Myeloperoxidase-oxidase oxidation of cysteamine

Influence of supplemented coated-cysteamine on morphology, apoptosis and oxidative stress status of gastrointestinal tract

BACKGROUND

Cysteamine was coated to cover its odor and maintain the stability. However, coated cysteamine (CC) has not been clearly evaluated for its effects on the gastrointestinal mucosa status. We hypothesize that the appropriate CC supplementation in diet impacts the stomach and intestinal mucosa variously through regulating the morphology, apoptosis, and oxidative stress status in model of pigs.

RESULTS

The results showed that villus height increased (P < 0.05), and crypt depth decreased (P < 0.05) in the ileum when pigs were fed the diet with low cysteamine (LCS) compared with the control diet. The ileal lesion score in the LCS group was significantly (P < 0.01) lower than that in the control group, while the gastric lesion score in the CC group was significantly (P < 0.01) higher compared with that of the control group. It also showed that the activities of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and diamine oxidase (DAO) were upregulated (P < 0.05) in the LCS group. In addition, Bax and caspase 3 immunore-activity increased (P < 0.01), and Bcl-2 immunoreactivity decreased (P < 0.01) in the gastric mucosa of pigs fed the diet with high cysteamine (HCS). The Bax and caspase 3 immunoreactivity decreased (P < 0.01), and Bcl-2 immunoreactivity increased (P < 0.01) in ileum mucosa of pigs fed the HCS diet.

CONCLUSIONS

Although moderate dietary coated cysteamine showed positive effects on GI mucosal morphology, apoptosis, and oxidative stress status, the excess coated cysteamine may cause apoptosis leading to GI damage in pigs.

In vitro drug release and in vivo safety of vitamin E and cysteamine loaded contact lenses

Cystinosis is an orphan disease caused by a genetic mutation that leads to deposition of cystine crystals in many organs including cornea. Ophthalmic manifestation of the disease can be treated with hourly instillation of cysteamine eye drops. The hourly eye drop instillation is tedious to the patients leading to poor compliance and additionally, significant degradation of the drug occurs within one week of opening the bottle, which further complicates this delivery approach. This paper focuses on designing a contact lens to treat the disease with improved efficacy compared to eye drops, and also exploring safety of the drug eluding contact lens in an animal model. Our goal is to design a lens that is safe and that can deliver a daily therapeutic dose of cysteamine to the cornea while retaining drug stability. We show that cysteamine diffuses out rapidly from all lenses due to its small size. Vitamin E incorporation increases the release duration of both ACUVUE^®OASYS^® and ACUVUE^® TruEye^TM but the effect is more pronounced in TruEye^TM likely due to the low solubility of vitamin E in the lens matrix and higher aspect ratio of the barriers. The barriers are not effective in hydrogel lenses, which along with the high aspect ratio in silicone hydrogels suggests that barriers could be forming at the interface of the silicone and hydrogel phases. The presence of vitamin E has an additional beneficial effect of reduction in the oxidation rates, likely due to a transport barrier between the oxygen diffusing through the silicone channels and drug located in the hydrogel phase. Based on this study, both Acuvue^®OASYS^® and ACUVUE^® TruEye^TM can be loaded with vitamin E to design a cysteamine eluting contact lenses for effective therapy of cystinosis. The lenses must be worn for about 4-5 hr. each day, which is less than the typical duration of daily-wear. The vitamin E and cysteamine loaded lenses did not exhibit any toxicity in a rabbit model over a period of 7-days.

Utilization of the ferrous sulfate (Fricke) dosimeter for evaluating the radioprotective potential of cystamine: experiment and Monte Carlo simulation

