Bilirubin and haeme binding to human serum albumin studied by spectroscopy methods

Human serum albumin as vehicle for the solubilization of perylene diimides in aqueous solutions

The chemical, physical and photophysical properties of perylene diimides have attracted substantial attention for the potential applications in diverse fields ranging from advanced materials to biomedical applications. Some applications require the diimides to be in aqueous environment where they tend to dissolve poorly. We investigated the use of human serum albumin as a vehicle to increase the aqueous exposure of monomeric perylene diimides. Since studies on the interactions of these compounds with protein is scarce we characterized the binding and the possible effects on the protein. In order to increase the affinity of the dyes to the protein we have used perylene diimides with substituents that replicate the side chains of natural amino acids. The results show that only the dyes containing the side chain of leucine and phenylalanine yield measurable binding. Only the phenylalanine analogue promotes energy transfer with the lone tryptophan residue of albumin indicating different binding modalities for the dyes. In addition, this analogue is the only one which shows photochemical activity that prompts its release from the protein upon laser irradiation.

Extracellular hemoglobin: the case of a friend turned foe

Hemoglobin (Hb) is a highly conserved molecule present in all life forms and functionally tied to the complexity of aerobic organisms on earth in utilizing oxygen from the atmosphere and delivering to cells and tissues. This primary function sustains the energy requirements of cells and maintains cellular homeostasis. Decades of intensive research has presented a paradigm shift that shows how the molecule also functions to facilitate smooth oxygen delivery through the cardiovascular system for cellular bioenergetic homeostasis and signaling for cell function and defense. These roles are particularly highlighted in the binding of Hb to gaseous molecules carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO), while also serving indirectly or directly as sources of these signaling molecules. The functional activities impacted by Hb outside of bioenergetics homeostasis, include fertilization, signaling functions, modulation of inflammatory responses for defense and cell viability. These activities are efficiently executed while Hb is sequestered safely within the confines of the red blood cell (rbc). Outside of rbc confines, Hb disaggregates and becomes a danger molecule to cell survival. In these perpectives, Hb function is broadly dichotomous, either a friend in its natural environment providing and facilitating the means for cell function or foe when dislocated from its habitat under stress or pathological condition disrupting cell function. The review presents insights into how this dichotomy in function manifests.

Phycocyanobilin, a bioactive tetrapyrrolic compound of blue-green alga Spirulina, binds with high affinity and competes with bilirubin for binding on human serum albumin

High affinity, stereo-selective binding of phycocyanobilinM-conformer to HSA, and its competition with bilirubin, warfarin and hemin for the binding to protein.

Interaction of human serum albumin with novel 3,9-disubstituted perylenes

Human serum albumin (HSA) has been used as a model for the binding of a number of different ligands, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons, to proteins. In this case we have investigated the interaction of HSA with a novel set of perylene derivatives. Di-substituted perylene analogues have been synthesized as potentially useful organic photovoltaic materials. Their photophysical properties may make them viable for fuel cell applications too. However, these molecules are poorly soluble especially in aqueous solvents. Binding to water-soluble proteins may provide a way to solubilize them. At the same time one can study whether the photophysical processes initiated by the irradiation of a perylene ligand can cause conformational changes to the host protein. With the present study we demonstrated that of the three perylene derivatives investigated only one, the dimethoxy analogue, has a significant affinity for HSA at a binding site near the bottom of the central cleft (in proximity of the Trp214 residue). The small affinity prevents any significant photoinduced changes to occur in the protein.

Effect of processing methods on colouration of human serum albumin preparations

Human serum albumin is a well tolerated therapeutic for the treatment of hypovolemia. Despite all commercial human albumin preparations being derived from plasma, these products can have a highly variable colour. Albumin samples derived from ethanol precipitation and chromatographic fractionation procedures were evaluated for bilirubin and biliverdin levels and by spectrophotometry. It was shown that albumin derived from a chromatographic process, which had a bilirubin:albumin ratio similar to that observed in plasma, had a vibrant yellow appearance. The albumin derived from ethanol precipitation had undetectable levels of bilirubin, and the amber colour of this product was attributed mainly to residual haem. The presence of bilirubin during pasteurisation led to oxidation to biliverdin, with a resultant colour change from yellow to yellow/green. Given that the antioxidant properties of bilirubin are well established, it is possible that bilirubin helps protect albumin from oxidation during the pasteurisation step.

