state and the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species may be transduced into a functional response. This review will provide an introduction to the concepts of oxidative and nitrosative stress and outline the molecular mechanisms of protein regulation by oxidative and nitrosative thiol-group modifications. Special attention will be paid to recently published work supporting a role for S-glutathiolation in stress signalling pathways and in the adaptive cellular response to oxidative and nitrosative stress. Finally, novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of S-glutathiolation as well as methodological problems related to the interpretation of the biological relevance of this post-translational protein modification will be discussed.

Mass spectrometry unravels disulfide bond formation as the mechanism that activates a molecular chaperone

The heat shock protein Hsp33 is a very potent molecular chaperone with a distinctive mode of functional regulation; its activity is redox-regulated. In its reduced form all six cysteinyl residues of Hsp33 are present as thiols, and Hsp33 displays no folding helper activity. Exposure of Hsp33 to oxidizing conditions like H(2)O(2), however, rapidly converts Hsp33 into an efficient molecular chaperone. Activated Hsp33 binds tightly to refolding intermediates of chemically denatured luciferase and suppresses efficiently their aggregation in vitro. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry peptide mapping in combination with in vitro and on target protein chemical modification showed that this activation process of Hsp33 is accompanied by the formation of two intramolecular disulfide bonds within Hsp33: Cys(232)-S-S-Cys(234) and Cys(265)-S-S-Cys(268). Cys(141), although not involved in disulfide bond formation, was found highly reactive toward chemical modifications. In contrast, Cys(239) is readily accessible under reducing conditions but becomes poorly accessible though still reduced when Hsp33 is in its active state. This indicates a significant conformational change during the activation process of Hsp33. Mass spectrometry, thus, unraveled a novel molecular mechanism by which alteration of the disulfide bond structure, as a result of changes in the cellular redox potential, results in the activation of a molecular chaperone.

Post-translational modification is essential for catalytic activity of nitrile hydratase

Nitrile hydratase from Rhodococcus sp. N-771 is an alphabeta heterodimer with a nonheme ferric iron in the catalytic center. In the catalytic center, alphaCys112 and alphaCys114 are modified to a cysteine sulfinic acid (Cys-SO2H) and a cysteine sulfenic acid (Cys-SOH), respectively. To understand the function and the biogenic mechanism of these modified residues, we reconstituted the nitrile hydratase from recombinant unmodified subunits. The alphabeta complex reconstituted under argon exhibited no activity. However, it gradually gained the enzymatic activity through aerobic incubation. ESI-LC/MS analysis showed that the anaerobically reconstituted alphabeta complex did not have the modification of alphaCys112-SO2H and aerobic incubation induced the modification. The activity of the reconstituted alphabeta complex correlated with the amount of alphaCys112-SO2H. Furthermore, ESI-LC/MS analyses of the tryptic digest of the reconstituted complex, removed of ferric iron at low pH and carboxamidomethylated without reduction, suggested that alphaCys114 is modified to Cys-SOH together with the sulfinic acid modification of alphaCys112. These results suggest that alphaCys112 and alphaCys114 are spontaneously oxidized to Cys-SO2H and Cys-SOH, respectively, and alphaCys112-SO2H is responsible for the catalytic activity solely or in combination with alphaCys114-SOH.

Redox sensing by prokaryotic transcription factors

Prokaryotic cells employ redox-sensing transcription factors to detect elevated levels of reactive oxygen species and regulate expression of antioxidant genes. In Escherichia coli, two such transcription factors, OxyR and SoxR, have been well characterized. The OxyR protein contains a thiol-disulfide redox switch to sense hydrogen peroxide. The SoxR protein uses a 2Fe-2S cluster to sense superoxide generated by redox-cycling agents, as well as to sense nitric oxide. Both proteins are turned on and off with very fast kinetics (approximate minutes), allowing rapid cellular responses to oxidative stress. The mechanisms by which these and other prokaryotic proteins sense redox signals have provided useful paradigms for understanding redox signal transduction in eukaryotic cells.

Protein-sulfenic acids: diverse roles for an unlikely player in enzyme catalysis and redox regulation

While it has been known for more than 20 years that unusually stable cysteine-sulfenic acid (Cys-SOH) derivatives can be introduced in selected proteins by mild oxidation, only recently have chemical and crystallographic evidence for functional Cys-SOH been presented with native proteins such as NADH peroxidase and NADH oxidase, nitrile hydratase, and the hORF6 and AhpC peroxiredoxins. In addition, Cys-SOH forms of protein tyrosine phosphatases and glutathione reductase have been suggested to play key roles in the reversible inhibition of these enzymes during tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent signal transduction events and nitrosative stress, respectively. Substantial chemical data have also been presented which implicate Cys-SOH in redox regulation of transcription factors such as Fos and Jun (activator protein-1) and bovine papillomavirus-1 E2 protein. Functionally, the Cys-SOHs in NADH peroxidase, NADH oxidase, and the peroxiredoxins serve as either catalytically essential redox centers or transient intermediates during peroxide reduction. In nitrile hydratase, the active-site Cys-SOH functions in both iron coordination and NO binding but does not play any catalytic redox role. In Fos and Jun and the E2 protein, on the other hand, a key Cys-SH serves as a sensor for intracellular redox status; reversible oxidation to Cys-SOH as proposed inhibits the corresponding DNA binding activity. These functional Cys-SOHs have roles in diverse cellular processes, including signal transduction, oxygen metabolism and the oxidative stress response, and transcriptional regulation, as well as in the industrial production of acrylamide, and their detailed analyses are beginning to provide the chemical foundation necessary for understanding protein-SOH stabilization and function.

