Isabella Dalle-Donne

Protein carbonyl groups as biomarkers of oxidative stress

Oxidative stress, an imbalance toward the pro-oxidant side of the pro-oxidant/antioxidant homeostasis, occurs in several human diseases. Among these diseases are those in which high levels of protein carbonyl (CO) groups have been observed, including Alzheimers disease (AD), rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, sepsis, chronic renal failure, and respiratory distress syndrome. What relationships might be among high level of protein CO groups, oxidative stress, and diseases remain uncertain.The usage of protein CO groups as biomarkers of oxidative stress has some advantages in comparison with the measurement of other oxidation products because of the relative early formation and the relative stability of carbonylated proteins. Most of the assays for detection of protein CO groups involve derivatisation of the carbonyl group with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH), which leads to formation of a stable dinitrophenyl (DNP) hydrazone product. This then can be detected by various means, such as spectrophotometric assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and one-dimensional or two-dimensional electrophoresis followed by Western blot immunoassay. At present, the measurement of protein CO groups after their derivatisation with DNPH is the most widely utilized measure of protein oxidation.

Protein carbonylation in human diseases

Oxidative modifications of enzymes and structural proteins play a significant role in the aetiology and/or progression of several human diseases. Protein carbonyl content is the most general and well-used biomarker of severe oxidative protein damage. Human diseases associated with protein carbonylation include Alzheimers disease, chronic lung disease, chronic renal failure, diabetes and sepsis. Rapid recent progress in the identification of carbonylated proteins should provide new diagnostic (possibly pre-symptomatic) biomarkers for oxidative damage, and yield basic information to aid the establishment an efficacious antioxidant therapy.

Protein carbonylation, cellular dysfunction, and disease progression

Carbonylation of proteins is an irreversible oxidative damage, often leading to a loss of protein function, which is considered a widespread indicator of severe oxidative damage and disease‐derived protein dysfunction. Whereas moderately carbonylated proteins are degraded by the proteasomal system, heavily carbonylated proteins tend to form high‐molecular‐weight aggregates that are resistant to degradation and accumulate as damaged or unfolded proteins. Such aggregates of carbonylated proteins can inhibit proteasome activity. A large number of neurodegenerative diseases are directly associated with the accumulation of proteolysis‐resistant aggregates of carbonylated proteins in tissues. Identification of specific carbonylated protein(s) functionally impaired and development of selective carbonyl blockers should lead to the definitive assessment of the causative, correlative or consequential role of protein carbonylation in disease onset and/or progression, possibly providing new therapeutic aproaches.

The actin cytoskeleton response to oxidants: from small heat shock protein phosphorylation to changes in the redox state of actin itself

Actin is the major constituent of the cytoskeleton of almost all the eukaryotic cells. In vitro experiments have indicated that oxidant-stressed nonmuscle mammalian cells undergo remarkable changes in their morphology and in the structure of the actin cytoskeleton, often resulting in plasma membrane blebbing. Although the microfilament network is one of the earliest targets of oxidative stress, the mechanism by which oxidants change both the structure and the spatial organization of actin filaments is still a matter of debate and far from being fully elucidated. Starting from the 2-fold role of oxidants as injurious by-products of cellular metabolism and essential participants in cell signaling and regulation, this review attempts to gather the most relevant information related to (i) the activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase stress-activated protein kinase-2/p38 (SAPK2/p38) which, via MAP kinase-activated protein (MAPKAP) kinase 2/3, leads to the phosphorylation of the actin polymerization (F-actin) modulator 25/27 kDa heat shock protein (HSP25/27), whose phosphorylation is causally related to the regulation of microfilament dynamics following oxidative stress; (ii) the alteration of the redox state of actin or some actin regulatory proteins. The actin cytoskeleton response to oxidants is discussed on the basis of the growing body of evidence indicating the actin system as the most sensitive constituent of the cytoskeleton to the oxidant attack.

S‐Glutathionylation: from redox regulation of protein functions to human diseases

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) play an integral role in the modulation of several physiological functions but can also be potentially destructive if produced in excessive amounts. Protein cysteinyl thiols appear especially sensitive to ROS/RNS attack. Experimental evidence started to accumulate recently, documenting that S‐glutathionylation occurs in a number of physiologically relevant situations, where it can produce discrete modulatory effects on protein function. The increasing evidence of functional changes resulting from this modification, and the growing number of proteins shown to be S‐glutathionylated both in vitro and in vivo support this contention, and confirm this as an attractive area of research. S‐glutathionylated proteins are now actively investigated with reference to problems of biological interest and as possible biomarkers of human diseases associated with oxidative/nitrosative stress.

