Bradley E. Sturgeon

Protein Oxidation of Cytochrome c by Reactive Halogen Species Enhances Its Peroxidase Activity

Reactive halogen species (RHS; X2 and HOX, where X represents Cl, Br, or I) are metabolites mediated by neutrophil activation and its accompanying respiratory burst. We have investigated the interaction between RHS and mitochondrial cytochrome c (cyt c) by using electrospray mass spectrometry and electron spin resonance (ESR). When the purified cyt c was reacted with an excess amount of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) at pH 7.4, the peroxidase activity of cytc was increased by 4.5-, 6.9-, and 8.6-fold at molar ratios (HOCl/cyt c) of 2, 4, and 8, respectively. In comparison with native cyt c, the mass spectra obtained from the HOCl-treated cyt c revealed that oxygen is covalently incorporated into the protein as indicated by molecular ions of m/z = 12,360 (cyt c), 12,376 (cyt c + O), and 12,392 (cyt c + 2O). Using tandem mass spectrometry, a peptide (obtained from the tryptic digests of HOCl-treated cyt c) corresponding to the amino acid sequence MIFAGIK, which contains the methionine that binds to the heme, was identified to be involved in the oxygen incorporation. The location of the oxygen incorporation was unequivocally determined to be the methionine residue, suggesting that the oxidation of heme ligand (Met-80) by HOCl results in the enhancement of peroxidase activity of cyt c. ESR spectroscopy of HOCl-oxidized cyt c, when reacted with H2O2 in the presence of the nitroso spin trap 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane (MNP), yielded more immobilized MNP/tyrosyl adduct than native cytc. In the presence of H2O2, the peroxidase activity of HOCl-oxidized cyt c exhibited an increasing ability to oxidize tyrosine to tyrosyl radical as measured directly by fast flow ESR. Titration of both native cyt cand HOCl-oxidized cyt c with various amounts of H2O2 indicated that the latter has a decreased apparent K m for H2O2, implicating that protein oxidation of cyt c increases its accessibility to H2O2. HOCl-oxidized cytc also displayed an impaired ability to support oxygen consumption by the purified mitochondrial cytochrome coxidase, suggesting that protein oxidation of cyt c may break the electron transport chain and inhibit energy transduction in mitochondria.

The Fate of the Oxidizing Tyrosyl Radical in the Presence of Glutathione and Ascorbate IMPLICATIONS FOR THE RADICAL SINK HYPOTHESIS

Cellular systems contain as much as millimolar concentrations of both ascorbate and GSH, although the GSH concentration is often 10-fold that of ascorbate. It has been proposed that GSH and superoxide dismutase (SOD) act in a concerted effort to eliminate biologically generated radicals. The tyrosyl radical (Tyr⋅) generated by horseradish peroxidase in the presence of hydrogen peroxide can react with GSH to form the glutathione thiyl radical (GS⋅). GS⋅ can react with the glutathione anion (GS−) to form the disulfide radical anion (GSSG⨪). This highly reactive disulfide radical anion will reduce molecular oxygen, forming superoxide and glutathione disulfide (GSSG). In a concerted effort, SOD will catalyze the dismutation of superoxide, resulting in the elimination of the radical. The physiological relevance of this GSH/SOD concerted effort is questionable. In a tyrosyl radical-generating system containing ascorbate (100 μm) and GSH (8 mm), the ascorbate nearly eliminated oxygen consumption and diminished GS⋅ formation. In the presence of ascorbate, the tyrosyl radical will oxidize ascorbate to form the ascorbate radical. When measuring the ascorbate radical directly using fast-flow electron spin resonance, only minor changes in the ascorbate radical electron spin resonance signal intensity occurred in the presence of GSH. These results indicate that in the presence of physiological concentrations of ascorbate and GSH, GSH is not involved in the detoxification pathway of oxidizing free radicals formed by peroxidases.

A long-lived tyrosyl radical from the reaction between horse metmyoglobin and hydrogen peroxide

The reaction between metmyoglobin (metMb) and hydrogen peroxide has been known since the 1950s to produce globin-centered free radicals. The direct electron spin resonance spectrum of a solution of horse metMb and hydrogen peroxide at room temperature consists of a multilined signal that decays in minutes at room temperature. Comparison of the direct ESR spectra obtained from the system under N(2)- and O(2)-saturated conditions demonstrates the presence of a peroxyl radical, identified by its g-value of 2.014. Computer simulations of the spectra recorded 3 s after the mixture of metMb and H(2)O(2) were calculated using hyperfine coupling constants of a(H2,6) = 1.3 G and a(H3,5) = 7.0 G for the ring and a(beta)(H1) = 16.7 G and a(beta)(H2) = 14.2 G for the methylene protons, and are consistent with a highly constrained, conformationally unstable tyrosyl radical. Spectra obtained at later time points contained a mixture of the 3 s signal and another signal that was insufficiently resolved for simulation. Efficient spin trapping with 3, 5-dibromo-4-nitrosobenzenesulfonic acid was observed only when the spin trap was present at the time of H(2)O(2) addition. Spin trapping experiments with either 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) or perdeuterated 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane (MNP-d(9)), which have been shown to trap tyrosyl radicals, were nearly equally effective when the spin trap was added before or 10 min after the addition of H(2)O(2). The superhyperfine structure of the ESR spectra obtained from Pronase-treated MNP-d(9)/*metMb confirmed the assignment to a tyrosyl radical. Delayed spin trapping experiments with site-directed mutant myoglobins in which either Tyr-103 or Tyr-146 was replaced by phenylalanine indicated that radical adduct formation with either DMPO or MNP-d(9) requires the presence of Tyr-103 at all time points, implicating that residue as the radical site.

