In vitro inhibition of human erythrocyte glutathione reductase by some new organic nitrates

Purification and characterisation of glutathione reductase from scorpionfish (scorpaena porcus) and investigation of heavy metal ions inhibition

In the current study, glutathione reductase was purified from Scorpion fish (Scorpaena porcus) liver tissue and the effects of heavy metal ions on the enzyme activity were determined. The purification process consisted of three stages; preparation of the homogenate, ammonium sulphate precipitation and affinity chromatography purification. At the end of these steps, the enzyme was purified 25.9-fold with a specific activity of 10.479 EU/mg and a yield of 28.3%. The optimum pH was found to be 6.5, optimum substrate concentration was 2 mM NADPH and optimum buffer was 300 mM KH₂PO_4. After purification, inhibition effects of Mn⁺², Cd⁺², Ni⁺², and Cr³⁺, as heavy metal ions were investigated. IC₅₀ values of the heavy metals were calculated as 2.4 µM, 30 µM, 135 µM and 206 µM, respectively.

The Effects of Sodium Tetraborate against Lead Toxicity in Rats: The Behavior of Some Metabolic Enzymes

This study was planned to research the in vivo effects of lead (Pb) ions and sodium tetraborate (Na₂B₄O₇) on G6PD and 6PGD, which are some of the enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway, which carries vital importance for metabolism, and GR and GST, which are glutathione metabolism enzymes, and the in vitro effects of the same agents on the 6PGD enzyme. According to the in vivo analysis results, in comparison to the control group, the rat liver G6PD (p < 0.05), and 6PGD (p < 0.01) enzyme activities in the Na₂B₄O₇ group were significantly lower. In addition, GR and GST enzyme activities were insignificantly lower in the Na₂B₄O₇ group compared to the control group (p > 0.05). The Pb group had lower G6PD and 6PGD enzyme activity levels and higher GR and GST enzyme activity levels compared to the control group, while these changes did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). In the in vitro analyses of the effects of Pb ions on the 6PGD enzyme that was purified out of rat liver with the 2',5'-ADP-Sepharose 4B affinity chromatography method, it was determined that Pb ions (200-1200 μM) increased the rat liver 6PGD enzyme activity levels by 33%. On the other hand Na₂B₄O₇ was not significantly effective on 6PGD activity. These results will also contribute to future studies in understanding the physiopathology of the states triggered by Pb ions and sodium tetraborate (Na₂B₄O₇).

Effects of hypoxia and hyperoxia on growth parameters and transcription levels of growth, immune system and stress related genes in rainbow trout

Hypoxia and hyperoxia are disparate stressors which can have destructive influences on fish growth and physiology. It is yet to be determined if hypoxia and hyperoxia have a cumulative effect in aquatic ecosystems that affect biological parameters in fish, and to understand if this is associated with gene expression. Here we address whether growth performance and expressions of growth, immune system and stress related genes were affected by hypoxia and hyperoxia in fish. Rainbow trout was chosen as the study organism due to its excellent service as biomonitor. After an acclimatization period, fish were exposed to hypoxia (4.0 ± 0.5 ppm O₂), normoxia (7.5 ± 0.5 ppm O₂) and hyperoxia (12 ± 1.2 ppm O₂) for 28 days. At 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 28 days, samples were collected. Hypoxia and hyperoxia negatively affected weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), survival rate (SR) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The best WG, SGR, SR and FCR values occurred in fish exposed to normoxia, whereas hypoxia was most suppressive on growth and hyperoxia showed intermediate suppression of these parameters. Gene expression analyses were performed in liver and results revealed that long term exposure caused reduced growth hormone-I (GH-I) and insulin like growth factor I-II (IGF I-II) levels in both hypoxia and hyperoxia-treated fish. Heat shock protein (HSP70) levels increased in both hypoxia and hyperoxia treatment, and both exposures caused elevation of leptin (LEP) expression in long-term exposure. Overall data indicate that both hypoxia and hyperoxia cause stress in rainbow trout and negatively affects growth parameters.