Cystamine, an organic disulfide (RSSR), is among the best of the known radiation-protective compounds and has been used to protect normal tissues in clinical radiation therapy. Recently, it has also proved to be beneficial in the treatment of disorders of the central nervous system in animal models. However, the underlying mechanism of its action at the chemical level is not yet well understood. The present study aims at using the ferrous sulfate (Fricke) dosimeter to quantitatively evaluate, both experimentally and theoretically, the radioprotective potential of this compound. The well-known radiolysis of the Fricke dosimeter by (60)Co γ rays or fast electrons, based on the oxidation of ferrous ions to ferric ions by the oxidizing species (•)OH, HO(2)(•), and H(2)O(2) produced in the radiolytic decomposition of water, forms the basis for our method. The presence of cystamine in Fricke dosimeter solutions during irradiation prevents the radiolytic oxidation of Fe(2+) and leads to decreased ferric yields (or G values). The observed decrease in G(Fe(3+)) increases upon increasing the concentration of the disulfide compound over the range 0-0.1 M under both aerated and deaerated conditions. To help assess the basic radiation-protective mechanism of this compound, a full Monte Carlo computer code is developed to simulate in complete detail the radiation-induced chemistry of the studied Fricke/cystamine solutions. Benefiting from the fact that cystamine is reasonably well characterized in terms of radiation chemistry, this computer model proposes reaction mechanisms and incorporates specific reactions describing the radiolysis of cystamine in aerated and deaerated Fricke solutions that lead to the observable quantitative chemical yields. Results clearly indicate that the protective effect of cystamine originates from its radical-capturing ability, which allows this compound to act by competing with the ferrous ions for the various free radicals--especially (•)OH radicals and H(•) atoms--formed during irradiation of the surrounding water. Most interestingly, our simulation modeling also shows that the predominant pathway in the oxidation of cystamine by (•)OH radicals involves an electron-transfer mechanism, yielding RSSR(•+) and OH(-). A very good agreement is found between calculated G(Fe(3+)) values and experiment. This study concludes that Monte Carlo simulations represent a very efficient method for understanding indirect radiation damage at the molecular level.

Cysteamine-based functionalization of InAs surfaces: revealing the critical role of oxide interactions in biasing attachment

Attaching functional molecules such as thiols and proteins to semiconductor surfaces is increasingly exploited in functional devices such as sensors. Despite extensive research to understand this interface and demonstrate a robust protocol for attachment, the bonding chemistry of thiolates to III-V surfaces has been under great debate in the literature. This study provides a comprehensive chemical model for the attachment of thiols to InAs, an increasingly device-relevant III-V semiconductor, using cysteamine as a model molecule. We examine the attachment of cysteamine to InAs via the thiol group using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry and confirm that thiolate bonding to the substrate occurs preferentially to As sites over In sites as a limit. These experiments explore the interplay of the native oxide chemical properties, the cysteamine concentration, and the evolving InAs surface chemistry with functionalization. The thiol-InAs interaction can be framed as a general acid-base reaction, where the nucleophilic and/or electrophilic attack of the surface (i.e., binding to In sites and/or As sites) depends on the acidity of the thiol. The roles of the initial oxide composition, the solvent of the functionalizing solution, and the cysteamine as a limiting reagent in fully displacing the oxide and creating In-S and As-S bonds are highlighted.

Cystinosis and lupus erythematosus: coincidence or causation

A 14-year-old boy with known stable cystinosis, treated with cysteamine since infancy, presented with a deterioration of renal function with haematuria in conjunction with a nodular rash, arthralgia, leucopenia, hypocomplementaemia and raised antinuclear antibodies. He was diagnosed with spontaneous onset of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and his renal biopsy was consistent with lupus nephritis. It is unusual for patients with one severe disease to develop another disease process completely unrelated to their original condition, but it can occur. However, other distinct variants of lupus have been described, including drug-induced lupus (DIL), which have features that over-lap with SLE. The potential differential diagnosis of the SLE as a form of DIL in association with cysteamine is discussed.

Glutathione-induced radical formation on lactoperoxidase does not correlate with the enzyme's peroxidase activity

Lactoperoxidase (LPO) is believed to serve as a mediator of host defense against invading pathogens. The protein is more abundant in body fluids such as milk, saliva, and tears. Lactoperoxidase is known to mediate the oxidation of halides and (pseudo)halides in the presence of hydrogen peroxide to reactive intermediates presumably involved in pathogen killing. More recently, LPO has been shown to oxidize a wide diversity of thiol compounds to thiyl free radicals, which ultimately lead to the formation of a protein radical characterized by DMPO-immunospin trapping. In the same study by our group the authors claimed that a consequence of this protein radical formation was the inactivation of LPO (Guo et al., J. Biol. Chem.279:13272-13283; 2004). Here we demonstrate that although thiyl radical formation does lead to LPO radical production, the formation of this radical is unrelated to the enzyme's activity. We suggest the source of this misleading interpretation to be the binding of GSH to ELISA plates, which interferes with ABTS and guaiacol oxidation. In addition, DMPO-GSH-nitrone adducts bind to ELISA plates, leading to ambiguities of interpretation since we have demonstrated that DMPO-GSH nitrone does not bind to LPO, and only LPO-protein-DMPO-nitrone adducts can be detected by Western blot.

