Steady state kinetics and regulation of thyroid peroxidase-catalyzed iodination

Arsenic trioxide and reduced glutathione act synergistically to augment inhibition of thyroid peroxidase activity in vitro

Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) is the enzyme involved in thyroid hormone synthesis. Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) is known to inhibit TPO activity in vitro. This inhibition is believed to occur when As2O3 binds to TPO's free sulfhydryl groups. Reduced glutathione (GSH) is also known to inhibit TPO activity in vitro. This inhibition may occur because GSH acts as a competitive substrate for hydrogen peroxide, or possibly reduce the oxidized form of iodide, requirements for TPO action. On the other hand, one could speculate that GSH reduces arsenic-induced TPO inhibition by interacting directly with arsenic or TPO, consequently limiting arsenic's ability to inhibit TPO activity. Since GSH is known to inhibit thyroid hormone synthesis while at the same time it is also known to be an important antioxidant preventing cellular damage induced by oxidative stress and protecting the thyroid gland from oxidative damage induced by arsenic, we wanted to determine if a combination of As2O3 and reduced GSH would either attenuate or augment the As2O3-induced inhibition on TPO activity. Using an in vitro system, TPO was assayed spectrophotometrically in the presence of As2O3 (0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 ppm), GSH (0.1, 1, 5, and 10 ppm), and As2O3 (0.1 ppm) and GSH (0.01, 0.1, 1, or 10 ppm) combinations. Our results show that 0.1, 1.0, and 10 ppm As2O3 inhibit TPO activity. Similarly, 5 and 10 ppm GSH also inhibit TPO activity. When 0.1 ppm As2O3 (i.e., the lowest dose of arsenic able to partially inhibit TPO activity) is combined with 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, or 10 ppm GSH inhibition of in vitro TPO activity is augmented as indicated by complete inhibition of TPO. The mechanism of this augmentation and whether it translates to living systems remains unclear.

Recent insights into the cell biology of thyroid angiofollicular units

In thyrocytes, cell polarity is of crucial importance for proper thyroid function. Many intrinsic mechanisms of self-regulation control how the key players involved in thyroid hormone (TH) biosynthesis interact in apical microvilli, so that hazardous biochemical processes may occur without detriment to the cell. In some pathological conditions, this enzymatic complex is disrupted, with some components abnormally activated into the cytoplasm, which can lead to further morphological and functional breakdown. When iodine intake is altered, autoregulatory mechanisms outside the thyrocytes are activated. They involve adjacent capillaries that, together with thyrocytes, form the angiofollicular units (AFUs) that can be considered as the functional and morphological units of the thyroid. In response to iodine shortage, a rapid expansion of the microvasculature occurs, which, in addition to nutrients and oxygen, optimizes iodide supply. These changes are triggered by angiogenic signals released from thyrocytes via a reactive oxygen species/hypoxia-inducible factor/vascular endothelial growth factor pathway. When intra- and extrathyrocyte autoregulation fails, other forms of adaptation arise, such as euthyroid goiters. From onset, goiters are morphologically and functionally heterogeneous due to the polyclonal nature of the cells, with nodules distributed around areas of quiescent AFUs containing globules of compact thyroglobulin (Tg) and surrounded by a hypotrophic microvasculature. Upon TSH stimulation, quiescent AFUs are activated with Tg globules undergoing fragmentation into soluble Tg, proteins involved in TH biosynthesis being expressed and the local microvascular network extending. Over time and depending on physiological needs, AFUs may undergo repetitive phases of high, moderate, or low cell and tissue activity, which may ultimately culminate in multinodular goiters.

One- and two-electron oxidations of luminol by peroxidase systems

The kinetics of luminol oxidation catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase (HRP), Arthromyces ramosus peroxidase (ARP) and lactoperoxidase (LPO) at pH 7.0 was investigated. One-electron oxidation of luminol by peroxidase systems was inferred from the detection of luminol radicals, luminol-mediated formation of ascorbate radicals, and the trapping of luminol-mediated GSH radicals. The catalytic intermediate of peroxidases in the steady state was Compound II and the rate constants of HRP, ARP, and LPO Compound II with luminol were 3.6 x 10(4), 1.1 x 10(7), and 2.5 x 10(4) M(-1)s(-1), respectively. The intensity of luminol chemiluminescence (CL) generated by the peroxidases depended on the rate constants of the rate-determining step. The luminol CL catalyzed by peroxidases increased with an increase in the concentration of H2O2 and was inhibited in the presence of catalase. Neither oxygen consumption during the reaction under aerobic conditions nor a change of light intensity under anaerobic conditions was observed. The light emission and oxidation of luminol catalyzed by LPO was increased by trace amounts of iodide. LPO catalyzes two-electron oxidations of iodide to form iodinating intermediate (Nakamura, M.; et al. J. Biol. Chem. 260:13546-13552, 1985), which subsequently oxidizes luminol. The results lead us to conclude that CL of luminol was initiated by peroxidase systems irrespective of one- or two-electron oxidations of luminol.