Inhibition of cathepsin K by nitric oxide donors: evidence for the formation of mixed disulfides and a sulfenic acid

The cysteine protease cathepsin K is believed to play a key role in bone resorption as it has collagenolytic activity and is expressed predominantly and in high levels in bone resorbing osteoclast cells. The addition of nitric oxide (NO) and NO donors to osteoclasts in vitro results in a reduction of bone resorption, although the mechanism of this effect is not fully understood. The S-nitroso derivatives of glutathione (GSNO) and N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) and the non-thiol NO donors NOR-1 and NOR-3 all inhibited the activity of purified cathepsin K in a time- and concentration-dependent manner (IC(50) values after 15 min of preincubation at pH 7.5 of 28, 105, 0.4, and 10 microM, respectively). Cathepsin K activity in Chinese hamster ovary cells stably transfected with cathepsin K was also inhibited by the above NO donors with similar potencies. GSNO at 100 microM also completely inhibited the autocatalytic maturation at pH 4.0 of procathepsin K to cathepsin K. The inhibition of cathepsin K by GSNO was rapidly reversed by DTT, but inhibition by NOR-1 was not reversed by DTT, and analysis of the inhibited cathepsin K for S-nitrosylation using the Greiss reaction gave negative results in both cases. Analysis of the protein by electrospray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry showed that the inhibition of cathepsin K by GSNO resulted in a mass increase of 306 +/- 2 Da, consistent with the formation of a glutathione adduct. Prior inhibition of cathepsin K by the active site thiol-modifying inhibitor E-64 blocked the modification by GSNO, indicating that the glutathione adduct is likely formed at the active site cysteine. Treatment of cathepsin K with NOR-1 resulted in a mass increase of between 30 and 50 Da, corresponding to the oxidation of a cysteine to sulfinic and sulfonic acids. Cotreatment of cathepsin K with NOR-1 plus the sulfenic acid reagent dimedone resulted in a mass increase of approximately 141 Da, which is consistent with the formation of a dimedone adduct. This result demonstrates that the NOR-1-dependent formation of cathepsin K sulfinic and sulfonic acids occurs via a sulfenic acid. These results show that inhibition of cathepsin K activity and its autocatalytic maturation represent two potential mechanisms by which NO can exert its inhibitory effect on bone resorption. This work also shows that oxidative thiol modifications besides S-nitrosylation should be considered when the effects of NO and NO donors on critical thiol-containing proteins are investigated.

Reactivity of biologically important thiol compounds with superoxide and hydrogen peroxide

The reactivities of glutathione, cysteine, cysteamine, penicillamine, N-acetylcysteine, dithiothreitol and captopril with superoxide generated from xanthine oxidase and hypoxanthine, and with reagent hydrogen peroxide, have been investigated. Rates of thiol loss on adding hydrogen peroxide, and superoxide-dependent thiol loss and oxygen uptake were measured. The relative reactivities of the different thiols with both oxidants were inversely related to the pK of the thiol group, such that at pH 7.4, penicillamine was the most reactive. N-acetylcysteine weakly reactive and no reaction was seen with captopril. For hydrogen peroxide, the calculated rate constants for the reaction with the thiolate anion all fell within the range 18-26 M(-1) s(-1). With superoxide, our results are consistent with each thiol reacting via a short chain that consumes oxygen and regenerates superoxide. Only with some of the thiols, was the consumed oxygen recovered as hydrogen peroxide. Reported values for the rate constant for the reaction of thiols with superoxide vary over four orders of magnitude, with the highest being > 10(5) M(-1) s(-1). Due to the complexity of the chain reaction, no study so far has been able to obtain accurate values and we consider the best estimates to be in the 30 to 1000 M(-1) s(-1) range.

Homocysteine decreases endothelin-1 production by cultured human endothelial cells

Hyperhomocysteinemia is believed to be responsible for the development of vascular disease via several mechanisms, including the impairment of endothelial-cell functionality. In-vitro studies have demonstrated that homocysteine decreases the production or bioavailability of vasodilator autacoids, such as prostacyclin and NO. Here, we show that the treatment of human endothelial cells with noncytotoxic homocysteine concentrations leads to a dose-dependent decrease in both the secretion of the vasoconstrictor agent endothelin-1 (ET-1) and the level of its mRNA. Homocysteine had an inhibitory effect at pathophysiological (0.1 and 0.5 mmol.L(-1)) and pharmacological noncytotoxic (1.0 and 2.0 mmol.L(-1)) concentrations. Mean percentage variation from control for ET-1 production was -36. 2 +/- 18.9% for 0.5 mmol.L(-1) homocysteine and -41.5 +/- 26.8% for 1.0 mmol.L(-1) homocysteine, after incubation for 8 h. Mean percentage variation from control for steady-state mRNA was -17.3 +/- 7.1% for 0.5 mmol.L(-1) homocysteine and -46.0 +/- 10.1 for 1.0 mmol.L(-1) homocysteine, after an incubation time of 2 h. ET-1 production was also reduced by incubation with various other thiol compounds containing free thiol groups, but not by incubation with thiol compounds with no free thiol group. Co-incubation of cells with homocysteine and the sulfhydryl inhibitor N-ethylmaleimide prevented the effect of homocysteine on ET-1 production, confirming a sulfhydryl-dependent mechanism. Based on the reciprocal feedback mechanism controlling the synthesis of vasoactive mediators, these preliminary data suggest a mechanism by which homocysteine may selectively impair endothelium-dependent vasodilation by primary inhibition of ET-1 production.

An enzyme controlled by light: the molecular mechanism of photoreactivity in nitrile hydratase

Extensive studies have revealed the molecular mechanism of the photoreactivity of nitrile hydratase from Rhodococcus sp. N-771. In the inactive enzyme, nitric oxide is bound to the non-heme ferric iron at the catalytic center, stabilized by a claw-like structure formed by two post-translationally modified cysteines and a serine. The inactive nitrile hydratase is activated by the photoinduced release of the nitric oxide. This result might provide a means of designing novel photoreactive chemical compounds or proteins that would be applicable to biochips and light-controlled metabolic systems.