Crystallographic analysis of human serum albumin complexed with 4Z,15E-bilirubin-IXalpha

Bilirubin, an insoluble yellow-orange pigment derived from heme catabolism, accumulates to toxic levels in individuals with impaired or immature liver function. The resulting jaundice may be managed with phototherapy to isomerize the biosynthetic 4Z,15Z-bilirubin-IXalpha to more soluble and excretable isomers, such as 4Z,15E-bilirubin. Bilirubin and its configurational isomers are transported to the liver by human serum albumin (HSA) but their precise binding location(s) on the protein have yet to be determined. To investigate the molecular details of their interaction, we co-crystallised bilirubin with HSA. Strikingly, the crystal structure--determined to 2.42 A resolution--revealed the 4Z,15E-bilirubin-IXalpha isomer bound to an L-shaped pocket in sub-domain IB. We also determined the co-crystal structure of HSA complexed with fusidic acid, an antibiotic that competitively displaces bilirubin from the protein, and showed that it binds to the same pocket. These results provide the first crystal structure of a natural bilirubin pigment bound to serum albumin, challenge some of the present conceptions about HSA-bilirubin interactions, and provide a sound structural framework for finally resolving the long-standing question of where 4Z,15Z-bilirubin-IXalpha binds to the protein.

Clinical and research applications of photodynamic therapy in dermatology: Experience of the scottish PDT centre

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The Scottish PDT Centre has carried out 3,442 treatments on 762 patients with superficial skin lesions, especially superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC), Bowen's disease (BD) and actinic keratosis (AK). STUDY DESIGN MATERIALS AND METHODS: The article reviews our experience of various light sources and associated dosimetry; thereafter we discuss clinical outcome followed by some of our research studies in clinically important areas.

RESULTS

We show that improved dosimetry is required to ensure an optimal light dose is delivered to the tumour. We have shown that photosensitizers and proteins interact in such a way that their photophysical and photochemical properties are modified. We have also demonstrated the presence of DNA strand breaks with two different photosensitizers, but there is no evidence that PDT is significantly mutagenic in clinical practice.

CONCLUSIONS

In our experience, topical PDT is generally well tolerated and is an effective treatment of sBCC, BD, AK, field change and lesions at sites of poor healing.

Effects of photoproducts on the binding properties of protoporphyrin IX to proteins

Photosensitisers are the photoactive molecules used in photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer. Despite the importance of their interaction with polypeptides, only the binding to plasma proteins has been investigated in some detail. In our study we compared the binding of Protoporphyrin IX (a clinically useful photosensitiser) to an immunoglobulin G, with the binding to albumins. Binding to IgG is relevant because a possible method of increasing tumour specificity of photosensitisers is to bind them to tumour-specific antibodies. Binding constants to albumins and the immunoglobulin were comparable ( congruent with6 x 10(-6) M(-1)). The apparent number of PPIX molecules bound to each protein was also within a similar range (from 4 to 7). The absence of a shift in the emission spectrum of PPIX bound to IgG, however, indicates that either larger aggregates of PPIX bind to the immunoglobulin or that the binding site leaves PPIX exposed to the buffer. We observed that PPIX photoproducts compete with PPIX for the same binding sites. The number of PPIX molecules bound to each protein in the presence of photoproducts decreased by 50-80%. Due to the spectral overlap between PPIX and its photoproducts, the binding in the presence of photoproducts was investigated using Derivative Synchronous Fluorescence Spectroscopy (DSFS) to improve the spectral separation between chromophores in solution. We also concluded that fluorescence measurements underestimate the number of PPIX molecules binding each protein. In fact, non-linear Scatchard plots (in the case of albumin binding) by definition yield a minimum number of molecules attached to a protein. Moreover, the binding of large aggregates, formed by an unknown number of PPIX molecules, to IgG results in the underestimate of the number of molecules bound. The number of PPIX molecules bound to these proteins is also much larger than the number of sites estimated by protein fluorescence quenching.

Mechanism of hepatocellular uptake of albumin-bound bilirubin

We previously demonstrated that unconjugated bilirubin spontaneously diffuses through phospholipid bilayers at a rate which exceeds albumin dissociation, suggesting that solvation from albumin represents the rate-limiting step in hepatic bilirubin clearance. To further examine this hypothesis, we studied the uptake of bovine serum albumin (BSA)-bound bilirubin by cultured hepatoblastoma (HepG2) cells. Uptake of bilirubin was saturable, with a K(m) and V(max) of 4.2+/-0.5 microM (+/-S.E.M.) and 469+/-41 pmol min(-1) mg(-1) at 25 degrees C. Substantial bilirubin uptake also was observed at 4 degrees C (K(m)=7.0+/-0.8 microM, V(max)=282+/-26 pmol min(-1) mg(-1)), supporting a diffusional transport mechanism. Consistent with reported solvation rates, the cellular uptake of bilirubin bound to human serum albumin was more rapid than for BSA-bound bilirubin, indicative of dissociation-limited uptake. Counterintuitively, an inverse correlation between pH and the rate of bilirubin flip-flop was observed, due to pH effects on the rate of dissociation of bilirubin from albumin and from the membrane bilayer. The identification of an inflection point at pH 8.1 is indicative of a pK(a) value for bilirubin in this range. Taken together, our data suggest that hepatocellular uptake of bilirubin is dissociation-limited and occurs principally by a mechanism involving spontaneous transmembrane diffusion.