The effect of brimonidine and proparacaine on metabolic enzymes: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and glutathione reductase

Oxidative stress is to upregulate the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). The PPP consists of two functional branches, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and 6-phosphogluconaste dehydrogenase (6PGD). Glutathione reductase (GR) has a significant role in catalyzing an oxidized glutathione form into a reduced form. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of brimonidine and proparacaine on the activity of 6PGD, G6PD, and GR enzymes purified from human erythrocytes. Brimonidine displayed considerable inhibition profile against G6PD with IC₅₀ value and K_I constant of 29.93 ± 3.56 and 48.46 ± 0.66 μM, respectively. On the other hand, proparacaine had no inhibitory effect against G6PD. K_I values were found to be 66.06 ± 0.78 and 811.50 ± 11.13 μM for brimonidine and proparacaine, respectively, for 6PGD. K_I values were found to be 144.10 ± 2.01 and 1,654.00 ± 26.29 μM for brimonidine and proparacaine, respectively, for GR. Herein, also in silico molecular docking studies were performed between drugs and enzymes.

Characterization of glutathione S-transferase enzyme from brown meagre (Sciaena umbra) and inhibitory effects of heavy metals

Glutathione S-transferase (GST) detoxifies a broad spectrum of xenobiotics, especially in chemotherapeutic drugs, endogenous molecules, and environmental pollutants. Since the enzyme metabolizes toxic compounds, it has been extensively studied in many living things including aquatic organisms. In the current study, the GST enzyme was purified from brown meagre (Sciaena umbra) muscle tissue for the first time. Then, kinetic parameters of the enzyme were determined as optimum ionic strength: 20 mM Tris/HCl, optimum pH: 7.0 (Tris/HCl), and optimum substrate concentration: 3.125 mM. Eventually, inhibitory effects of the heavy metals were evaluated. IC₅₀ values of the tested metal ions were calculated to be 0.1112, 0.6113, 0.727, and 0.7774 mM for Cd²⁺ , Fe³⁺ , Ag⁺ , and Cu²⁺ , respectively. Our results show that these heavy metals inhibit GST at very low concentrations which could cause dangerous results for aquatic systems.

Determination of the inhibitory effects of N-methylpyrrole derivatives on glutathione reductase enzyme

Glutathione reductase (GR) is a crucial antioxidant enzyme which is responsible for the maintenance of antioxidant GSH molecule. Antimalarial effects of some chemical molecules are attributed to their inhibition of GR, thus inhibitors of this enzyme are expected to be promising candidates for the treatment of malaria. In this work, GR inhibitory properties of N-Methylpyrrole derivatives are reported. It was found that all compounds have better inhibitory activity than the strong GR inhibitor N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosourea, especially three molecules, 8 m, 8 n, and 8 q, were determined to be the most powerful among them. Findings of our study indicates that these Schiff base derivatives are strong GR inhibitors which can be used as leads for designation of novel antimalarial candidates.

Synthesis and glutathione reductase inhibitory properties of 5-methyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one's aryl Schiff base derivatives

Glutathione reductase (GR) is responsible for the existence of the reduced glutathione (GSH) molecule, a crucial antioxidant against oxidative stress reagents. The antimalarial activities of some redox active compounds are attributed to their inhibition of antioxidant flavoenzyme GR, and inhibitors are therefore expected to be useful for the treatment of malaria. In this work, a fast and effective synthesis and the GR inhibitory properties of 5-methyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one's aryl Schiff base derivatives are reported. For this aim, the triazol nucleus was obtained, which was substituted with identical groups: ester, hydrazide, and Schiff base system at the N-2 and N-4 nitrogen atoms. The majority of the reactions were carried out by utilizing both microwave and conventional methods in order to compare their yields and reaction times. Beside this, the occuring E/Z geometrical isomers from the CN double bond and the cis/trans amide conformers at the CONH single bond were studied. In the biological activity section of this work, it was found that all synthesized compounds have better inhibitory activity than N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosourea against GR; especially, two molecules, 6e and 6f, are the best among them. The evidence indicates that these Schiff base derivatives, with triazole ring, are strong GR inhibitors and novel antimalaria candidates.

