Electron spin resonance investigation of semiquinone radicals formed from the reaction of ubiquinone 0 with human oxyhemoglobin

Detection and Characterization of Catechol Quinone-Derived Protein Adducts Using Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry

The catechol quinone (CQ) motif is present in many biologically relevant molecules throughout endogenous metabolic products, foods, drugs, and environmental pollutants. The CQ derivatives may undergo Michael addition, and has been shown to yield covalent bonds with nucleophilic sites of cysteine, lysine, or histidine residue of proteins. The CQ-adducted proteins may exhibit cytotoxicity or biological functions different from their un-adducted forms. Identification, characterization, and quantification of relevant protein targets are essential but challenging goals. Mass spectrometry (MS) is well-suited for the analysis of proteins and protein modifications. Technical development of bottom-up proteomics has greatly advanced the field of biomolecular MS, including protein adductomics. This mini-review focuses on the use of biomolecular MS in (1) structural and functional characterization of CQ adduction on standards of proteins, (2) identification of endogenous adduction targets, and (3) quantification of adducted blood proteins as exposure index. The reactivity and outcome of CQ adduction are discussed with emphases on endogenous species, such as dopamine and catechol estrogens. Limitations and advancements in sample preparation, MS instrumentation, and software to facilitate protein adductomics are also discussed.

2-(4-Chlorophenyl)benzo-1,4-quinone induced ROS-signaling inhibits proliferation in human non-malignant prostate epithelial cells

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and their metabolites are environmental chemical contaminants which can produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) by auto-oxidation of di-hydroxy PCBs as well as the reduction of quinones and redox-cycling. We investigate the hypothesis that 2-(4-chlorophenyl)benzo-1,4-quinone (4-Cl-BQ), a metabolite of 4-chlorobiphenyl (PCB3), induced ROS-signaling inhibits cellular proliferation. Monolayer cultures of exponentially growing asynchronous human non-malignant prostate epithelial cells (RWPE-1) were incubated with 0-6 μM of 4-Cl-BQ and harvested at the end of 72 h of incubation to assess antioxidant enzyme expression, cellular ROS levels, cell growth, and cell cycle phase distributions. 4-Cl-BQ decreased manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) activity, protein, and mRNA levels. 4-Cl-BQ treatment increased dihydroethidium (DHE) fluorescence, which was suppressed in cells pretreated with polyethylene glycol conjugated superoxide dismutase (PEG-SOD). The increase in ROS levels was associated with a decrease in cell growth, and an increase in the percentage of S-phase cells. These effects were suppressed in cells pretreated with PEG-SOD. 4-Cl-BQ treatment did not change the protein levels of phosphorylated H2AX at the end of 72 h of incubation, suggesting that the inhibition in cell growth and accumulation of cells in S-phase at the end of the treatments were probably not due to 4-Cl-BQ induced DNA double strand break. These results demonstrate that MnSOD activity and ROS-signaling perturb proliferation in 4-Cl-BQ treated in vitro cultures of human prostate cells.

Nonenzymatic displacement of chlorine and formation of free radicals upon the reaction of glutathione with PCB quinones

The reactions of glutathione (GSH) with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) quinones having different degrees of chlorination on the quinone ring were examined. EPR spectroscopy and MS revealed 2 types of reactions yielding different products: (i) a nonenzymatic, nucleophilic displacement of chlorine on the quinone ring yielding a glutathiylated conjugated quinone and (ii) Michael addition of GSH to the quinone, a 2-electron reduction, yielding a glutathiylated conjugated hydroquinone. The pK(a) of parent hydroquinone decreased by 1 unit as the degree of chlorination increased. This resulted in a corresponding increase in the oxidizability of these chlorinated hydroquinones. The reaction with oxygen appears to be first-order each in ionized hydroquinone and dioxygen, yielding hydrogen peroxide stoichiometrically. The generation of semiquinone radicals, superoxide, and hydroxyl radicals was observed by EPR; however, the mechanisms and yields vary depending on the degree of the chlorination of hydroquinone/quinone and the presence or absence of GSH. Our discovery that chlorinated quinones undergo a rapid, nonenzymatic dechlorination upon reaction with GSH opens a different view on mechanisms of metabolism and the toxicity of this class of compounds.