Albumin and hemalbumin degradation by Porphyromonas gingivalis

Degradation of bovine albumin and hemalbumin by Porphyromonas gingivalis W50 cells under non-reducing conditions at 37 degrees C was examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and densitometry. Albumin and hemalbumins with heme:protein molar ratios of 1:1, 4:1 and 8:1 were degraded, yielding protease-resistant 55.6-kDa peptides. Cells of strains WPH 35, 11834 and Bg 381 also produced a similar digestion pattern. N-terminal sequencing of the 55.6-kDa albumin digestion fragment revealed two peptides with the sequences 82glu-thr-tyr-gly-asp-met-ala and 95gln-pro-glu-arg-asn-glu-cys, indicating cleavage in the N-terminal hinge region. Tosyllysylchloromethylketone and N-ethylmaleimide were the most effective in inhibiting breakdown of albumin and hemalbumin with a 1:1 heme:protein ratio. Initial degradation rates of albumin and all hemalbumins were similar, but the total amount of hemalbumins degraded over 7.5 h decreased with increased ratio of bound hemin. The specific proteolysis of hemalbumin may enable P. gingivalis to release hemin from a region of the molecule where heme binding is least avid.

Kinetics of bilirubin transfer between serum albumin and membrane vesicles. Insight into the mechanism of organic anion delivery to the hepatocyte plasma membrane

Unconjugated bilirubin is transported in the plasma bound primarily to serum albumin, from which it is taken up and metabolized by the liver. To better characterize the mechanism of bilirubin delivery to the hepatocyte, stopped-flow techniques were utilized to study the kinetics of bilirubin transfer between serum albumin and both model phospholipid and native hepatocyte plasma membrane vesicles. The transfer process was best described by a single exponential function, with rate constants of 0.93 +/- 0.04, 0.61 +/- 0.03, and 0.10 +/- 0.01 s-1 (+/- S.D.) at 25 degrees C for human, rat, and bovine serum albumins, respectively. The observed variations in rate with respect to donor and acceptor concentrations provide strong evidence for the diffusional transfer of free bilirubin. Thermodynamic analysis suggests that the binding site on bovine serum albumin demonstrates higher specificity for the bilirubin molecule than that on human or rat serum albumin, which exhibit similar binding characteristics. Kinetic analysis of bilirubin transfer from rat serum albumin to isolated rat basolateral liver plasma membranes indicates that the delivery of albumin-bound bilirubin to the hepatocyte surface occurs via aqueous diffusion, rather than a collisional process, thereby mitigating against the presence of an "albumin receptor."

Binding of meso-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphine to haemopexin and albumin studied by spectroscopy methods

1. The interaction of haemopexin and albumin with TPPS4 was studied by measuring the absorption and fluorescence spectra. Haemopexin was found to have one strong TPPS4 binding center (Ka = 3 x 10(7) M-1). 2. Haem-haemopexin complex appears to have no specific binding site for TPPS4. Occupation of the specific binding center of haemopexin molecule by a haem abolishes TPPS4 binding. 3. Albumin was found to possess one strong TPPS4 binding center (Ka = 3 x 10(6) M-1) besides two or three weak binding sites (Ka = 2 x 10(5) M-1). 4. Haem-albumin complex possesses only one weak TPPS4 binding site (Ka = 7 x 10(5) M-1). These observations suggest identity of primary binding sites of TPPS4 and haem on albumin molecule.

Interactions of organic hydroperoxides with heme proteins

The decomposition of p-methylbenzyl hydroperoxide by cytochrome c and other selected heme systems in the absence of reducing agents was investigated. p-Methylbenzaldehyde was identified as the major product. A mechanism for this reaction has been suggested. H2O2 and tertiary cumyl hydroperoxide do not react under these conditions. The ability of organic hydroperoxides to act as oxygen donors in the cytochrome-mediated 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylation was studied. Cumyl and tert.butyl hydroperoxides are able to substitute oxygen in the absence of NADPH while p-methylbenzyl hydroperoxide is not.