Coenzyme A-disulfide reductase from Staphylococcus aureus: evidence for asymmetric behavior on interaction with pyridine nucleotides

An unusual flavoprotein disulfide reductase, which catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of CoASSCoA, has recently been purified from the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus [delCardayré, S. B., Stock, K. P., Newton, G. L., Fahey, R. C., and Davies, J. E. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 5744-5751]. Coenzyme A-disulfide reductase (CoADR) lacks the redox-active protein disulfide characteristic of the disulfide reductases; instead, NADPH reduction yields 1 protein-SH and 1 CoASH. Furthermore, the CoADR sequence reveals the presence of a single putative active-site Cys (Cys43) within an SFXXC motif also seen in the Enterococcus faecalis NADH oxidase and NADH peroxidase, which use a single redox-active cysteine-sulfenic acid in catalysis. In this report, we provide a detailed examination of the equilibrium properties of both wild-type and C43S CoADRs, focusing on the role of Cys43 in the catalytic redox cycle, the behavior of both enzyme forms on reduction with dithionite and NADPH, and the interaction of NADP+ with the corresponding reduced enzyme species. The results of these analyses, combined with electrospray mass spectrometric data for the two oxidized enzyme forms, fully support the catalytic redox role proposed for Cys43 and confirm that this is the attachment site for bound CoASH. In addition, we provide evidence indicating dramatic thermodynamic inequivalence between the two active sites per dimer, similar to that documented for the related enzymes mercuric reductase and NADH oxidase; only 1 FAD is reduced with NADPH in wild-type CoADR. The EH2.NADPH/EH4.NADP+ complex which results is reoxidized quantitatively in titrations with CoASSCoA, supporting a possible role for the asymmetric reduced dimer in catalysis.

Selenium redox biochemistry of zinc-sulfur coordination sites in proteins and enzymes

Selenium has been increasingly recognized as an essential element in biology and medicine. Its biochemistry resembles that of sulfur, yet differs from it by virtue of both redox potentials and stabilities of its oxidation states. Selenium can substitute for the more ubiquitous sulfur of cysteine and as such plays an important role in more than a dozen selenoproteins. We have chosen to examine zinc-sulfur centers as possible targets of selenium redox biochemistry. Selenium compounds release zinc from zinc/thiolate-coordination environments, thereby affecting the cellular thiol redox state and the distribution of zinc and likely of other metal ions. Aromatic selenium compounds are excellent spectroscopic probes of the otherwise relatively unstable functional selenium groups. Zinc-coordinated thiolates, e.g., metallothionein (MT), and uncoordinated thiolates, e.g., glutathione, react with benzeneseleninic acid (oxidation state +2), benzeneselenenyl chloride (oxidation state 0) and selenocystamine (oxidation state -1). Benzeneseleninic acid and benzeneselenenyl chloride react very rapidly with MT and titrate substoichiometrically and with a 1:1 stoichiometry, respectively. Selenium compounds also catalyze the release of zinc from MT in peroxidation and thiol/disulfide-interchange reactions. The selenoenzyme glutathione peroxidase catalytically oxidizes MT and releases zinc in the presence of t-butyl hydroperoxide, suggesting that this type of redox chemistry may be employed in biology for the control of metal metabolism. Moreover, selenium compounds are likely targets for zinc/thiolate coordination centers in vivo, because the reactions are only partially suppressed by excess glutathione. This specificity and the potential to undergo catalytic reactions at low concentrations suggests that zinc release is a significant aspect of the therapeutic antioxidant actions of selenium compounds in antiinflammatory and anticarcinogenic agents.

Evidence that peroxiredoxins are novel members of the thioredoxin fold superfamily

Peroxiredoxins catalyze reduction of hydrogen peroxide or alkyl peroxide, to water or the corresponding alcohol. Detailed analysis of their sequences indicates that these enzymes possess a thioredoxin (Trx)-like fold and consequently are homologues of both thioredoxin and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Sequence- and structure-based multiple sequence alignments indicate that the peroxiredoxin active site cysteine and GPx active site selenocysteine are structurally equivalent. Homologous peroxiredoxin and GPx enzymes are predicted to catalyze equivalent reactions via similar reaction intermediates.

Novel non-heme iron center of nitrile hydratase with a claw setting of oxygen atoms

The iron-containing nitrile hydratase (NHase) is a photoreactive enzyme that is inactivated in the dark because of persistent association with NO and activated by photo-dissociation of NO. The crystal structure at 1.7 A resolution and mass spectrometry revealed the structure of the non-heme iron catalytic center in the nitrosylated state. Two Cys residues coordinated to the iron were post-translationally modified to Cys-sulfenic and -sulfinic acids. Together with another oxygen atom of the Ser ligand, these modifications induced a claw setting of oxygen atoms capturing an NO molecule. This unprecedented structure is likely to enable the photo-regulation of NHase and will provide an excellent model for designing photo-controllable chelate complexes and, ultimately, proteins.

Specific and reversible inactivation of protein tyrosine phosphatases by hydrogen peroxide: evidence for a sulfenic acid intermediate and implications for redox regulation

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) catalyze the hydrolysis of phosphotyrosine from specific signal-transducing proteins. Although regulatory mechanisms for protein kinases have been described, no general mechanism for controlling PTPs has been demonstrated. Numerous reports have shown that cellular redox status plays an important role in tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent signal transduction pathways. This study explores the proposal that PTPs may be regulated by reversible reduction/oxidation involving cellular oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Recent reports indicated that H2O2 is transiently generated during growth factor stimulation and that H2O2 production is concomitant with relevant tyrosine phosphorylation. By use of recombinant enzymes, the effects of H2O2 on three PTPs [PTP1, LAR (leukocyte antigen-related), and VHR (vaccinia H1-related)] and three distinct serine/threonine protein phosphatases (PPs: PP2Calpha, calcineurin, and lambda phosphatase) were determined. Hydrogen peroxide had no apparent effect on PP activity. In contrast, PTPs were rapidly inactivated (kinact = 10-20 M-1 s-1) with low micromolar concentrations of H2O2 but not with large alkyl hydroperoxides. PTP inactivation was fully reversible with glutathione and other thiols. Because of the slower rate of reduction, modification occurred even in the presence of physiological thiol concentrations. By utilization of a variety of biochemical techniques including chemical modification, pH kinetic studies, and mutagenesis, the catalytic cysteine thiolate of PTPs was determined to be the selective target of oxidation by H2O2. By use of the electrophilic reagent 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1, 3-diazole (NBD-Cl), it was shown that a cysteine sulfenic acid intermediate (Cys-SOH) is formed after attack of the catalytic thiolate on H2O2. A chemical mechanism for reversible inactivation involving a cysteine sulfenic acid intermediate is proposed.