Catalase ameliorates polychlorinated biphenyl-induced cytotoxicity in nonmalignant human breast epithelial cells

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are environmental chemical contaminants believed to adversely affect cellular processes. We investigated the hypothesis that PCB-induced changes in the levels of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce DNA damage resulting in cytotoxicity. Exponentially growing cultures of human nonmalignant breast epithelial cells (MCF10A) were incubated with PCBs for 3 days and assayed for cell number, ROS levels, DNA damage, and cytotoxicity. Exposure to 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB153) or 2-(4-chlorophenyl)benzo-1,4-quinone (4-Cl-BQ), a metabolite of 4-chlorobiphenyl (PCB3), significantly decreased cell number and MTS reduction and increased the percentage of cells with sub-G1 DNA content. Results from electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy showed a 4-fold increase in the steady-state levels of ROS, which was suppressed in cells pretreated with catalase. EPR measurements in cells treated with 4-Cl-BQ detected the presence of a semiquinone radical, suggesting that the increased levels of ROS could be due to the redox cycling of 4-Cl-BQ. A dose-dependent increase in micronuclei frequency was observed in PCB-treated cells, consistent with an increase in histone 2AX phosphorylation. Treatment of cells with catalase blunted the PCB-induced increase in micronuclei frequency and H2AX phosphorylation that was consistent with an increase in cell survival. Our results demonstrate a PCB-induced increase in cellular levels of ROS causing DNA damage, resulting in cell killing.

Reduction of hypervalent states of myoglobin and hemoglobin to their ferrous forms by thymoquinone: the role of GSH, NADH and NADPH

The reactivity of thymoquinone towards different redox states of hemoglobin and myoglobin in the presence of GSH, NADH, and NADPH was evaluated by optical spectral analysis. Thymoquinone reduces the ferryl forms (HbIV/MbIV) of both met-hemoglobin (HbIII) and met-myoglobin (MbIII) to oxy-hemoglobin (HbIIO2) and oxy-myoglobin (MbIIO2) under physiological conditions. The reaction is mediated by the intermediate quinone forms of TQ, that is, glutathionyl-dihydrothymoquinone (DHTQ-GS) and dihydrothymoquinone (DHTQ), formed from direct interaction of TQ with GSH or NADH (NADPH). In vitro incubation of oxidized human erythrocytes with TQ, DHTQ, and the GSH/TQ mixture reduces the intracellular met-Hb at different rates. In the present study, we report that TQ and its reduced derivatives can also prevent lipid peroxidation induced by the MbFeIII/H2O2 system. In this system, lipid peroxidation is induced by MbIV or a putative MbIV/.MbVI composite; it is plausible that the antioxidant function of TQ derivatives is related to their ability to reduce these oxidizing species. This is of particular biological significance, as natural quinones may participate in reducing processes that lead to recovery of hemoglobin and myoglobin during oxidative stress.

Effect of quinones on microtubule polymerization: a link between oxidative stress and cytoskeletal alterations in Alzheimer's disease

Increases in the concentration of quinones, such as benzoquinone, in pathological processes mediated by oxidative imbalance play a role in the disorganization and disassembly of the microtubule network in both non-neural and neural cells. In this study, we show that the effects on microtubules appear to be a direct result of the action of the quinones on tubulin, the main component of microtubules, since tubulin modification by quinones, including benzoquinone and juglone, leads to aggregation into dimers and other oligomers. Therefore, quinones and quinone-mediated effects provide a mechanistic link between oxidative stress, microtubule disruption, neuronal dysfunction and death, i.e., key salient feature of Alzheimer's disease.

Protein engineering of cytochrome b562 for quinone binding and light-induced electron transfer

The central photochemical reaction in photosystem II of green algae and plants and the reaction center of some photosynthetic bacteria involves a one-electron transfer from a light-activated chlorin complex to a bound quinone molecule. Through protein engineering, we have been able to modify a protein to mimic this reaction. A unique quinone-binding site was engineered into the Escherichia coli cytochrome b(562) by introducing a cysteine within the hydrophobic interior of the protein. Various quinones, such as p-benzoquinone and 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone, were then covalently attached to the protein through a cysteine sulfur addition reaction to the quinone ring. The cysteine placement was designed to bind the quinone approximately 10 A from the edge of the bound porphyrin. Fluorescence measurements confirmed that the bound hydroquinone is incorporated toward the protein's hydrophobic interior and is partially solvent-shielded. The bound quinones remain redox-active and can be oxidized and rereduced in a two-electron process at neutral pH. The semiquinone can be generated at high pH by a one-electron reduction, and the midpoint potential of this can be adjusted by approximately 500 mV by binding different quinones to the protein. The heme-binding site of the modified cytochrome was then reconstituted with the chlorophyll analogue zinc chlorin e(6). By using EPR and fast optical techniques, we show that, in the various chlorin-protein-quinone complexes, light-induced electron transfer can occur from the chlorin to the bound oxidized quinone but not the hydroquinone, with electron transfer rates in the order of 10(8) s(-1).