An alternative purification method for human serum paraoxonase 1 and its interaction with methidathion

In this study, an alternative purification method for human Paraoxonase 1 (hPON1) enzyme was developed using two-step procedures, namely ammonium sulphate precipitation and Sepharose-4B-L-tyrosine-1-aminoanthracene hydrophobic interaction chromatography. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the enzyme indicates a single band with an apparent MW of 43 kDa. The enzyme was purified 674-fold with a yield of 16%. Furthermore, we examined the in vitro effect of methidathion on the enzyme activity to understand the better inhibitory properties of the compound. Methidathion is a highly toxic insecticide used to control a broad spectrum of agricultural insect and mite pests. IC₅₀ value was found to be 0.130 mM for the pesticide. Methidathion showed a competitive inhibition with Ki of 0.119 mM for paraoxon.

Pyridazinone substituted benzenesulfonamides as potent carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

A series of sulfonamide derivatives (2a-l) incorporating substituted pyridazinone moieties were investigated for the inhibition of two human cytosolic carbonic anhydrase isoforms, hCA I and hCA II. All these compounds, together with the clinically used sulfonamide acetazolamide were investigated as inhibitors of the physiologically relevant isozymes I and II. These sulfonamides showed very strong inhibition against all these isoforms with K(I)'s in the range of 0.98-8.5 nM which makes such molecules possible to be used as leads for discovery of novel effective CA inhibitors targeting other isoforms with medicinal chemistry applications.

An alternative purification method for human serum paraoxonase 1 and its interactions with anabolic compounds

In this study, an alternative purification method for human paraoxonase 1 (hPON1) enzyme was developed using two-step procedures, namely, ammonium sulfate precipitation and Sepharose-4B-L-tyrosine-3-aminophenantrene hydrophobic interaction chromatography. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the enzyme indicates a single band with an apparent M(W) of 43 kDa. The enzyme was purified 219-fold with a final specific activity of 4,408,400 U/mg and a yield of 10%. Furthermore, we examined the in vitro effects of some anabolic compounds, such as zeranol, 17 β-estradiol, diethylstilbestrol, oxytocin, and trenbolone on the enzyme activity to understand the better inhibitory properties of these molecules. The five anabolic compounds dose dependently decreased the activity of hPON1 with inhibition constants in the millimolar-micromolar range. The results show that these compounds exhibit inhibitory effects on hPON1 at low concentrations with IC50 values ranging from 0.064 to 16.900 µM.

Synthesis and determination of some biological activities of novel 2,4-dinitrophenyl derivatives

The antioxidant and radical scavenging activities of the synthesized compounds 3, 5, and 6 were determined by various in vitro assays such as 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical (ABTS(·+) ) scavenging, ferric ion (Fe(3+) ) reducing power and ferrous ion (Fe(2+) ) chelating activities. Moreover, these activities were compared to those of standard antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene, and trolox. The results showed that the new compounds (3, 5, and 6) had potential antioxidant activity. Besides, inhibition of the two human cytosolic carbonic anhydrase (hCA, EC 4.2.1.1) isozymes I and II with some nitrobenzene compounds was investigated. Compounds 1-6 showed Ki values in the range of 4.88-193.4 µM and 5.295-54.75 µM for hCA I and hCA II, respectively.

Targeting the redox metabolism of Plasmodium falciparum

Targeting the redox metabolism of Plasmodium falciparum to create a fatal overload of oxidative stress is a route to explore the discovery of new antimalarial drugs. There are three main possibilities to target the redox metabolism of P. falciparum at the erythrocytic stage: selective targeting and inhibition of a redox P. falciparum protein or enzyme; oxidant drugs targeting essential parasite components and heme by-products; and redox cycler drugs targeting the parasitized red blood cell. Oxidants and redox cycler agents, with or without specific targets, may disrupt the fragile parasitized erythrocyte redox-dependent architecture given that: redox equilibrium plays a vital role at the erythrocytic stage; P. falciparum possesses major NADPH-dependent redox systems, such as glutathione and thioredoxin ones; and the protein-NADPH-dependent phosphorylation-dephosphorylation process is involved in building new permeation pathways and channels for the nutrient-waste import-export traffic of the parasite.