Oxidative stress and human diseases: Origin, link, measurement, mechanisms, and biomarkers.

Oxidative stress has been related increasingly to the onset and/or progression of a growing number of human diseases. However, large studies on supplementation with anti-oxidants for prevention or treatment of different pathologies have yielded contradictory and mostly negative results, as documented by numerous meta-analyses and clinical trials. Here we analyze in detail the findings of these studies and discuss major aspects that, in our opinion, are likely to be responsible for these confounding data. With the belief that a clear correlation between disease and oxidative stress is far from being proven for most pathological conditions, our argument focuses on the following points: i) choice of biomarker(s) and/or the biological system(s) for the analyses; ii) pitfalls in pre-analytical and analytical methods for assessing oxidative stress; and iii) scientific misconduct. Eventually, suggestions aiming to obtain more convergent results on this topic are provided.

Redox proteomics: from protein modifications to cellular dysfunction and disease

1. Oxidatively Modified Proteins and Proteomic Technologies. 1.1 Chemical Modification of Proteins by Reactive Oxygen Species (E. Stadtman & R. Levine). 1.2 The Chemistry of Protein Modifications Elicited By Nitric Oxide and Related Nitrogen Oxides (D. Thomas, et al.). 1.3 Mass Spectrometry Approaches for the Molecular Characterization of Oxidatively/Nitrosatively Modified Proteins (A. Scaloni). 1.4 Thiol-disulfide Oxidoreduction of Protein Cysteines: Old Methods Revisted for Proteomics (V. Bonetto & P. Ghezzi). 1.5 Carbonylated Proteins and their Implication in Physiology and Pathology (R. Levine & E. Stadtman). 1.6 S-Nitrosation of Cysteine thiols as a Redox Signal (Y. Zhang & N. Hogg). 1.7 Detection of Glycated and GlycoOxidated Proteins (A. Lapolla, et al.). 1.8 MudPIT (Multidimensaional Protein Identification Technology) for Identification of Post-translational Protein Modifications in Complex Biological Mixtures (S. Thomas, et al.). 1.9 Use of a Proteomic Technique to Identify Oxidant-Sensitive Thiol Proteins in Cultured Cells (M. Hampton, et al.). 1.10 ICAT (Isotope-Code Affinity Tag) Approach to Redox Proteomics: Identification and Quantification of Oxidant-Sensitive Protein Thiols (M. Sethuraman, et al.). 1.11 Quantitative Determination of Free and Protein-Associated 3-nitrotyrosine and S-nitrosothiols in the Circulation by Mass Spectrometry and Other Methodologies: A Critical Review and Discussion from the Analytical and Review Point of View (D. Tsikas). 2. Cellular Aspects of Protein Oxidation. 2.1 The Covalent Advantage: A New Paradigm for Cell Signaling Mediated by Thiol Reactive Lipid Oxidation Products (D. Dickinson, et al.). 2.2 Early Molecular Events During Response to Oxidative Stress in Human Cells by Differential Proteomics (G. Tell). 2.3 Oxidative Damage to Proteins: Structural Modifications and Consequences in Cell Function (E. Cabiscol & J. Ros). 2.4 Oxidative Damage and Cellular Senescence: Lessons from Bacteria and Yeast (T. Nystrom). 3. Redox Proteomic Analysis in Human Diseases. 3.1 Proteins as Sensitive Biomarkers of Human Conditions Associated with Oxidative Stress (I. Dalle-Donne, et al.). 3.2 Degradation and Accumulation of Oxidized Proteins in Age-Related Diseases (P. Voss & T. Grune). 3.3 Redox Proteomics: A New Approach to Investgate Oxidative Stress in Alzheimers Diseases (D. Butterfield, et al.). 3.4 Oxidized Proteins in Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion (J. Brennan & P. Eaton). 3.5 Proteome Anaylsis of Oxidative Stress: Glutathionyl Hemoglobin in Diabetic and Uremic Patients (T. Niwa). 3.6 Glyco-Oxidative Biochemistry in Diabetic Renal Injury (T. Miyata). 3.7 Quantitative Screnning of Protein Glycation, Oxidation, and Nitration Adducts by LC-MS/MS: Protein Damage in Diabetes, Uremia, Cirrhosis, and Alzheimers Disease (P. Thornalley). 3.8 Protein Targets and Functional Consequences of Tyrosine Nitration in Vascular Disease (L. Baker, et al.). 3.9 Oxidation of Artery Wall Proteins by Myeloperoxidase: A proteomics Approach (T. Vaisar & J. Heinecke). 3.10 Oxidative Stress and Protein Oxidation in Pre-Eclampsia (M. Raijmakers, et al.). 3.11 The Involvement of Oxidants in the Etiology of Chronic Airway Diseases: Proteomic Approaches to Identify Redox Processes in Epithelial Cell Signal and Inflammation (A. van der Vliet, et al.). 3.12 Sequestering Agents of Intermediate Reactive Aldehydes as Inhibitors of Advanced Lipoxidation End-Products (ALEs) (M. Carini, et al.).