Enzyme inactivation through sulfhydryl oxidation by physiologic NO-carriers

Nitric oxide (NO) is a pluripotent regulatory molecule, yet the molecular mechanisms by which it exerts its effects are largely unknown. Few physiologic target molecules of NO have been identified, and even for these, the modifications caused by NO remain uncharacterized. Human glutathione reductase (hGR), a central enzyme of cellular antioxidant defense, is inhibited by S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) and by diglutathionyl-dinitroso-iron (DNIC-[GSH]2), two in vivo transport forms of NO. Here, crystal structures of hGR inactivated by GSNO and DNIC-[GSH]2 at 1.7 A resolution provide the first picture of enzyme inactivation by NO-carriers: in GSNO-modified hGR, the active site residue Cys 63 is oxidized to an unusually stable cysteine sulfenic acid (R-SOH), whereas modification with DNIC-[GSH]2 oxidizes Cys 63 to a cysteine sulfinic acid (R-SO2H). Our results illustrate that various forms of NO can mediate distinct chemistry, and that sulfhydryl oxidation must be considered as a major mechanism of NO action.

Oxidative modifications in nitrosative stress

The molecular basis of redox sensitivity in proteins is not well understood. Here we consider a continuum of NO- and O2-related modifications of cysteine residues that constitute biological signaling events on the one hand and hallmarks of nitrosative and oxidative stresses on the other.

Thiolate ligands in metallothionein confer redox activity on zinc clusters

We postulate a novel and general mechanism in which the redox-active sulfur donor group of cyst(e)ine confers oxidoreductive characteristics on stable zinc sites in proteins. Thus, the present, an earlier, and accompanying manuscripts [Maret, W., Larsen, K. S. & Vallee, B. L. (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94, 2233-2237; Jiang, L.-J., Maret, W. & Vallee, B. L. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 3483-3488; and Jacob, C., Maret, W. & Vallee, B. L. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 3489-3494] demonstrate that the interactive network featuring multiple zinc/sulfur bonds as found in the clusters of metallothionein (MT) constitutes a coordination unit critical for the concurrent oxidation of cysteine ligands and the ensuing release of zinc. The low position of MT (<-366 mV) on a scale of redox reagents allows its effective oxidation by relatively mild cellular oxidants, in particular disulfides. When MT is exposed to an excess of dithiodipyridine, all of its 20 cysteines are oxidized within 1 hr with the concomitant release of all 7 zinc atoms; similarly, the thiol/disulfide oxidoreductase DsbA reacts stoichiometrically with MT to release zinc. Zinc and sulfur ligands in the clusters are in a spatial arrangement that seemingly favors disulfide bond formation. Jointly, this and the above-mentioned manuscripts conclude that the control of cellular zinc distribution as a function of the energy state of the cell is the long sought role of MT. This specific MT function renders dubious the widely held belief that MT primarily scavenges radicals or detoxifies metals and is consistent with the frequent use of cysteine as a zinc ligand in proteins as a means of both tight and weak zinc binding of thiols and disulfides, respectively. Thus, we relate changes in the reducing power of the cell to the stability of the zinc/sulfur network in MT and the relative mobility of zinc and its control.

Activation of the OxyR transcription factor by reversible disulfide bond formation

The OxyR transcription factor is sensitive to oxidation and activates the expression of antioxidant genes in response to hydrogen peroxide in Escherichia coli. Genetic and biochemical studies revealed that OxyR is activated through the formation of a disulfide bond and is deactivated by enzymatic reduction with glutaredoxin 1 (Grx1). The gene encoding Grx1 is regulated by OxyR, thus providing a mechanism for autoregulation. The redox potential of OxyR was determined to be -185 millivolts, ensuring that OxyR is reduced in the absence of stress. These results represent an example of redox signaling through disulfide bond formation and reduction.

Coenzyme A disulfide reductase, the primary low molecular weight disulfide reductase from Staphylococcus aureus. Purification and characterization of the native enzyme

The human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus does not utilize the glutathione thiol/disulfide redox system employed by eukaryotes and many bacteria. Instead, this organism produces CoA as its major low molecular weight thiol. We report the identification and purification of the disulfide reductase component of this thiol/disulfide redox system. Coenzyme A disulfide reductase (CoADR) catalyzes the specific reduction of CoA disulfide by NADPH. CoADR has a pH optimum of 7.5-8.0 and is a dimer of identical subunits of Mr 49,000 each. The visible absorbance spectrum is indicative of a flavoprotein with a lambdamax = 452 nm. The liberated flavin from thermally denatured enzyme was identified as flavin adenine dinucleotide. Steady-state kinetic analysis revealed that CoADR catalyzes the reduction of CoA disulfide by NADPH at pH 7.8 with a Km for NADPH of 2 muM and for CoA disulfide of 11 muM. In addition to CoA disulfide CoADR reduces 4,4'-diphosphopantethine but has no measurable ability to reduce oxidized glutathione, cystine, pantethine, or H2O2. CoADR demonstrates a sequential kinetic mechanism and employs a single active site cysteine residue that forms a stable mixed disulfide with CoA during catalysis. These data suggest that S. aureus employs a thiol/disulfide redox system based on CoA/CoA-disulfide and CoADR, an unorthodox new member of the pyridine nucleotide-disulfide reductase superfamily.

