Henry Rosen

Superoxide-mediated modification of low density lipoprotein by arterial smooth muscle cells.

Extracellular superoxide was detected in cultures of monkey and human arterial smooth muscle cells as indicated by superoxide dismutase inhibitable reduction of cytochrome c. Superoxide production by these cells in the presence of Fe or Cu resulted in modification of low density lipoprotein (LDL). The degree of LDL modification was directly proportional to the rate of superoxide production by cells. Superoxide dismutase (100 micrograms/ml), and the general free radical scavengers butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole (50 microM), inhibited Fe- and Cu-mediated modification of LDL by monkey smooth muscle cells, while catalase (100 micrograms/ml) and mannitol (25 mM) had no effect. The chelators desferrioxamine and diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid completely inhibited Fe- and Cu-promoted modification of LDL, while EGTA had no inhibitory effect. EDTA stimulated Fe-promoted modification in the 1-100 microM range while inhibiting Cu-mediated modification of LDL. LDL modified by smooth muscle cells in the presence of 10 microM Fe or Cu stimulated [14C]oleate incorporation into cholesteryl ester by human macrophages and murine J774 cells to a degree comparable to that produced by acetylated LDL. LDL incubated with smooth muscle cells and metal ions in the presence of superoxide dismutase failed to enhance macrophage cholesteryl ester accumulation. Thus, arterial smooth muscle cells in culture generate superoxide and modify LDL by a superoxide-dependent, Fe or Cu catalyzed free radical process, resulting in enhanced uptake of the modified LDL by macrophages. Neither hydroxyl radicals nor H2O2 are likely to be involved. Superoxide-dependent lipid peroxidation may contribute to biological modification of LDL, resulting in foam cell formation and atherogenesis.

Iron and copper promote modification of low density lipoprotein by human arterial smooth muscle cells in culture.

Modification of low density lipoproteins by human arterial smooth muscle cells was characterized by increased electrophoretic mobility and increased content of malondialdehyde-like oxidation products reactive with thiobarbituric acid. Lipoprotein modification was promoted by micromolar concentrations of iron or copper in the culture medium and was metal ion concentration- and time-dependent. The ability of diverse media to promote smooth muscle cell-mediated low density lipoprotein modification correlated with their iron concentration. Therefore, metal ion concentration of culture media contributes substantially to low density lipoprotein modification in vitro. Human monocyte-derived macrophages took up and esterified the cholesterol from modified low density lipoprotein more extensively than from native low density lipoprotein. Metal ion-mediated modification of low density lipoprotein may be a contributing factor to the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis.

Neutrophil nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase assembly. Translocation of p47-phox and p67-phox requires interaction between p47-phox and cytochrome b558.

Two of the cytosolic NADPH oxidase components, p47-phox and p67-phox, translocate to the plasma membrane in normal neutrophils stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). We have now studied the translocation process in neutrophils of patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), an inherited syndrome in which the oxidase system fails to produce superoxide due to lesions affecting any one of its four known components: the gp91-phox and p22-phox subunits of cytochrome b558 (the membrane-bound terminal electron transporter of the oxidase), p47-phox, and p67-phox. In contrast to normal cells, neither p47-phox nor p67-phox translocated to the membrane in PMA-stimulated CGD neutrophils which lack cytochrome b558. In one patient with a rare X-linked form of CGD caused by a Pro----His substitution in gp91-phox, but whose neutrophils have normal levels of this mutant cytochrome b558, translocation was normal. In two patients with p47-phox deficiency, p67-phox failed to translocate, whereas p47-phox was detected in the particulate fraction of PMA-stimulated neutrophils from two patients deficient in p67-phox. Our data suggest that cytochrome b558 or a closely linked factor provides an essential membrane docking site for the cytosolic oxidase components and that it is p47-phox that mediates the assembly of these components on the membrane.

Myeloperoxidase: a front-line defender against phagocytosed microorganisms

Successful immune defense requires integration of multiple effector systems to match the diverse virulence properties that members of the microbial world might express as they initiate and promote infection. Human neutrophils—the first cellular responders to invading microbes—exert most of their antimicrobial activity in phagosomes, specialized membrane‐bound intracellular compartments formed by ingestion of microorganisms. The toxins generated de novo by the phagocyte NADPH oxidase and delivered by fusion of neutrophil granules with nascent phagosomes create conditions that kill and degrade ingested microbes. Antimicrobial activity reflects multiple and complex synergies among the phagosomal contents, and optimal action relies on oxidants generated in the presence of MPO. The absence of life‐threatening infectious complications in individuals with MPO deficiency is frequently offered as evidence that the MPO oxidant system is ancillary rather than essential for neutrophil‐mediated antimicrobial activity. However, that argument fails to consider observations from humans and KO mice that demonstrate that microbial killing by MPO‐deficient cells is less efficient than that of normal neutrophils. We present evidence in support of MPO as a major arm of oxidative killing by neutrophils and propose that the essential contribution of MPO to normal innate host defense is manifest only when exposure to pathogens overwhelms the capacity of other host defense mechanisms.