Comparison of inhibitory effects between acetaminophen-glutathione conjugate and reduced glutathione in human glutathione reductase

Acetaminophen overdose is the most frequent cause of acute liver injury. The main mechanism of acetaminophen toxicity has been attributed to oxidation of acetaminophen. The oxidation product is very reactive and reacts with glutathione generating acetaminophen-glutathione conjugate (APAP-SG). Although this conjugate has been recognized to be generally nontoxic, we have found recently that APAP-SG could produce a toxic effect. Therefore, the aim of our study was to estimate the toxicity of purified APAP-SG by characterizing the inhibitory effect in human glutathione reductase (GR) and comparing that to the inhibitory effect of the natural inhibitor reduced glutathione. We used two types of human GR: recombinant and freshly purified from red blood cells. Our results show that GR was significantly inhibited in the presence of both APAP-SG and reduced glutathione. For example, the enzyme activity of recombinant and purified GR was reduced in the presence of 4 mm APAP-SG (with 0.5 mm glutathione disulfide) by 28% and 22%, respectively. The type of enzyme inhibition was observed to be competitive in the cases of both APAP-SG and glutathione. As glutathione inhibits GR activity in cells under physiological conditions, the rate of enzyme inhibition ought to be weaker in the case of glutathione depletion that is typical of acetaminophen overdose. Notably, however, enzyme activity likely remains inhibited due to the presence of APAP-SG, which might enhance the pro-oxidative status in the cell. We conclude that our finding could reflect some other pathological mechanism that may contribute to the toxicity of acetaminophen.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel bromophenol derivatives as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

Here, we provide an alternative synthesis of the natural bromophenol 3,4-dibromo-5-(2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl)-6-(ethoxymethyl)benzene-1,2-diol (3) and the first synthesis of (4,5-dihydroxy-2-methylphenyl)(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)methanone (18) and its brominated derivatives 19-21. The compounds were characterized and tested against the two most studied members of the pH regulatory enzyme family, carbonic anhydrase (CA). The inhibitory potencies of the novel compounds and two natural bromophenols 2, 3 were analyzed at the human isoforms hCA I and hCA II as targets and the KI values were calculated. The KI values of the novel compounds were measured in the range of 13.7-32.7 mM for the hCA I isozyme and 0.65-1.26 mM for the hCA II isozyme. The structurally related compound 14 was also tested in order to understand the structure–activity relationship, and the clinically used sulfonamide acetazolamide (AZA)was tested for comparison reasons. All of the compounds exhibited competitive inhibition with 4-nitrophenylacetate as substrate. The compounds showed strong inhibitory activity against hCA I, being more effective as compared to the clinically used AZA (KI: 36.2 mM), but rather less activity against hCA II.

Bismuth compounds in medicinal chemistry

In recent years, the chemical potential of bismuth and bismuth compounds has been actively exploited. Bismuth salts are known for their low toxicity, making them potential valuable reagents for large-scale synthesis, which becomes more obvious when dealing with products such as active pharmaceutical ingredients or synthetic intermediates. Conversely, bismuth compounds have been widely used in medicine. After extensive use in the treatments of syphilis and other bacterial infections before the advent of modern antibiotics, bismuth compounds remain important for the treatment of several gastrointestinal disorders and also exhibit antimicrobial properties and cytotoxic activity, among others. This review updates relevant advances in the past few years, concerning the application of bismuth reagents and catalysts in innovative synthetic processes for the preparation of compounds of medicinal interest, as well as the preparation, biological evaluation and potential medicinal uses of bismuth compounds.

