Mass Spectrometry for the Monitoring of Lipoprotein Oxidations by Myeloperoxidase in Cardiovascular Diseases

Effects of Zofenopril on Arterial Stiffness in Hypertension Patients

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) reduce arterial stiffness beyond their antihypertensive effect. Studies showed that sulfhydryl ACEIs have the antioxidative potential to improve endothelial function, which might have a clinical effect on arterial distensibility. However, there are no studies that directly compare the effects of sulfhydryl (zofenopril) and non-sulfhydryl ACEIs (enalapril) on arterial stiffness. Therefore, this prospective study aims to compare the effects of enalapril and zofenopril on arterial stiffness and oxidative stress in both short- and long-term treatment of arterial hypertension (AH). Baseline and post-treatment peripheral and central arterial pressure indices, augmentation index (Aix), aortic pulse wave velocity (ao-PWV), serum levels of oxidized low-density cholesterol lipoprotein, LDL and uric acid (UA) were measured. The results showed that acute treatment with zofenopril, in contrast to enalapril, significantly decreased peripheral and central Aix (p < 0.001). Chronic treatment with zofenopril showed a superior effect over enalapril on the reduction of the peripheral systolic arterial pressure with reduction of ao-PWV (p = 0.004), as well as a reduction in peripheral Aix (p = 0.021) and central Aix (p = 0.021). Therefore, this study indicates that zofenopril has beneficial effects on the reduction of arterial stiffness compared to enalapril. It has potent clinical efficacy in AH treatment and further studies should compare its safety and long-term efficacy to other AH drugs that would aid clinicians in treating AH and other various cardiovascular diseases that have arterial stiffness as a common denominator.

Mass-spectrometric analysis of APOB polymorphism rs1042031 (G/T) and its influence on serum proteome of coronary artery disease patients: genetic-derived proteomics consequences

Genetic polymorphisms of apolipoprotein B gene (APOB) may result into serum proteomic perturbance in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). The current case-control cohort of Pakistani subjects was designed to analyze the genetic influence of APOB rs1042031, (G/T) genotype on serum proteome. Subjects were categorized into two groups: CAD patients (n = 480) and healthy individuals (n = 220). For genotyping, tetra ARMS-PCR was carried out and validated through sequencing, whereas LC/MS-based proteomic analysis of serum samples was performed through label-free quantification. In initial step of genotyping, the frequencies of each genotype GG, GT, and TT were 70%, 27%, and 30% in CAD patients, while in control group, the subjects were 52%, 43%, and 5%, respectively, in CAD patients. The genotypic frequencies in patients vs. control groups found significantly different (p = 0.004), and a strong association of dominant alleles GG with the CAD was observed in both dominant (OR: 2.4 (1.71-3.34), p = 0.001) and allelic genetic models (OR: 2.0 (1.45-2.86), p = 0.001). In second step of label-free quantitation, a total of 40 significant proteins were found with altered expression in CAD patients. The enriched Gene Ontology (GO) terms of molecular functions and pathways of these protein showed upregulated pathways as follows: chylomicron remodeling and assembly, complement cascade activation, plasma lipoprotein assembly, apolipoprotein-A receptor binding, and metabolism of fat-soluble vitamins in G allele carrier of rs1042031 (G > T) vs. mutant T-allele carriers. This study provides better understanding of CAD pathobiology by proteogenomics of APOB. It evidences the influence of APOB rs1042031-dominant (GG) genotype with CAD patients.

Halogenation Activity of Mammalian Heme Peroxidases

Mammalian heme peroxidases are fascinating due to their unique peculiarity of oxidizing (pseudo)halides under physiologically relevant conditions. These proteins are able either to incorporate oxidized halides into substrates adjacent to the active site or to generate different oxidized (pseudo)halogenated species, which can take part in multiple (pseudo)halogenation and oxidation reactions with cell and tissue constituents. The present article reviews basic biochemical and redox mechanisms of (pseudo)halogenation activity as well as the physiological role of heme peroxidases. Thyroid peroxidase and peroxidasin are key enzymes for thyroid hormone synthesis and the formation of functional cross-links in collagen IV during basement membrane formation. Special attention is directed to the properties, enzymatic mechanisms, and resulting (pseudo)halogenated products of the immunologically relevant proteins such as myeloperoxidase, eosinophil peroxidase, and lactoperoxidase. The potential role of the (pseudo)halogenated products (hypochlorous acid, hypobromous acid, hypothiocyanite, and cyanate) of these three heme peroxidases is further discussed.