NADPH as a co-substrate for studies of the chlorinating activity of myeloperoxidase

The reinvestigation of the kinetics of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity with the use of NADPH as a probe has allowed us to determine the effects of H(2)O(2), Cl(-) ion and pH on the MPO-dependent production of HOCl. The chlorination rate of NADPH did not depend on NADPH concentration and was entirely related to the rate of production of HOCl by MPO. The overall oxidation of NADPH occurred similarly in the absence of O(2) and was insensitive to scavengers of the superoxide radical anion. Experiments performed on the direct oxidation of NADPH by MPO in the presence and the absence of H(2)O(2) showed that neither the rate nor the stoichiometry of the reaction could interfere in the NADPH oxidation process involved in the steady-state chlorination cycle. The oxidation of NADPH was characterized by a decrease in the A(339) of the reduced nicotinamide with the concomitant appearance of a new chromophore with absorbance maximum at 274 nm, characterized by isosbestic points at 300 and 238 nm. The reaction product did not possess any enzymic properties with dehydrogenases and led to a metabolite other than NADP(+). Its amount accounted for a stoichiometric conversion of H(2)O(2) into HOCl. Analyses of the NADPH reaction allowed the determination of both kinetic (k(cat) and K(m)) and thermodynamic (K(d)) parameters. When the values of kinetic parameters were compared with previously published ones, the main discrepancy was found with data obtained with the chlorination of monochlorodimedon and a better agreement with diethanolchloramine formation or H(2)O(2) consumption. Variations in the extent of NADPH oxidation with Cl(-) concentration enabled us to determine the dissociation constant for the enzyme-Cl(-) complex. In the course of titration studies, the spectral properties of NADPH reacting with either HOCl or the MPO/H(2)O(2)/Cl(-) system were quantitatively similar in terms of stoichiometry and absorbance coefficient and thus led to identical chlorinated products. However, no spectral modification occurred with NADP(+) and adenine nucleotide analogues under the same conditions. A quantitative comparison of difference spectra obtained with NADPH and NMNH indicated that chlorination occurred on the nicotinamide part of the molecule.

Transient and steady-state kinetics of the oxidation of substituted benzoic acid hydrazides by myeloperoxidase

Myeloperoxidase is the most abundant protein in neutrophils and catalyzes the production of hypochlorous acid. This potent oxidant plays a central role in microbial killing and inflammatory tissue damage. 4-Aminobenzoic acid hydrazide (ABAH) is a mechanism-based inhibitor of myeloperoxidase that is oxidized to radical intermediates that cause enzyme inactivation. We have investigated the mechanism by which benzoic acid hydrazides (BAH) are oxidized by myeloperoxidase, and we have determined the features that enable them to inactivate the enzyme. BAHs readily reduced compound I of myeloperoxidase. The rate constants for these reactions ranged from 1 to 3 x 10(6) M-1 s-1 (15 degrees C, pH 7.0) and were relatively insensitive to the substituents on the aromatic ring. Rate constants for reduction of compound II varied between 6.5 x 10(5) M-1 s-1 for ABAH and 1.3 x 10(3) M-1 s-1 for 4-nitrobenzoic acid hydrazide (15 degrees C, pH 7.0). Reduction of both compound I and compound II by BAHs adhered to the Hammett rule, and there were significant correlations with Brown-Okamoto substituent constants. This indicates that the rates of these reactions were simply determined by the ease of oxidation of the substrates and that the incipient free radical carried a positive charge. ABAH was oxidized by myeloperoxidase without added hydrogen peroxide because it underwent auto-oxidation. Although BAHs generally reacted rapidly with compound II, they should be poor peroxidase substrates because the free radicals formed during peroxidation converted myeloperoxidase to compound III. We found that the reduction of ferric myeloperoxidase by BAH radicals was strongly influenced by Hansch's hydrophobicity constants. BAHs containing more hydrophilic substituents were more effective at converting the enzyme to compound III. This implies that BAH radicals must hydrogen bond to residues in the distal heme pocket before they can reduce the ferric enzyme. Inactivation of myeloperoxidase by BAHs was related to how readily they were oxidized, but there was no correlation with their rate constants for reduction of compounds I or II. We propose that BAHs destroy the heme prosthetic groups of the enzyme by reducing a ferrous myeloperoxidase-hydrogen peroxide complex.