Reversible S-glutathionylation of Cys374 regulates actin filament formation by inducing structural changes in the actin molecule

S-glutathionylation, the reversible formation of mixed disulphides of cysteinyl residues in target proteins with glutathione, occurs under conditions of oxidative stress; this could be a posttranslational mechanism through which protein function is regulated by the cellular redox status. A novel physiological relevance of actin polymerization regulated by glutathionylation of Cys(374) has been recently suggested. In the present study we showed that glutathionylated actin (GS-actin) has a decreased capacity to polymerize compared to native actin, filament elongation being the polymerization step actually inhibited. Actin polymerizability recovers completely after dethiolation, indicating that S-glutathionylation does not induce any protein denaturation and is therefore a reversible oxidative modification. The increased exposure of hydrophobic regions of protein surface observed upon S-glutathionylation indicates changes in actin conformation. Structural alterations are confirmed by the increased rate of ATP exchange as well as by the decreased susceptibility to proteolysis of the subtilisin cleavage site between Met(47) and Gly(48), in the DNase-I-binding loop of the actin subdomain 2. Structural changes in the surface loop 39-51 induced by S-glutathionylation could influence actin polymerization in view of the involvement of the N-terminal portion of this loop in intermonomer interactions, as predicted by the atomic models of F-actin.

Actin carbonylation: from a simple marker of protein oxidation to relevant signs of severe functional impairment.

The number of protein-bound carbonyl groups is an established marker of protein oxidation. Recent evidence indicates a significant increase in actin carbonyl content in both Alzheimers disease brains and ischemic hearts. The enhancement of actin carbonylation, causing the disruption of the actin cytoskeleton and the loss of the barrier function, has also been found in human colonic cells after exposure to hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Here, the effects of oxidation induced by HOCl on purified actin are presented. Results show that HOCl causes a rapidly increasing yield of carbonyl groups. However, when carbonylation becomes evident, some Cys and Met residues have been already oxidized. Covalent intermolecular cross-linking as well as some noncovalent aggregation of carbonylated actin have been found. The covalent cross-linking, unaffected by reducing and denaturing agents, parallels an increase in dityrosine fluorescence. Moreover, HOCl-mediated oxidation induces the progressive disruption of actin filaments and the inhibition of F-actin formation. The molar ratios of HOCl to actin that lead to inhibition of actin polymerization seem to have effect only on cysteines and methionines. The process that involves oxidation of amino acid side chains with formation of a carbonyl group would occur at an extent of oxidative insult higher than that causing the oxidation of some critical amino acid residues. Therefore, the increase in actin content of carbonyl groups found in vivo would indicate drastic oxidative modification leading to drastic functional impairments.

Nitrite and nitrate measurement by Griess reagent in human plasma: evaluation of interferences and standardization.

Nitrite and nitrate represent the final products of nitric oxide (NO) oxidation pathways, and their hematic concentrations are frequently assessed as an index of systemic NO production. However, their intake with food can influence their levels. Nitrite and nitrate could have a role by producing NO, because nitrite can release NO after reaction with deoxyhemoglobin and dietary nitrate can be reduced substantially to nitrite by commensal bacteria in the oral cavity. Different methods have been applied for nitrite/nitrate detection, with the most commonly used being the spectrophotometric assay based on the Griess reagent. However, a reference methodology for these determinations is still missing and many possible interferences have been reported. This chapter assesses how different experimental conditions can influence the results when detecting nitrite and nitrate in human plasma by the Griess assay and provides a simple method characterized by high reproducibility and minimized interferences by plasma constituents.