Staphylococcus aureus coenzyme A disulfide reductase, a new subfamily of pyridine nucleotide-disulfide oxidoreductase. Sequence, expression, and analysis of cdr

The cdr gene encoding coenzyme A disulfide reductase (CoADR) from Staphylococcus aureus 8325-4 was cloned, sequenced, and overexpressed. The gene encodes a 438-amino acid polypeptide that has a calculated molecular weight of 49,200 and sequence similarity to the pyridine nucleotide-disulfide oxidoreductase family of flavoenzymes. The deduced primary structure contains consensus sequences for flavin adenine dinucleotide and NADPH-binding regions but lacks the catalytic disulfide signature sequence typical of the glutathione reductase family of disulfide reductases. The active site region of CoADR has only a single cysteine residue that is similar to that in the conserved SFXXC active site motif of NADH oxidase and NADH peroxidase from Enterococcus faecalis. CoADR is the first disulfide reductase reported having this active site region, and sequence comparisons of CoADR to representative members of the pyridine nucleotide-disulfide reductase superfamily placed CoADR in a distinct subfamily. CoADR was overexpressed in Escherichia coli using the pET expression system, and 5-10 mg of fully active recombinant enzyme were recovered per liter of E. coli cells.

Thioltransferase (glutaredoxin) reactivates the DNA-binding activity of oxidation-inactivated nuclear factor I

The reversible oxidative inactivation of transcription factors has been proposed to be important in cellular responses to oxidant stress and in several signal transduction pathways. The nuclear factor I (NFI) family of transcription factors is sensitive to oxidative inactivation due to the presence of a conserved, oxidation-sensitive cysteine residue within the NFI DNA-binding domain. Here we show that restoration of the DNA-binding activity of oxidized NFI-C can be catalyzed in vitro by the cellular enzyme thioltransferase (glutaredoxin) coupled to GSH and GSSG reductase. To test whether GSH-dependent pathways play a role in the maintenance of NFI activity in vivo, we used buthionine sulfoximine, an agent that inhibits GSH synthesis, and N-acetylcysteine, an agent that can replenish intracellular GSH. Pretreatment of HeLa cells with buthionine sulfoximine greatly potentiated the inactivation of NFI by the oxidizing agent diamide. Inclusion of N-acetylcysteine in the culture medium during the recovery period following diamide treatment increased the extent of restoration of NFI activity. These results suggest that maintenance of the DNA-binding activity of NFI proteins during oxidant stress in vivo requires a GSH-dependent pathway, likely involving thioltransferase-catalyzed reduction of the oxidation-sensitive cysteine residue on NFI.

Novel application of 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole to identify cysteine sulfenic acid in the AhpC component of alkyl hydroperoxide reductase

The trapping of a sulfenic acid within the fully active C165S mutant of the AhpC peroxidase protein from Salmonella typhimurium was investigated. The electrophilic reagent employed in these studies, 7-chloro-4-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-Cl), has previously been used to modify thiol, amino, and tyrosine hydroxyl groups in proteins; at neutral pH only cysteinyl residues of AhpC proteins are modified. The peroxide-oxidized C165S mutant of AhpC incubated with NBD-Cl gave a product with an absorbance maximum at 347 nm, whereas the thiol-NBD conjugate formed from the reduced protein absorbed maximally at 420 nm. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of the modified proteins allowed identification of the species absorbing at 347 nm as a Cys-S(O)-NBD derivative containing one additional oxygen relative to the Cys-S-NBD product. The C165S conjugates with Cys-S(O)-NBD and Cys-S-NBD had no peroxidase activity when compared to unreacted C165S and wild-type AhpC, but were both reactivated through removal of NBD by DTT. Oxidized C165S was also modified by dimedone, a common sulfenic acid reagent, to give the expected inactivated conjugate of higher mass. This reagent was not removed by DTT and blocked any further reaction of the protein with NBD-Cl. NBD modification of Enterococcus faecalis NADH peroxidase, a well-characterized flavoprotein with an active-site sulfenic acid (Cys-SOH), also yielded the spectrally-distinguishable NBD conjugates following incubation of NBD-Cl with oxidized and reduced forms of the denatured peroxidase, indicating a general utility for this reagent with other sulfenic acid-containing proteins. A significant advantage of NBD-Cl over previously-used sulfenic acid reagents such as dimedone is in the retention of the sulfenic acid oxygen in the modified product; differentiation between protein-associated thiols and sulfenic acids is therefore now possible by means of both visible absorbance properties and mass analyses of the NBD-modified proteins.

Structure of the photoreactive iron center of the nitrile hydratase from Rhodococcus sp. N-771. Evidence of a novel post-translational modification in the cysteine ligand

Nitrile hydratase (NHase) from Rhodococcus sp. N-771 is a photoreactive enzyme that is inactivated by nitrosylation of the non-heme iron center and activated by photodissociation of nitric oxide (NO). To obtain structural information on the iron center, we isolated peptide complexes containing the iron center by proteolysis. When the tryptic digest of the alpha subunit isolated from the inactive form was analyzed by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography, the absorbance characteristic of the nitrosylated iron center was observed in the peptide fragment, Asn105-Val-Ile-Val-Cys-Ser-Leu-Cys-Ser-Cys-Thr-Ala-Trp-Pro-Ile-Leu - Gly-Leu-Pro-Pro-Thr-Trp-Tyr-Lys128. The peptide contained 0.79 mol of iron/mol of molecule as well as endogenous NO. Subsequently, by digesting the peptide with thermolysin, carboxypeptidase Y, and leucine aminopeptidase M, we found that the minimum peptide segment required for the nitrosylated iron center is the 11 amino acid residues from alphaIle107 to alphaTrp117. Furthermore, by using mass spectrometry, protein sequence, and amino acid composition analyses, we have shown that the 112th Cys residue of the alpha subunit is post-translationally oxidized to a cysteine-sulfinic acid (Cys-SO2H) in the NHase. These results indicate that the NHase from Rhodococcus sp. N-771 has a novel non-heme iron enzyme containing a cysteine-sulfinic acid in the iron center. Possible ligand residues of the iron center are discussed.