Superoxide initiates oxidation of low density lipoprotein by human monocytes.

Human mononuclear cells were used to evaluate the role of superoxide in the oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL). Unstimulated cells produced little superoxide or LDL oxidation as assayed by lipid peroxide content. Stimulation of the cells with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) resulted in an increase both in superoxide production and in LDL oxidation. Mononuclear cell-mediated LDL oxidation was time- and cell number-dependent and was markedly enhanced by the presence of Fe (10 microM). Superoxide was required for the initiation of LDL oxidation as indicated by inhibition of the reaction by early addition of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Propagation of LDL oxidation was superoxide-independent, since the later addition of SOD resulted in progressively less inhibition of LDL oxidation. Propagation of LDL oxidation also was, in part, cell-independent as indicated by continued oxidation of LDL when mononuclear cells were removed following a 1 to 8 hour period with cells. Optimal LDL oxidation required the presence of mononuclear cells throughout the incubation period, suggesting that cellular factors in addition to superoxide play a role in LDL oxidation. Further evidence for the role of superoxide in the oxidation of LDL by mononuclear cells was obtained with cells from patients with genetic deficiencies of either superoxide generation (chronic granulomatous disease) or myeloperoxidase. PMA-stimulated cells from a patient with chronic granulomatous disease neither generated superoxide nor modified LDL. Incubation of LDL with cells from a patient with myeloperoxidase deficiency (in which superoxide production is normal or increased) resulted in oxidation of the lipoprotein equivalent to that observed with normal cells. Other inhibitors of oxidation reactions also were tested.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[52] Antimicrobial activity of myeloperoxidase

Publisher Summary Peroxidases when combined with H 2 O 2 and a halide (chloride, bromide, iodide, and pseudohalide thiocyanate) form a potent cytotoxic system, which contributes to the host defense against invading microorganisms and possibly tumor cells. Neutrophils and monocytes contain the same peroxidase (myeloperoxidase, MPO), and eosinophils a different peroxidase (eosinophil peroxidase, EPO), in cytoplasmic granules, and these enzymes are discharged into the phagosome following particle ingestion. Phagocytosis also is associated with a respiratory burst and much of the added oxygen consumed is converted to H 2 O 2 . Peroxidase, H 2 O 2 , and a halide interact in the phagosome to destroy the ingested organism. The components of the peroxidase system can also be released extracellularly where they may attack adjacent normal or malignant cells, uningested organisms, or soluble mediators. A variety of methods has been employed for the measurement of the toxicity of the peroxidase system. These methods depend on the nature of the target cell and include the measurement of replication in growth medium, Cr release, metabolic activity, and morphologic changes. This chapter focuses on bactericidal activity as measured by decrease in colony-forming units, using Escherichia coli as the target, MPO as the peroxidase, and chloride as the halide.

Impaired Superoxide Production Due to a Deficiency in Phagocyte NADPH Oxidase Fails to Inhibit Atherosclerosis in Mice

Superoxide, the reduced form of molecular oxygen, has been implicated in the genesis of vascular disease. One potential mechanism involves oxidation of low density lipoprotein into an atherogenic particle. A second involves reaction with nitric oxide to generate peroxynitrite, a highly oxidizing intermediate. A third involves regulation of signal transduction in artery wall cells. One well-characterized pathway for superoxide production resides in macrophages, the cellular hallmark of the early atherosclerotic lesion. Macrophages contain a membrane-bound NADPH oxidase that reduces oxygen to superoxide. In the current studies, we used mice that are deficient in the gp91-phox subunit of the NADPH oxidase-a model of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD)-to explore the role of superoxide in atherosclerotic vascular disease. Wild-type and CGD mice on the C57BL/6 background received a high-fat diet for 20 weeks to induce hypercholesterolemia. At the end of this period, the 2 strains of mice had comparable plasma lipid levels, and their atherosclerotic lesions were similar in size. We also crossed CGD mice with apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-/-) mice to generate spontaneously hypercholesterolemic animals that lacked functional NADPH oxidase. After 24 weeks, the CGD-apoE-/- animals had lower plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels than did the apoE-/- animals, but there was no difference in the extent of atherosclerotic plaque. Our findings suggest that superoxide generated by the NADPH oxidase of phagocytes does not promote atherosclerosis in mice with either diet-induced or genetic forms of hypercholesterolemia.