Inactivation of myocardial dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase by myeloperoxidase systems: effect of halides, nitrite and thiol compounds

Dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (LADH) lipoamide reductase activity decreased whereas enzyme diaphorase activity increased after LADH treatment with myeloperoxidase (MPO) dependent systems (MPO/H2O2/halide, MPO/NADH/halide and MPO/H2O2/nitrite systems. LADH inactivation was a function of the composition of the inactivating system and the incubation time. Chloride, iodide, bromide, and the thiocyanate anions were effective complements of the MPO/H2O2 system. NaOCl inactivated LADH, thus supporting hypochlorous acid (HOCl) as putative agent of the MPO/H2O2/NaCl system. NaOCl and the MPO/H2O2/NaCl system oxidized LADH thiols and NaOCl also oxidized LADH methionine and tyrosine residues. LADH inactivation by the MPO/NADH/halide systems was prevented by catalase and enhanced by superoxide dismutase, in close agreement with H2O2 production by the LADH/NADH system. Similar effects were obtained with lactoperoxidase and horse-radish peroxidase supplemented systems. L-cysteine, N-acetylcysteine, penicillamine, N-(2-mercaptopropionylglycine), Captopril and taurine protected LADH against MPO systems and NaOCl. The effect of the MPO/H2O2/NaNO2 system was prevented by MPO inhibitors (sodium azide, isoniazid, salicylhydroxamic acid) and also by L-cysteine, L-methionine, L-tryptophan, L-tyrosine, L-histidine and reduced glutathione. The summarized observations support the hypothesis that peroxidase-generated "reactive species" oxidize essential thiol groups at LADH catalytic site.

Kinetics of oxidation of aliphatic and aromatic thiols by myeloperoxidase compounds I and II

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is the most abundant protein in neutrophils and plays a central role in microbial killing and inflammatory tissue damage. Because most of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other drugs contain a thiol group, it is necessary to understand how these substrates are oxidized by MPO. We have performed transient kinetic measurements to study the oxidation of 14 aliphatic and aromatic mono- and dithiols by the MPO intermediates, Compound I (k3) and Compound II (k4), using sequential mixing stopped-flow techniques. The one-electron reduction of Compound I by aromatic thiols (e.g. methimidazole, 2-mercaptopurine and 6-mercaptopurine) varied by less than a factor of seven (between 1.39 +/- 0.12 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) and 9.16 +/- 1.63 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1)), whereas reduction by aliphatic thiols was demonstrated to depend on their overall net charge and hydrophobic character and not on the percentage of thiol deprotonation or redox potential. Cysteamine, cysteine methyl ester, cysteine ethyl ester and alpha-lipoic acid showed k3 values comparable to aromatic thiols, whereas a free carboxy group (e.g. cysteine, N-acetylcysteine, glutathione) diminished k3 dramatically. The one-electron reduction of Compound II was far more constrained by the nature of the substrate. Reduction by methimidazole, 2-mercaptopurine and 6-mercaptopurine showed second-order rate constants (k4) of 1.33 +/- 0.08 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1), 5.25 +/- 0.07 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) and 3.03 +/- 0.07 x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1). Even at high concentrations cysteine, penicillamine and glutathione could not reduce Compound II, whereas cysteamine (4.27 +/- 0.05 x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1)), cysteine methyl ester (8.14 +/- 0.08 x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1)), cysteine ethyl ester (3.76 +/- 0.17 x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1)) and alpha-lipoic acid (4.78 +/- 0.07 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1)) were demonstrated to reduce Compound II and thus could be expected to be oxidized by MPO without co-substrates.

Oxidation of cysteamine induced by gas-phase radicals from combustion smoke of poly (methyl methacrylate)

In order to obtain fundamental knowledge on biological damage caused by the smoke from combustion of poly(methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA), we investigated the oxidation of cysteamine induced by PMMA smoke. We suggest that the long-lived and oxygen-centered radicals involved in PMMA smoke should play an important role in the oxidation of cysteamine. The mechanism for the oxidation of cysteamine by combustion smoke of PMMA was postulated as radical initiated chain reactions, taking into account the effect of pH, oxygen and radical concentrations.

Transient-state and steady-state kinetics of the oxidation of aliphatic and aromatic thiols by horseradish peroxidase