13C NMR analysis of the cysteine-sulfenic acid redox center of enterococcal NADH peroxidase

In order to characterize the native Cys42-sulfenic acid redox center of the flavoprotein NADH peroxidase by NMR, an expression protocol has been developed which yields the [3-13C]Cys42-labeled protein in 100 mg quantities. Difference spectra of the labeled minus unlabeled oxidized enzyme (E) give a peak at 41.3 ppm (relative to dioxane) which represents the Cys42-sulfenic acid. Reduction of labeled E with 1 equiv of NADH gives the air-stable two-electron reduced (EH2) species, and oxidized minus reduced difference spectra give maxima and minima at 41.3 and 30.8 ppm, respectively, corresponding to the Cys42-sulfenic acid and -thiolate species. Peroxide inactivation of E, which has previously been attributed to oxidation of the Cys42-sulfenic acid to the Cys42-sulfinic and/or sulfonic acid states, gives rise to a new maximum in the difference spectrum of Einactive minus E at 57.0 ppm. A similar expression protocol was used to obtain the [ring-2-13C]His-labeled peroxidase HHAA mutant (His10His23Ala87Ala258); the spectral change over the pH range 5.8-7. 8 is attributed to deprotonation of the surface-exposed His23. Furthermore, replacement of Arg303, which is hydrogen bonded to His10, has no effect on the 13C spectrum. These results provide direct evidence in support of the peroxidase Cys42-sulfenic acid/thiol redox cycle and add significantly to our structure-based understanding of protein-sulfenic acid stabilization and function.

Evidence for regulation of the NADH peroxidase gene (npr) from Enterococcus faecalis by OxyR

We report that the purified Escherichia coli OxyR protein can bind specifically upstream of the gene encoding NADH peroxidase (npr) from Enterococcus faecalis 10C1, to a site located some 144 bp from the promoter. A 34 kDa protein has been identified in crude extracts of E. faecalis that cross-reacts with polyclonal antisera to purified OxyR from E. coli and a protein(s) present in these extracts retards npr DNA fragments in gel shift assays. Taken together with the results of sequence analyses, these observations suggest that enterococcal npr is regulated by OxyR.

Mechanism for the inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase by nitric oxide

The inhibition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH) by gaseous nitric oxide (NO) in solution and by NO generated from diethylamine nonoate was time and concentration dependent. The presence of oxygen significantly reduced the extent of inhibition by NO, indicating that NO itself rather than an oxidation product of NO such as N2O3 is the inhibitory species under physiological conditions. A cysteine residue at the active site of the enzyme was implicated in this inhibition based on the following observations: a) NAD+ and NADP+, but not reduced cofactors, significantly enhanced inhibition of AlDH by NO; b) the aldehyde substrate, benzaldehyde, blocked inhibition; and c) inhibition was accompanied by loss of free sulfhydryl groups on the enzyme. Activity of the NO-inactivated enzyme was readily restored by treatment with dithiothreitol (DTT), but not with GSH. This difference was attributed, in part, to a redox process leading to the formation of a cyclic DTT disulfide. Based on the chemistry deduced from model systems, the reaction of NO with AlDH sulfhydryls was shown to produce intramolecular disulfides and N2O. These disulfides were shown to be intrasubunit disulfides by nonreducing SDS-PAGE analysis of the NO- inhibited enzyme. Following complete inhibition of AlDH by NO, four of the eight titratable (Ellman's reagent) sulfhydryl groups of AlDH were found to be oxidized to disulfides. These results suggest that a) the sulfhydryl group of active site Cys-302 and a proximal cysteine are oxidized to form an intrasubunit disulfide by NO; b) only two of the four subunits of AlDH are catalytically active; and c) NO preferentially oxidizes sulfhydryl groups of the catalytically active subunits. A detailed mechanism for the inhibition of AlDH by NO is presented.

Oxidative inactivation of thioredoxin as a cellular growth factor and protection by a Cys73-->Ser mutation

Thioredoxin (Trx) is a widely distributed redox protein that regulates several intracellular redox-dependent processes and stimulates the proliferation of both normal and tumor cells. We have found that when stored in the absence of reducing agents, human recombinant Trx undergoes spontaneous oxidation, losing its ability to stimulate cell growth, but is still a substrate for NADPH-dependent reduction by human thioredoxin reductase. There is a slower spontaneous conversion of Trx to a homodimer that is not a substrate for reduction by thioredoxin reductase and that does not stimulate cell proliferation. Both conversions can be induced by chemical oxidants and are reversible by treatment with the thiol reducing agent dithiothreitol. SDS-PAGE suggests that Trx undergoes oxidation to monomeric form(s) preceding dimer formation. We have recently shown by X-ray crystallography that Trx forms a dimer that is stabilized by an intermolecular Cys73-Cys73 disulfide bond. A Cys73-->Ser mutant Trx (C73S) was prepared to determine the role of Cys73 in oxidative stability and growth stimulation. C73S was as effective as Trx in stimulating cell growth and was a comparable substrate for thioredoxin reductase. C73S did not show spontaneous or oxidant-induced loss of activity and did not form a dimer. The results suggest that Trx can exist in monomeric forms, some of which are mediated by Cys73 that do not stimulate cell proliferation but can be reduced by thioredoxin reductase. Cys73 is also involved in formation of an enzymatically inactive homodimer, which occurs on long term storage or by chemical oxidation. Thus, although clearly involved in protein inactivation, Cys73 is not necessary for the growth stimulating activity of Trx.

Identification and localization of a stable sulfenic acid in peroxide-treated tetrachlorohydroquinone dehalogenase using electrospray mass spectrometry

BACKGROUND

Tetrachlorohydroquinone dehalogenase catalyzes the reductive dehalogenation of tetrachlorohydroquinone to trichlorohydroquinone and then to 2,6-dichlorohydroquinone. This enzyme undergoes oxidative damage during purification which causes it to form aberrant products. The damage is reversible by treatment with dithiothreitol. Possible types of oxidative damage include an inappropriate disulfide bond, a cysteine sulfenic acid, or a methionine sulfoxide.