Impact of pulmonary arterial endothelial cells on duroquinone redox status

The study objective was to use pulmonary arterial endothelial cells to examine kinetics and mechanisms contributing to the disposition of the quinone 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-benzoquinone (duroquinone, DQ) observed during passage through the pulmonary circulation. The approach was to add DQ, durohydroquinone (DQH2), or DQ with the cell membrane-impermeant oxidizing agent, ferricyanide (Fe(CN)6(3)-), to the cell medium, and to measure the medium concentrations of substrates and products over time. Studies were carried out under control conditions and with dicumarol, to inhibit NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), or cyanide, to inhibit mitochondrial electron transport. In control cells, DQH2 appears in the extracellular medium of cells incubated with DQ, and DQ appears when the cells are incubated with DQH2. Dicumarol blocked the appearance of DQH2 when DQ was added to the cell medium, and cyanide blocked the appearance of DQ when DQH2 was added to the cell medium, suggesting that the two electron reductase NQO1 dominates DQ reduction and mitochondrial electron transport complex III is the predominant route of DQH2 oxidation. In the presence of cyanide, the addition of DQ also resulted in an increased rate of appearance of DQH2 and stimulation of cyanide-insensitive oxygen consumption. As DQH2 does not autoxidize-comproportionate over the study time course, these observations suggest a cyanide-stimulated one-electron DQ reduction and durosemiquinone (DQ*-) autoxidation. The latter processes are apparently confined to the cell interior, as the cell membrane impermeant oxidant, ferricyanide, did not inhibit the DQ-stimulated cyanide-insensitive oxygen consumption. Thus, regardless of whether DQ is reduced via a one- or two-electron reduction pathway, the net effect in the extracellular medium is the appearance of DQH2. These endothelial redox functions and their apposition to the vessel lumen are consistent with the pulmonary endothelium being an important site of DQ reduction to DQH2 observed in the lungs.

Binding of 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene to bovine hemoglobin and albumin

Previous studies examined the bioavailability and first-pass biotransformation of 3-hydroxy[(3)H]benzo[a]pyrene ([(3)H]-3-OHBaP) in an isolated perfused catfish intestinal model. This work showed that 3-OHBaP, or a metabolite formed in intestine, bound covalently to blood protein. In this study, the blood adducts were characterized in vitro by incubating bovine ferric hemoglobin or albumin with [(3)H]-3OHBaP under various conditions. Incubation of 2 microM [(3)H]-3-OHBaP with hemoglobin for 1 h resulted in 7.49 pmol bound/mg protein, while albumin binding was 1.37 pmol/mg protein. Mild acid hydrolysis released only 5% of the radioactivity from 3-OHBaP-hemoglobin adducts. After gel filtration, the 3-OHBaP-hemoglobin adducts were examined by HPLC analysis. A single peak of radioactivity was detected at the same retention time as the heme component of hemoglobin. Unbound 3-OHBaP was oxidized to BaP-3,6-dione during incubation with ferric hemoglobin. Treatment of hemoglobin with ascorbic acid decreased the formation of hemoglobin adducts by 33%, while hydrogen peroxide treatment increased adduct formation by 44%. Incubation of [(3)H]-BaP-3-beta-D-glucuronide (BaP-3G) with hemoglobin and beta-glucuronidase resulted in greater binding to hemoglobin than incubation with [(3)H]-3-OHBaP alone. The hemoglobin adduct obtained from [(3)H]-BaP-3G also co-migrated with heme. These results indicate that an oxidative process is involved in formation of the heme adduct and that 3-OHBaP or BaP-3G might be a precursor of the bound metabolite.

Pulmonary arterial endothelial cells affect the redox status of coenzyme Q0

The pulmonary endothelium is capable of reducing certain redox-active compounds as they pass from the systemic venous to the arterial circulation. This may have important consequences with regard to the pulmonary and systemic disposition and biochemistry of these compounds. Because quinones comprise an important class of redox-active compounds with a range of physiological, toxicological, and pharmacological activities, the objective of the present study was to determine the fate of a model quinone, coenzyme Q0 (Q), added to the extracellular medium surrounding pulmonary arterial endothelial cells in culture, with particular attention to the effect of the cells on the redox status of Q in the medium. Spectrophotometry, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) demonstrated that, when the oxidized form Q is added to the medium surrounding the cells, it is rapidly converted to its quinol form (QH2) with a small concentration of semiquinone (Q*-) also detectable. The isolation of cell plasma membrane proteins revealed an NADH-Q oxidoreductase located on the outer plasma membrane surface, which apparently participates in the reduction process. In addition, once formed the QH2 undergoes a cyanide-sensitive oxidation by the cells. Thus, the actual rate of Q reduction by the cells is greater than the net QH2 output from the cells.