Nitric oxide trapping of the tyrosyl radical-chemistry and biochemistry

The quenching of the Y(D) tyrosyl radical in photosystem II by nitric oxide was reported to result from the formation of a weak tyrosyl radical-nitric oxide complex. This radical/radical reaction is expected to generate an electron spin resonance (ESR)-silent nitrosocyclohexadienone species that can reversibly regenerate the tyrosyl radical and nitric oxide or undergo rearrangement to form 3-nitrosotyrosine. It has been proposed that 3-nitrosotyrosine can be oxidized by one electron to form the tyrosine iminoxyl radical (>C=N-O.). This proposal was put forth as a result of ESR detection of the iminoxyl radical intermediate when photosystem II was exposed to nitric oxide. Although the detection of the iminoxyl radical in photosystem II strongly suggested a mechanism involving 3-nitrosotyrosine, the iminoxyl radical ESR spectrum was not unequivocally identified as originating from tyrosine. Subsequently, non-protein L-tyrosine iminoxyl radical was generated by two methods: (1) peroxidase oxidation of synthetic 3-nitroso-N-acetyl-L-tyrosine; and (2) peroxidase oxidation of free L-tyrosine in the presence of nitric oxide. The determination of protein nitrotyrosine content has become a frequently used technique for the detection of nitrosative tissue damage. Protein nitration has been suggested to be a final product of the production of highly reactive nitrogen oxide intermediates (e.g. peroxynitrite) formed in reactions between nitric oxide (NO.) and oxygen-derived species such as superoxide. The enzyme prostaglandin H synthase-2 also forms a tyrosyl radical during its enzymatic catalysis of prostaglandin formation. In the presence of the NO.-generator diethylamine nonoate, the tyrosyl radical of prostaglandin H synthase-2 also changes to that of an iminoxyl radical. Western blot analysis of prostaglandin H synthase-2 after exposure to the NO.-generator revealed nitrotyrosine formation. The results provide a mechanism for nitric oxide-dependent tyrosine nitration that does not require formation of more highly reactive nitrogen oxide intermediates such as peroxynitrite or nitrogen dioxide.

Electron Spin Resonance Investigation of the Cyanyl and Azidyl Radical Formation by Cytochrome c Oxidase

Cyanide (CN−) is a frequently used inhibitor of mitochondrial respiration due to its binding to the ferric heme a 3 of cytochrome coxidase (CcO). As-isolated CcO oxidized cyanide to the cyanyl radical (⋅CN) that was detected, using the ESR spin-trapping technique, as the 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO)/⋅CN radical adduct. The enzymatic conversion of cyanide to the cyanyl radical by CcO was time-dependent but not affected by azide (N3 −). The small but variable amounts of compound P present in the as-isolated CcO accounted for this one-electron oxidation of cyanide to the cyanyl radical. In contrast, as-isolated CcO exhibited little ability to catalyze the oxidation of azide, presumably because of azide’s lower affinity for the CcO. However, the DMPO/⋅N3 radical adduct was readily detected when H2O2 was included in the system. The results presented here indicate the need to re-evaluate oxidative stress in mitochondria “chemical hypoxia” induced by cyanide or azide to account for the presence of highly reactive free radicals.

Sensitive pulsed EPR spectrometer with an 8–18 GHz frequency range

The design and construction details of a kW power level pulsed EPR spectrometer with an 8–18 GHz frequency range are presented. The spectrometer is designed for high sensitivity over this wide frequency range. A synthesized sweeper is used as the microwave source. Details of the pulse electronics, pulse timings, cryogenics, and the Macintosh computer interface are described. Representative three pulse electron spin echo envelope modulation patterns of a Cu (II) tetraimidazole complex at X‐ and P‐band frequencies are presented.

A chiral salen vanadyl complex with two significantly different configurations in solid state: synthesis, characterization, and molecular structure

A chiral vanadyl complex prepared from a chiral Salen ligand possessing branched bulky groups at 3- and 5-positions showed two independent molecules in solid state in which the core conformations are significantly different.

Revisiting the peroxidase oxidation of 2,4,6-trihalophenols: ESR detection of radical intermediates.

The peroxidase oxidation of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) has been clearly shown to result in 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (DCQ). DCQ is a 2-electron oxidation product of TCP that has undergone para dechlorination. Many peroxidases show similar oxidation of the substrate, TCP, to yield the quinone, DCQ. Depending on the substrate, peroxidases are thought to carry out both 1- and 2-electron oxidations; the mechanism can be confirmed by the detection of both enzyme and substrate intermediates. This article presents ESR evidence for the transient 2,4,6-trichlorophenoxyl radical intermediate (TCP•), which exists free in solution, i.e., is not enzyme associated. These data are best explained as a 1-electron peroxidase oxidation of TCP to form TCP•, followed by enzyme-independent radical reactions leading to the 2-electron oxidized product. Also presented are data for the peroxidase oxidation of 2,4,6-trifluorophenol and 2,6-dichloro-4-fluorophenol.