In the course of oxidation of thiols by peroxidases thiyl radicals are formed which are known to undergo several free-radical conjugative reactions, among others leading to hydrogen peroxide formation. The present paper for the first time presents a comparative transient-state and steady-state investigation of the reaction of 15 aliphatic and aromatic mono- and dithiols with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Both sequential-stopped-flow spectrophotometric investigations of the reaction of HRP intermediates Compound I (k2) and Compound II (k3) with thiols and measurements of the overall thiol oxidation and the simultaneous oxygen consumption in the presence and absence of exogenously added hydrogen peroxide (10 microM) have been performed. With HRP as thiyl radical generator it was shown that three groups of thiols have to be distinguished: (i) Aromatic thiols (e.g. thiophenol, 2-mercaptopurine) were excellent electron donors of both Compounds (k2: 10(4)-10(7) M(-1) s(-1) and k3: 10(3)-10(6) M(-1) s(-1)); however, the overall reaction was shown to depend on addition of hydrogen peroxide, indicating insufficient peroxide regeneration by arylthiyl radicals. (ii) Aliphatic thiols which were extremely bad substrates (k3 < 10 M(-1) s(-1)) for HRP (e.g. homocysteine, glutathione) and/or have a pK(a,SH) > 9.5 (e.g. N-acetylcysteine, alpha-lipoic acid) were also shown to depend on exogenously added H2O2 to maintain the peroxidasic reaction, whereas (iii) with those thiols with rates of k3 between 11 and 1600 M(-1) s(-1) (e.g. cysteine, cysteamine, cysteine methyl ester, cysteine ethyl ester) and/or with a pK(a,SH) < 8 (penicillamine) thiol oxidation was independent of exogenously added hydrogen peroxide, indicating sufficient hydrogen peroxide regeneration.

The characterization of antioxidants

The role of antioxidants in nutrition is an area of increasing interest. Antioxidants are used (1) to prolong the shelf life and maintain the nutritional quality of lipid-containing foods, and (2) to modulate the consequences of oxidative damage in the human body. This review discusses what an antioxidant is and how the properties of antioxidants may be characterized.

Influence of thiols on the chlorinating effect of a myeloperoxidase system

The structure-activity relationships for the interactions of a number of sulfhydryl compounds on the transformation of (Z)-3-(4-bromophenyl)-3-(3-pyridyl)allylamine (CPP 200) by an MPO-H2O2-Cl-(-)system at pH 5.25 have been studied. It was found that the inhibitory effect of the thiol group was strongly dependent on the presence of an electron-withdrawing NH3(+)-group in the molecule. Also, the acid-base properties of the thiolic compounds were involved in the inhibitory mechanisms.

Superoxide as an intracellular radical sink

A pathway is proposed for superoxide to act as a sink for intracellularly generated radicals. A variety of radicals, either directly or via reduced glutathione (GSH) as an intermediate, can transfer their unpaired electron to oxygen to give superoxide. It is proposed that in a cellular environment, superoxide can undergo chain reactions involving GSH with or without another redox cycling agent, converting GSH to oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and oxygen to hydrogen peroxide far in excess of the initial radical. This places an oxidative stress on the cell, depleting reducing equivalents and energy reserves. Superoxide dismutase is necessary to prevent this oxidative stress, as well as any direct damage by superoxide. Through this metabolic pathway, GSH and superoxide dismutase can be linked in antioxidant function, and superoxide dismutase, by reacting with superoxide, can provide general protection against radical reactions in the cell. The pathway also provides a mechanism for superoxide and superoxide dismutase to influence the redox state of the cell and regulate functions that are under redox control.

Glutathione oxidase activity of selenocystamine: a mechanistic study

Selenocystamine (RSe-SeR) was shown to catalyze the oxygen-mediated oxidation of excess GSH to glutathione disulfide, at neutral pH and ambient PO2. This glutathione oxidase activity required the heterolytic reduction of the diselenide bond, which produced two equivalents of the selenolate derivative selenocysteamine (RSe-), via the transient formation of a selenenylsulfide intermediate (RSe-SG). Formation of RSe- was the only reaction observed in anaerobic conditions. At ambient PO2, the kinetics and stoichiometry of GSSG production as well as that of GSH and oxygen consumptions demonstrated that RSe- performed a three-step reduction of oxygen to water. The first step was a one-electron transfer from RSe- to dioxygen, yielding superoxide and a putative selenyl radical RSe., which decayed very rapidly to RSe-SeR. In the second step, RSe- reduced superoxide to hydrogen peroxide through a much faster one-electron transfer, also associated with the decay of RSe. to RSe-SeR. The third step was a two-electron transfer from RSe- to hydrogen peroxide, again much faster than oxygen reduction, which resulted in the production of RSe-SG, presumably via a selenenic acid intermediate (RSeOH) which was trapped by excess GSH. This third step was studied on exogenous hydroperoxide in anaerobic conditions, and it could be eliminated from the glutathione oxidase cycle in the presence of excess catalase. The role of RSe- as a one- and two-electron reductant was confirmed by competitive carboxymethylation with iodoacetate. RSe- was able to rapidly reduce ferric cytochrome c to its ferrous derivative. The overall rate of catalytic glutathione oxidation was GSH concentration dependent and oxygen concentration independent. Excess glutathione reductase and NADPH increased the catalytic oxidation of GSH, probably by switching the rate-limiting step from selenylsulfide to diselenide cleavage. When GSH was substituted for dithiothreitol, it was shown to reduce RSe-SeR to RSe- in a fast and quantitative reaction, and selenocystamine behaved as a dithiothreitol oxidase, whose catalytic cycle was dependent on oxygen concentration. The oxidase cycle of glutathione was inhibited by mercaptosuccinate, while that of dithiothreitol was not affected. When mercaptosuccinate was substituted for GSH, a stable selenenylsulfide was formed. These observations suggest that electrostatic interactions affect the reductive cleavage of diselenide and selenenylsulfide linkages. This study illustrates the ease of one-electron transfers from RSe- to a variety of reducible substrates. Such free radical mechanisms may explain much of the cytotoxicity of alkylselenols, and they demonstrate that selenocystamine is a poor catalytic model of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase.