RESULTS

Using electrospray liquid chromatography / mass spectrometry, we have demonstrated that oxidation of tetrachlorohydroquinone dehalogenase with H2O2 results in formation of a sulfenic acid at Cys13. Further oxidation to a sulfinic acid was also observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Oxidation of Cys 13 to a sulfenic acid prevents the normal reductive dehalogenation reaction from being completed. This finding is consistent with previous work which suggested that Cys 13 acts as a nucleophile during the conversion of tetrachlorohydroquinone to trichlorohydroquinone. The technique described for identification and localization of the cysteine sulfenic acid should be applicable to a wide variety of biological systems.

Structure of the native cysteine-sulfenic acid redox center of enterococcal NADH peroxidase refined at 2.8 A resolution

In order to obtain the crystal structure of the flavoprotein NADH peroxidase with its native Cys42-sulfenic acid redox center, a strategy combining reduced exposure of crystals to ambient oxygen and data collection at -160 degrees C was applied. The structure of the native enzyme to 2.8 A resolution is described; these results conclusively establish the existence of the Cys42-sulfenic acid as the functional non-flavin redox center of the peroxidase and provide the first structure for any naturally occurring protein-sulfenic acid. The Cys42-sulfenic acid atoms C alpha-C beta-S gamma-O roughly define a planar arrangement which is stacked parallel to the si face of the FAD isoalloxazine and positions the sulfenyl oxygen atom only 3.3 A from FAD-C4A. His10-N epsilon 2 contributes a hydrogen bond to the sulfenic acid oxygen, at a distance of 3.2 A. Although one oxygen atom (OX1) of the non-native Cys42-sulfonic acid derivative identified in the earlier wild-type peroxidase structure was taken to represent the native Cys42-sulfenic acid oxygen [Stehle, T., Ahmed, S. A., Claiborne, A., & Schulz, G. E. (1991) J. Mol. Biol. 221, 1325-1344], this structure shows that the sulfenic acid oxygen does not occupy this position, nor is it hydrogen-bonded to Cys42-N as was OX1. Comparison of the native Cys42-sulfenic acid structure with that of two-electron reduced glutathione reductase provides an insight into the sulfenic acid FAD charge-transfer interaction observed with both wild-type and His10 mutant peroxidases. A model of the E.NADH intermediate recently observed in stopped-flow analyses of the enzyme [Crane, E. J., III, Parsonage, D., Poole, L. B., & Claiborne, A. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 14114-14124] has also been generated to assist in analyzing the chemical mechanism of sulfenic acid reduction.

Studies on identifying the catalytic role of Glu-204 in the active site of yeast invertase

In a previous study on yeast invertase (Reddy, A., and Maley, F. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 10817-10820), we identified Asp-23 through the procedures of affinity labeling and site-directed mutagenesis as a catalytic nucleophile. In the present study we undertook to determine other residues involved in the catalytic process. Earlier studies suggested histidine as a potential proton donor in the hydrolysis of sucrose, but by mutagenizing each of the enzyme's four histidines this amino acid was eliminated from consideration. Another candidate appeared to be cysteine, since iodine at about a 2-fold molar excess inactivated invertase by modifying both of the enzyme's cysteine residues. Dithiothreitol treatment restored the sulfhydryl groups and enzyme activity. Replacement of each of the cysteines with alanines revealed that C108A invertase retained full activity whereas C205A was reduced about 4-fold in its kcat. A comparison of the amino acid sequences of fructosylhydrolases revealed a conserved region coincident with Glu-204/Cys-205. Mutagenizing Glu-204 to Ala resulted in a 3, 000-fold reduction in the kcat of invertase indicating that Glu-204 plays a major role in catalysis. Based on these findings, a mechanism is proposed for the hydrolysis of sucrose which involves Asp-23 as a nucleophile and Glu-204 as an acid/base catalyst.

Glutathione depletion impairs transcriptional activation of heat shock genes in primary cultures of guinea pig gastric mucosal cells

When primary cultures of guinea pig gastric mucosal cells were exposed to heat (43 degree C), ethanol, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), or diamide, heat shock proteins (HSP90, HSP70, HSP60, and HSC73) were rapidly synthesized. The extent of each HSP induction varied with the type of stress. Ethanol, H2O2, and diamide increased the syntheses of several other undefined proteins besides the HSPs. However, none of these proteins were induced by exposure to heat or the reagents, when intracellular glutathione was depleted to <10% of the control level by pretreatment with DL-buthionine-[S,R]-sulfoximine. Gel mobility shift assay using a synthetic oligonucleotide coding HSP70 heat shock element showed that glutathione depletion inhibited the heat- and the reagent-initiated activation of the heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) and did not promote the expression of HSP70 mRNA. Immunoblot analysis with antiserum against HSF1 demonstrated that the steady-state level of HSF1 was not changed in glutathione-depleted cells, but glutathione depletion inhibited the nuclear translocation of HSF1 after exposure to heat stress. These results suggest that intracellular glutathione may support early and important biochemical events in the acquisition by gastric mucosal cells of an adaptive response to irritants.

The active-site histidine-10 of enterococcal NADH peroxidase is not essential for catalytic activity

In order to test the proposal [Stehle, T., Claiborne, A., & Schulz, G. E. (1993) Eur. J. Biochem. 211, 221-226] that the active-site His10 of NADH peroxidase functions as an essential acid-base catalyst, we have analyzed mutants in which this residue has been replaced by Gln or Ala. The k(cat) values for both H10Q and H10A peroxidases, and the pH profile for k(cat) with H10Q, are very similar to those observed with wild-type peroxidase. Both mutants, however, exhibit K(m)(H2O2) values much higher (50-70-fold) than that for wild-type enzyme, and stopped-flow analysis of the H2O2 reactivity of two-electron reduced H10Q demonstrates that this difference is due to a 150-fold decrease in the second-order rate constant for this reaction with the mutant. Stopped-flow analyses also confirm that reduction of the enzyme by NADH is essentially unaffected by His10 replacement and remains largely rate-limiting in turnover; the formation of an E.NADH intermediate in the conversion of E-->EH2 is confirmed by diode-array spectral analyses with H10A. Both H10Q and H10A mutants, in their oxidized E(FAD, Cys42-sulfenic acid) forms, exhibit enhanced long-wavelength absorbance bands (lambda(max) = 650 nm and 550 nm, respectively), which most likely reflect perturbations in a charge-transfer interaction between the Cys42-sulfenic acid and FAD. Combined with the 50-fold increase in the second-order rate constant for H2O2 inactivation (via Cys42-sulfenic acid oxidation) of the H10Q mutant, these observations support the proposal that His10 functions in part to stabilize the unusual Cys42-sulfenic acid redox center within the active-site environment.