Role of iron and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid in the bactericidal activity of a superoxide anion-generating system☆

Abstract In an earlier study, an enzymic superoxide anion-generating system consisting of acetaldehyde plus xanthine oxidase was found to be toxic to Staphylococcus aureus. Both superoxide anion (O ) and its dismutation product hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were required and it was proposed that (O ) and H2O2 interact to form the more powerful bactericidal agent(s), hydroxyl radical (OH·) and/or singlet oxygen. Iron chelated by EDTA appears to be a heretofore unrecognized requirement for the xanthine oxidase bactericidal system. The evidence is as follows: (1) the addition of iron salts to the xanthine oxidase system increased bactericidal activity whereas the iron chelators diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and desferrioxamine were inhibitory; (2) dialysis of the EDTA-containing xanthine oxidase preparation abolished bactericidal activity which was restored on the addition of EDTA; (3) removal of trace amounts of iron by passage of salt solutions through a Chelex-100 column abolished bactericidal activity which was restored on the addition of iron. Iron and EDTA were most effective when present at 1:1 stoichiometry and they could not be replaced by a variety of other metals or chelators. The bactericidal activity of the acetaldehyde-xanthine oxidase-iron-EDTA system was inhibited by superoxide dismutase, catalase, and the OH · scavengers ethanol and mannitol, suggesting that the complex served as a catalyst of the reaction between (O ) and H2O2 to form OH· (Haber-Weiss reaction). Possible reasons for the relative catalytic specificity of iron-EDTA are considered.

Methionine oxidation contributes to bacterial killing by the myeloperoxidase system of neutrophils

Reactive oxygen intermediates generated by neutrophils kill bacteria and are implicated in inflammatory tissue injury, but precise molecular targets are undefined. We demonstrate that neutrophils use myeloperoxidase (MPO) to convert methionine residues of ingested Escherichia coli to methionine sulfoxide in high yield. Neutrophils deficient in individual components of the MPO system (MPO, H2O2, chloride) exhibited impaired bactericidal activity and impaired capacity to oxidize methionine. HOCl, the principal physiologic product of the MPO system, is a highly efficient oxidant for methionine, and its microbicidal effects were found to correspond linearly with oxidation of methionine residues in bacterial cytosolic and inner membrane proteins. In contrast, outer envelope proteins were initially oxidized without associated microbicidal effect. Disruption of bacterial methionine sulfoxide repair systems rendered E. coli more susceptible to killing by HOCl, whereas over-expression of a repair enzyme, methionine sulfoxide reductase A, rendered them resistant, suggesting a direct role for methionine oxidation in bactericidal activity. Prominent among oxidized bacterial proteins were those engaged in synthesis and translocation of peptides to the cell envelope, an essential physiological function. Moreover, HOCl impaired protein translocation early in the course of bacterial killing. Together, our findings indicate that MPO-mediated methionine oxidation contributes to bacterial killing by neutrophils. The findings further suggest that protein translocation to the cell envelope is one important pathway targeted for damage.

Myeloperoxidase Inactivates TIMP-1 by Oxidizing Its N-terminal Cysteine Residue AN OXIDATIVE MECHANISM FOR REGULATING PROTEOLYSIS DURING INFLAMMATION

An imbalance between the proteolytic activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the activity of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) is implicated in tissue injury during inflammation. The N-terminal cysteine of TIMP-1 plays a key role in the inhibitory activity of the protein because it coordinates the essential catalytic Zn2+ of the MMP, preventing the metal ion from functioning. An important mechanism for controlling the interaction of TIMPs with MMPs might involve hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a potent oxidant produced by the myeloperoxidase (MPO) system of phagocytes. Here, we show that HOCl generated by the MPO-H2O2-chloride system inactivates TIMP-1 by oxidizing its N-terminal cysteine. The product is a novel 2-oxo acid. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry analyses demonstrated that methionine and N-terminal cysteine residues were rapidly oxidized by MPO-derived HOCl but only oxidation of the N-terminal cysteine of TIMP-1 correlated well with loss of inhibitory activity. Importantly, we detected the signature 2-oxo-acid N-terminal peptide in tryptic digests of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, demonstrating that TIMP-1 oxidation occurs in vivo. Loss of the N-terminal amino group and disulfide structure are crucial for preventing TIMP-1 from inhibiting MMPs. Our findings suggest that pericellular production of HOCl by phagocytes is a pathogenic mechanism for impairing TIMP-1 activity during inflammation.