HOCl exposure of a human airway epithelial cell line decreases its plasma membrane neutral endopeptidase

It has recently been demonstrated that luminal exposure of airway segments in vitro to HOCl produces airway muscle hyperresponsiveness to substance P and a decrease in neutral endopeptidase (NEP) activity of tissue segment homogenates, suggesting that HOCl may decrease airway epithelial cell NEP activity. To confirm that this effect occurs in humans and to investigate possible subcellular mechanisms for it, we assessed HOCl exposure of the human airway epithelial cell line Calu-1. These cells, grown to confluency in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium with 10% fetal bovine serum and penicillin-streptomycin, were exposed in situ for 5 min to 100 microM HOCl in a phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS; pH 7.0 at 37 degrees C) or to PBS alone. Thereafter, cells were rinsed and assayed for NEP activity employing reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. This activity was characterized by the generation of phosphoramidon-inhibitable product (ANA) cleaved from the synthetic substrate succinyl-(ala)3-p-nitroaniline during a 30 min incubation at 37 degrees C. Cell viability was assessed by changes in LDH release, trypan blue exclusion, and cell volume. In some experiments, crude plasma membrane and soluble components of exposed cells were isolated and differential NEP activity was assayed. We found that a 5 min exposure to HOCl decreased whole cell NEP activity from 74.1 +/- 4.4 (mean +/- SE) to 54.3 +/- 6.0 pmoles of ANA/min/10(6) cells (p less than 0.05), while no parameter of cell viability was affected. NEP activity in the crude membrane fraction decreased 36.3 +/- 3.1% after exposure (p less than 0.01), whereas NEP activity in the soluble fraction increased 4.0 +/- 0.6%. Isolated membrane NEP exposed by itself was not affected. Subsequent experiments with reducing agents demonstrated that NEP activity of cell cultures pretreated with 100 mM of either beta-mercaptoethanol or dithiothrietol before HOCl exposure was not significantly different from control values. We conclude that whole cell HOCl exposure decreases Calu-1 plasma membrane NEP. This loss appears to occur by internalization of cell membrane NEP.

Gomori-positive astrocytes: biological properties and implications for neurologic and neuroendocrine disorders

Granule laden astrocytes exhibiting an affinity for chrome alum hematoxylin and aldehyde fuchsin (Gomori stains) have been described in the periventricular brain of all terrestrial vertebrate species examined to date including humans. The astrocytic inclusions are rich in sulfhydryl groups, emit an orange-red autofluorescence, and stain intensely with diaminobenzidine, a marker of endogenous peroxidase activity. The distinct autofluorescence pattern and the absence of neutral lipid, acid phosphatase, and beta-glucuronidase activity exclude lipofuscin or lysosomes as components of these astrocytic granules. The emission of orange-red autofluorescence and the nonenzymatic nature of the peroxidase activity implicate the presence of porphyrins and metalloporphyrins such as heme as major constituents of these cytoplasmic gliosomes. The role of Gomori-positive astrocytes under normal and pathologic conditions is incompletely understood. In vivo, numbers of astrocytic granules increase as a function of advancing age, in response to chronic estrogen stimulation, and following X-irradiation. In vitro, these cells accumulate with increasing time in culture and following exposure to the sulfhydryl agent, cysteamine. Gomori-positive astrocytes may supply heme to neurons for the synthesis of cytochromes, catalases, and other heme enzymes. They may play a role in photostimulation of sexual cyclicity, the promotion of neuritic development, the degradation of toxic lipoperoxides, and the metabolism of various neurotransmitters. Conversely, these cells may contribute to the pathogenesis of several neurologic and neuroendocrine disorders. Examples of the latter include a) augmentation of goldthioglucose neurotoxicity, b) induction of hypothalamic anovulation and reproductive failure, c) exacerbation of porphyric encephalopathy, and d) potentiation of parkinsonism and other free radical-related neurodegenerations.