Free radical toxicology and antioxidant defence

1. A large number of compounds that have toxic effects can be metabolized to free radicals and secondary reactive oxygen species. These may be directly damaging or may affect cell function by altering regulatory mechanisms through changing redox status. 2. Protection is provided by an integrated system of antioxidant defences. This includes reduced glutathione, one of the functions of which is to scavenge free radicals. It acts by channelling radicals to superoxide so that the one enzyme, superoxide dismutase, has a major control over radical reactions in the cell.

An L40C mutation converts the cysteine-sulfenic acid redox center in enterococcal NADH peroxidase to a disulfide

Multiple sequence alignments including the enterococcal NADH peroxidase and NADH oxidase indicate that residues Ser38 and Cys42 align with the two cysteines of the redox-active disulfides found in glutathione reductase (GR), lipoamide dehydrogenase, mercuric reductase, and trypanothione reductase. In order to evaluate those structural determinants involved in the selection of the cysteine-sulfenic acid (Cys-SOH) redox centers found in the two peroxide reductases and the redox-active disulfides present in the GR class of disulfide reductases, NADH peroxidase residues Ser38, Phe39, Leu40, and Ser41 have been individually replaced with Cys. Both the F39C and L40C mutant peroxidases yield active-site disulfides involving the new Cys and the native Cys42; formation of the Cys39-Cys42 disulfide, however, precludes binding of the FAD coenzyme. In contrast, the L40C mutant contains tightly-bound FAD and has been analyzed by both kinetic and spectroscopic approaches. In addition, the L40C and S41C mutant structures have been determined at 2.1 and 2.0 A resolution, respectively, by X-ray crystallography. Formation of the Cys40-Cys42 disulfide bond requires a movement of Cys42-SG to a new position 5.9 A from the flavin-C(4a) position; this is consistent with the inability of the new disulfide to function as a redox center in concert with the flavin. Stereochemical constraints prohibit formation of the Cys41-Cys42 disulfide in the latter mutant.

Analysis of the kinetic and redox properties of NADH peroxidase C42S and C42A mutants lacking the cysteine-sulfenic acid redox center

The flavoprotein NADH peroxidase from Enterococcus faecalis 10C1 has been shown to contain, in addition to FAD, an unusual cysteine-sulfenic acid (Cys-SOH) redox center. The non-flavin center cycles between reduced (Cys-SH) and oxidized (Cys-SOH) states, and the 2.16 A crystal structure of the non-native cysteine-sulfonic acid (Cys-SO3H) form of the wild-type peroxidase supports the proposed catalytic role of Cys42. In this study, we have employed a site-directed mutagenesis approach in which Cys42 is replaced with Ser and Ala, neither side chain of which is capable of redox activity. Reductive titrations of both C42S and C42A mutants lead directly to full FAD reduction with 1 equiv of either dithionite or NADH, consistent with elimination of the Cys-SOH center. Direct determinations of the redox potentials for the FAD/FADH2 couples yield values of -219 and -197 mV, respectively, for C42S and C42A peroxidases, indicating that the presence of Cys42-SH in the two-electron-reduced wild-type enzyme lowers the flavin potential by approximately 100 mV. Anaerobic stopped-flow analyses of the reduction of C42S and C42A peroxidases by NADH demonstrate that in both cases flavin reduction is rapid; these results are confirmed by enzyme-monitored, steady-state kinetic analyses which, in addition, give turnover numbers approximately 0.04% that of wild-type enzyme. These results are entirely consistent with the role proposed for Cys42 in the catalytic redox cycle of wild-type NADH peroxidase and indirectly support its function as a peroxidatic center in the homologous NADH oxidase.

Protein thiol modification and apoptotic cell death as cGMP-independent nitric oxide (NO) signaling pathways

Nitric oxide signaling is achieved through both cGMP-dependent and cGMP-independent mechanisms. The latter are exemplified by protein thiol modification followed by subsequent NAD(+)-dependent automodification of the glycolytic enzyme GAPDH, or by mechanisms inducing accumulation of the tumor suppressor gene p53 and causing apoptotic cell death. Both cGMP-independent actions are initiated using NO-releasing compounds and an active LPS/cytokine-inducible NO synthase. NO-synthase inhibitors block the release of NO and hinder downstream signaling mechanisms; they are therefore valuable pharmacological tools linking a defined cellular response to various NO actions. Signal transducing mechanisms elicited by NO can be studied using GAPDH as a representative example of NO-induced protein modification and are grouped as follows: --S-Nitrosylation reactions initiated by NO+ --NAD(+)-dependent, post-translational covalent automodification of GAPDH --Oxidative modification (thiol oxidation) and inhibition of GAPDH by NO-related agents, probably ONOO- GAPDH and several other protein targets may serve as molecular sensors of elevated NO concentrations and may transmit this message through posttranslational modification and oxidation-induced conformational changes as cGMP-independent NO signaling pathways. Toxicity of NO seems to be linked to both apoptosis and necrosis, depending on the chemistry of NO it undergoes in a given biological milieu. Toxicity manifests as a relative excess of NOx, metal-NO interactions, and ONOO- formation in relation to cellular defense systems. Although accumulation of the tumor-suppressor gene product p53 in response to NO opens a regulatory mechanism known to be involved in apoptotic cell death, cGMP-independent signaling pathways remain to be elucidated. As NO-dependent modification of GAPDH would imply down-regulation of glycolysis and concomitant energy production followed by cell death, our data so far do not support this assumption. In recent years, NO has proved to be a beneficial messenger with a potentially toxic activity. It will be challenging to investigate NO biochemistry in closer detail and to elucidate how NO targets biological systems, especially in relation to its pathophysiological role.