Synthesis and carbonic anhydrase inhibitory properties of novel cyclohexanonyl bromophenol derivatives

The Naturally occurring novel cyclohexanonyl bromophenol 2(R)-2-(2,3,6-tribromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl)cyclohexanone (4) was synthesized as a racemic compound. Cyclohexylphenyl methane derivatives (10-17) with Br, OMe, CO, and OH were also obtained. Inhibition of four human carbonic anhydrase (hCA, EC 4.2.1.1) isozymes I, II, IV, and VI, with compounds 2-4, 8, and 10-26 was investigated. These compounds were found to be promising carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and some of them showed interesting inhibitory activity. Some of the compounds investigated here showed effective hCA inhibitory activity, and might be used as leads for generating novel carbonic anhydrase inhibitors which are valuable drug candidates for the treatment of glaucoma, epilepsy, gastric and duodenal ulcers, neurological disorders, and osteoporosis.

The effects of chemical and radioactive properties of Tl-201 on human erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity

AIM

The aim of the study was to evaluate the inhibitory effects of thallium-201 ((201)Tl) solution on human erythrocyte glutathione reductase (GR) activity.

METHODS

Erythrocyte GR was initially purified by 2',5'-adenosine diphosphate Sepharose-4B affinity and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration chromatography. The purification was monitored by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which showed a single band for the final enzyme preparation. The in vitro and in vivo effects of the (201)Tl solution including Tl(+), Fe(+3) and Cu(+2) metals and the in vitro effects of the radiation effect of the (201)Tl solution and nonradioactive Tl(+), Fe(+3) and Cu(+2) metals on human erythrocyte GR enzyme were studied. Enzyme activity was determined with the Beutler method at 340 nm using a spectrophotometer. All purification procedures were carried out at (+)4 °C.

RESULTS

Glutathione reductase was purified 2033-fold at a yield of 28.17%. (201)Tl solution and radiation exposure had inhibitory effects on the enzyme activity. Besides, effects of nonradioactive Tl(+), Fe(+3) and Cu(+2) were studied on enzyme activity in vitro. Furthermore, seven human patients were also used for in vivo studies of (201)Tl solution.

CONCLUSION

It was detected in in vitro and in vivo studies that the human erythrocyte GR enzyme is inhibited due to the radiation effect of (201)Tl solution.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel nitroaromatic compounds as potent glutathione reductase inhibitors

Discovery of GR inhibitors has become very popular recently due to antimalarial and anticancer activities. In this study, the synthesis and GR inhibitory capacities of novel nitroaromatic compounds (NCs) (1-3) were reported. Some commercially available molecules were also tested for comparison reasons. The novel NCs were obtained in high yields using simple chemical procedures and exhibited much potent inhibitory activities against GR at low micromolar concentrations with K(i) values ranging from 0.211 to 4.57 μM as compared with well-known agents. Inhibition mechanism was assessed as being due to occlusion of the active site entrance by means of the NCs. Molecular docking results have shown that docking poses of ligands are able to construct binding interactions with the essential amino acids.

Purification and characterization of carbonic anhydrase from the teleost fish Dicentrarchus labrax (European seabass) liver and toxicological effects of metals on enzyme activity

Carbonic anhydrase (EC 4.2.1.1; CA) was purified and characterized from the liver of the teleost fish Dicentrarchus labrax (European seabass) for the first time. The purification procedure consisted of a single step affinity chromatography on Sepharose 4B-tyrosine-sulfanilamide. The enzyme was purified 78.8-fold with a yield of 46%, and a specific activity of 751.72U/mg proteins. It has an optimum pH at 7.5; an optimum temperature at 25°C; an optimum ionic strength at 10mM and a stable pH at 8.5. The kinetic parameters of this enzyme were determined for its esterase activity, with 4-nitrophenyl acetate (NPA) as substrate and the purified enzyme had an apparent K(M) and V(max) values of 0.44 mM and 0.249 μmolxmin(-1), respectively. The following metals, Al(+3), Cu(+2), Pb(+2), Co(+3), Ag(+1), Zn(+2) and Hg(+2) showed inhibitory effects on the enzyme. Al(+3) and Cu(+2) exhibited the strongest inhibitory action. Pb(+2) was moderate inhibitor, whereas other metals showed weaker actions. All tested metals inhibited the enzyme in a competitive manner. Our findings indicate that these metals inhibit the fish enzyme in a similar manner to other α-CAs from mammals investigated earlier, but the susceptibility to various metals differ between the fish and mammalian enzymes. Our results also demonstrate that these metals might be dangerous at low micromolar concentrations for fish CA enzymes.