Scavengers of free radical oxygen affect the generation of low molecular weight DNA in stimulated lymphocytes from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Factors that potentially affect the generation of excess low molecular weight DNA (LMW-DNA) in cultured phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated lymphocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were studied because this species of DNA is consistently found and this DNA may play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Superoxide dismutase (SOD; 0.05 mg/mL), a scavenger of free radical oxygen, decrease LMW-DNA formation in lymphocytes by 22%. Co-cultivation with cysteamine, a second scavenger of free radical oxygen and a sulfhydryl radioprotective agent, resulted in a 32% decrease in the generation of excess LMW-DNA at a concentration of 0.5 x 10(-3) mol/L and largely prevented its formation at 1.0 x 10(-3) mol/L. Other free radical scavengers (catalase, mannitol, vitamins C and E), cyclooxygenase inhibitors (ibuprofen and aspirin), a xanthine oxidase inhibitor (allopurinol), and an iron chelator (desferoxamine) did not affect excess LMW-DNA formation. Glutathione (1 x 10(-3) mol/L) had no effect and cysteine was toxic. Because scavengers of free radicals might be useful in the therapy of lupus, a trial of cysteamine (30 to 60 mg/kg/d) was administered to six acutely ill patients with SLE. A therapeutic benefit was not demonstrated, and some patients had exacerbation of disease. Lymphocyte cell growth from control and lupus subjects was stimulated when cysteamine, 1 x 10(-5) to 1 x 10(-4) mol/L was added to the media, but inhibited at concentrations of 2 x 10(-4) mol/L or greater. These studies suggest that the autooxidation and toxicity of high-dose cysteamine preclude its therapeutic use as a free radical scavenger.

Gomori-positive astrocytes in primary culture: effects of in vitro age and cysteamine exposure

Gomori-positive astrocytes have been identified in the periventricular brain in situ and in diencephalic explants on the basis of their endogenous peroxidase activity, affinity for chrom alum hematoxylin, and orange-red autofluorescence. To facilitate analyses of their functional properties, we sought to identify these cells in dissociated fetal rat brain cultures. Astrocytes containing cytoplasmic inclusions with the above tinctorial and fluorescent properties represented less than 1% of cultured astrocytes at day 10 in vitro (DIV). There was a marked increase in the fraction of Gomori-positive astrocytes and their granule content between 10 and 46 DIV. As in situ, the peroxidase activity appeared to be non-enzyme-mediated insofar as it catalyzed diaminobenzidine oxidation over a wide range of pH (3-11) and could not be inhibited by tissue preheating or the catalase inhibitor, aminotriazole. Metalloporphyrins probably mediate both the pseudoperoxidase activity and autofluorescence in these cells. Cysteamine and cystamine, but not ethanolamine or L-cysteine, induced a massive accumulation of Gomori-positive astrocytes when administered from DIV 6-18. Alterations of the redox microenvironment or induction of porphyrin/heme biosynthetic enzymes may be the mechanisms responsible for this cyst(e)amine effect. Dissociated rat brain culture enriched for Gomori astroglia should provide ample opportunity to investigate the functional properties of these cells.

How to characterize a biological antioxidant

An antioxidant is a substance that, when present at low concentrations compared to those of an oxidizable substrate, significantly delays or prevents oxidation of that substrate. Many substances have been suggested to act as antioxidants in vivo, but few have been proved to do so. The present review addresses the criteria necessary to evaluate a proposed antioxidant activity. Simple methods for assessing the possibility of physiologically-feasible scavenging of important biological oxidants (superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, hypochlorous acid, haem-associated ferryl species, radicals derived from activated phagocytes, and peroxyl radicals, both lipid-soluble and water-soluble) are presented, and the appropriate control experiments are described. Methods that may be used to gain evidence that a compound actually does function as an antioxidant in vivo are discussed. A review of the pro-oxidant and anti-oxidant properties of ascorbic acid that have been reported in the literature leads to the conclusion that this compound acts as an antioxidant in vivo under most circumstances.