Haloperoxidase activity of Phanerochaete chrysosporium lignin peroxidases H2 and H8

Monochlorodimedone (MCD), commonly used as a halogen acceptor for haloperoxidase assays, was oxidized by hydrogen peroxide in the presence of lignin peroxidase isoenzymes H2 and H8. When oxidized, it produced a weak absorption band with an intensity that varied with pH. This absorbance was used as a simple method for the product analysis because it disappeared when MCD was brominated or chlorinated. We assessed the activity of the lignin peroxidases for oxidation of bromide by measuring the bromination of MCD, the formation of tribromide, the bromide-mediated oxidation of glutathione, and the bromide-mediated catalase-like activity. We analyzed the reaction products of MCD and the halide-mediated oxidation of glutathione when bromide was replaced by chloride. These enzymes demonstrated no significant activity for oxidation of chloride. Unlike other peroxidases, the lignin peroxidases exhibited similar pH-activity curves for the iodide and bromide oxidations. The optimum pH for activity was about 2.5. Surprisingly, this pH dependence of lignin peroxidase activity for the halides was nearly the same in the reactions with hydrogen donors, such as hydroquinone and guaiacol. The results suggested that protonation of the enzymes with pKa approximately 3.2 is necessary for the catalytic function of lignin peroxidases, irrespective of whether the substrates are electron or hydrogen donors. These unique reaction profiles of lignin peroxidases are compared to those of other peroxidases, such as lactoperoxidase, bromoperoxidase, chloroperoxidase, and horseradish peroxidase. Isozyme H2 was more active than isozyme H8, but isozyme H8 was more stable at very acidic pH.

Spectral characteristics and catalytic properties of thyroid peroxidase-H2O2 compounds in the iodination and coupling reactions

Hog thyroid peroxidase (TPO) was highly purified in order to study the spectral properties and catalytic specificities of its H2O2 compounds in iodothyronine biosynthesis. Purified TPO exhibited a Soret spectrum with an absorption maximum at 410 nm and had an A410/A280 value of 0.55. Protein iodination was only catalyzed under conditions which allowed formation of the transient TPO compound I (Fe(IV)-pi o+). On addition of an equimolar amount of H2O2, TPO formed a stable compound with an absorption maximum at 417 nm. This compound efficiently catalyzed the coupling reaction, but was unable to iodinate proteins. It catalyzed the formation of 1 mol iodothyronines/mol TPO, and therefore retained two oxidizing equivalents per molecule. It is proposed that this compound constitutes a second form of compound I whose structure might be Fe(IV)-Ro, analogous to that of cytochrome c peroxidase compound I. In the presence of an excess of H2O2, it formed TPO-compound III with an absorption maximum at 420 nm. TPO-compound III catalyzed neither the iodination nor the coupling reaction.

Detection of a catalytic intermediate of peroxidase in hog thyroid microsomes

A catalytic intermediate, Compound II of peroxidase was detected spectrophotometrically in thyroid microsomes. From comparison with the spectral data on purified thyroid peroxidase, the content of the peroxidase was estimated to be 0.019 nmol per mg of the microsomal protein, being about one-eighth of the amount of cytochrome b5. It was concluded that thyroid peroxidase exhibits the same peroxidase activity for guaiacol or ascorbate in the free and the microsome-bound forms.

Purification of thyroid peroxidase by monoclonal antibody-assisted immunoaffinity chromatography

A rapid method was developed for purification of hog thyroid peroxidase by immunoaffinity chromatography on a column of Sepharose 4B coupled to a monoclonal antibody to the peroxidase. The purified enzyme had a specific activity of 194 units/mg and showed the same absorption spectrum in the Soret and visible regions as that of the enzyme purified after trypsin treatment. The ratio of A413 nm to A280 nm was 0.24, being much less than that for the trypsinized enzymes. Upon sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, it gave a broad protein band in the 100,000-dalton region. It is concluded that the preparation purified in this study represents a native form of thyroid peroxidase.