In vitro inhibition of α-carbonic anhydrase isozymes by some phenolic compounds

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs) are a class of pharmaceuticals used as antiglaucoma agents, diuretics, antiepileptics, in the management of mountain sickness, gastric and duodenal ulcers, neurological disorders or osteoporosis. We report here the inhibitory capacities of some phenolic compounds against three human CA isozymes (hCA I, hCA II, and hCA VI) and the gill carbonic anhydrase of the teleost fish Dicentrarchus labrax (European seabass) (dCA). The isozymes showed quite diverse inhibition profiles with these compounds. These data may lead to design novel CAIs with a diverse inhibition mechanism compared to sulfonamide/sulfamate inhibitors.

IGF and GH mRNA levels are suppressed upon exposure to micromolar concentrations of cobalt and zinc in rainbow trout white muscle

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of cobalt and zinc exposure of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) on insulin like growth factors (IGF) and growth hormone (GH). Mature rainbow trouts were exposed to 0.42, 2.1, 4.2, 21 and 42μmol/L Co(2+) (added as CoCl(2)·6H(2)O) and 0.34, 1.7, 3.4, 17 and 34μmol/L Zn(2+) (added as ZnSO(4)i·7H(2)O). After 6, 12, 24 and 48h of treatment, expressions of white muscle IGF-I, IGF-II and GH mRNAs were measured by means of quantitative Real Time PCR. During the exposure experiments, no mortalities occurred. The most effective metal concentrations, which caused significant alterations, were determined to be 42μmol/L Co(2+) (10mg CoCl(2)·6H(2)O/L) and 3.4μmol/L Zn(+2) (1mg ZnSO(4)·7H(2)O/L). The following results were obtained for these concentrations. Expression of IGF-I did not change at 6h in zinc treatment while the decrease (p<0.05) was observed at 12h and 24h, and this decrease became stronger at 48h. Cobalt exposure caused a decrease in IGF-I mRNA level at 6h, 12h, 24h and 48h (p<0.05). Both zinc and cobalt exposure resulted in significant decreases in GH expression at 6h. Exposure of trout to Zn resulted in a decrease in expression of IGF-II starting from 6h whereas the significant decrease started at 6h in cobalt exposure and this decrease elevated at 24h. The results indicate that micromolar cobalt and zinc exposure causes significant attenuation in the expressions of these three genes' time dependently. Our findings show that IGF-I is the most resistant and GH is the most sensitive component against cobalt and zinc exposure. We conclude that IGF/GH axis might be strongly affected by the short term exposure to low micromolar concentrations of zinc and cobalt due to alterations of these genes.

Deltamethrin attenuates antioxidant defense system and induces the expression of heat shock protein 70 in rainbow trout

The current research aims to determine alterations in gene expression and enzymatic activity of fish antioxidant metabolism in response to pesticide administration. To this end, three different deltamethrin concentrations (0.25, 1, 2.5mug/L) were administrated to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at different time intervals (6, 12, 24, 48 and 72h) in order to observe the influences of the pesticide on the activity of glutathione reductase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-ghosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and the expression of Hsp70 gene. We observed that the activities of the enzymes decreased with increasing deltamethrin concentrations and exposure time. The pesticide had more inhibitory effects on gill enzymes than those of muscle, liver and kidney. In addition, we detected that deltamethrin increased the expression of the stress-related protein Hsp70 with significant fold-chance values. The efficiency rate was 96.4% which is equal to 1.96 calculated via conversion formula used to calculate fold-chance value. We conclude that deltamethrin causes oxidative stress in fish both at protein and mRNA levels.