Toxicity of thiols and disulphides: involvement of free-radical species

Sulphur is essential to life, and thiols and disulphides play essential roles in cellular biochemistry. Such compounds are also widely distributed in the food of man and his domestic animals, and they are extensively used in industry. However, many thiols and disulphides have been shown to be toxic. Aliphatic, aromatic, and heterocyclic compounds of this type are haemolytic agents in animals while aminothiols have been shown to induce many cytotoxic effects in vitro and the epidithiodioxopiperazine mycotoxin, sporidesmin, is a potent hepatotoxic agent. Structure-activity relationships among these compounds and factors which modulate their harmful effects are consistent with a toxic mechanism involving redox cycling between the thiol and the corresponding disulphide. Thiyl radicals and "active oxygen" species are formed in this process, and it is suggested that these substances are responsible for initiating the tissue damage provoked by thiols and disulphides.

Synergism between substrate and non-substrate thiols in peroxidase-oxidase reactions

Cysteamine and reduced glutathione were shown to act synergistically as peroxidase-oxidase substrates as measured by oxygen consumption and Nitro Blue Tetrazolium reduction. Cysteine methyl ester could be substituted for cysteamine and N-acetylcysteine and penicillamine could be substituted for glutathione. The involvement of reduced oxygen species and the effects of pH and chloride were studied. A possible mechanism of peroxidase-oxidase oxidation of cysteamine and glutathione is proposed. These studies show that peroxidase oxidase reactions can occur with close to physiological concentrations of peroxidase and thiols.

Involvement of cysteine, serotonin and their analogues in peroxidase-oxidase reactions

Myeloperoxidase-oxidase reactions with close to physiological concentrations of thiols and phenols were studied. Cysteine was shown to be a myeloperoxidase-oxidase substrate when catalytic amounts of serotonin were added as cosubstrate. Penicillamine could be substituted for cysteine and acetaminophen could be substituted for serotonin. The properties of these peroxidase-oxidase reactions, e.g. the dependence on substrate and myeloperoxidase concentration, reduced oxygen species, metal ions and pH, were studied. Also, eosinophil, lacto- and horseradish peroxidase could catalyse these reactions.

Abilities of peroxidases to catalyse peroxidase-oxidase oxidation of thiols

The abilities of various peroxidases to catalyse the peroxidase-oxidase oxidation of seven aminothiols were studied. Cysteamine and cysteine esters were found to be peroxidase-oxidase substrates for eosinophil peroxidase and myeloperoxidase, whereas other thiols tested were inactive or poorly active with these peroxidases. With lactoperoxidase and horseradish peroxidase, all the tested thiols were inactive or poorly active as peroxidase-oxidase substrates. These studies suggest that a main reason for thiols being poor peroxidase-oxidase substrates is because these thiols are poor peroxidatic substrates.

Myeloperoxidase oxidation states involved in myeloperoxidase-oxidase oxidation of thiols

The changes in the oxidation state of the leucocyte enzyme myeloperoxidase, induced by buffer and thiols, were studied with visible-light-absorption spectroscopy. It was concluded that phosphate buffer contains small amounts of H2O2 and that thiols, when added to buffer, induce the generation of minute amounts of superoxide radical anion. These minute amounts of reduced oxygen species are suggested to account for the initiation of myeloperoxidase-oxidase oxidation of thiols. Myeloperoxidase was found to be in its Compound III oxidation state during myeloperoxidase-oxidase oxidation of thiols. However, myeloperoxidase-mediated oxidation of thiols with concomitant O2 consumption can also occur with myeloperoxidase in its Compound II oxidation state. These studies indicate that the ferro and Compound III oxidation states may not be essential intermediates in myeloperoxidase-oxidase oxidation of thiols, but rather that the formation of the Compound III oxidation state retards the reaction.

Thiols as myeloperoxidase-oxidase substrates

Nine low-Mr thiols were compared with regard to their ability to function as myeloperoxidase-oxidase substrates under conditions where no auto-oxidation of the thiols could be observed. The methyl and ethyl esters of cysteine were found to be about twice as active as cysteamine at pH 7.0, in terms of increased O2 consumption. Cysteine itself was poorly active, whereas glutathione, N-acetylcysteine and penicillamine were completely inactive as myeloperoxidase-oxidase substrates under these conditions. The structure-activity relationships indicated that both a free thiol and free amino group were required for peroxidase-oxidase activity, and also that a free carboxy group abolished activity. In analogy with cysteamine, the activities of both cysteine esters were inhibited by superoxide dismutase (less than 5 micrograms/ml) and by catalase and not by the hydroxyl-radical scavenger mannitol. In contrast with cysteamine, the activities of both cysteine esters were stimulated more than 2-fold by high concentrations (greater than 5 micrograms/ml) of superoxide dismutase. The activities of both cysteine esters exhibited broad pH optima at pH 7. A mechanism for the myeloperoxidase-oxidase oxidation of the cysteine esters is proposed, which is partly different from that previously proposed for cysteamine.