Reactive oxygen species play an important role in the activation of heat shock factor 1 in ischemic-reperfused heart. (1/4896)

BACKGROUND: The myocardial protective role of heat shock protein (HSP) has been demonstrated. Recently, we reported that ischemia/reperfusion induced a significant activation of heat shock factor (HSF) 1 and an accumulation of mRNA for HSP70 and HSP90. We examined the role of reactive oxygen species (ROSs) in the induction of stress response in the ischemic-reperfused heart. METHODS AND RESULTS: Rat hearts were isolated and perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer by the Langendorff method. Whole-cell extracts were prepared for gel mobility shift assay using oligonucleotides containing the heat shock element. Induction of mRNA for HSP70 and HSP90 was examined by Northern blot analysis. Repetitive ischemia/reperfusion, which causes recurrent bursts of free radical generation, resulted in burst activation of HSF1, and this burst activation was significantly reduced with either allopurinol 1 mmol/L (an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase) or catalase 2x10(5) U/L (a scavenger of H2O2). Significant activation of HSF1 was observed on perfusion with buffer containing H2O2 150 micromol/L or xanthine 1 mmol/L plus xanthine oxidase 5 U/L. The accumulation of mRNA for HSP70 or HSP90 after repetitive ischemia/reperfusion was reduced with either allopurinol or catalase. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that ROSs play an important role in the activation of HSF1 and the accumulation of mRNA for HSP70 and HSP90 in the ischemic-reperfused heart.  (+info)

Metal-catalyzed oxidation of phenylalanine-sensitive 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase from Escherichia coli: inactivation and destabilization by oxidation of active-site cysteines. (2/4896)

The in vitro instability of the phenylalanine-sensitive 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase [DAHPS(Phe)] from Escherichia coli has been found to be due to a metal-catalyzed oxidation mechanism. DAHPS(Phe) is one of three differentially feedback-regulated isoforms of the enzyme which catalyzes the first step of aromatic biosynthesis, the formation of DAHP from phosphoenolpyruvate and D-erythrose-4-phosphate. The activity of the apoenzyme decayed exponentially, with a half-life of about 1 day at room temperature, and the heterotetramer slowly dissociated to the monomeric state. The enzyme was stabilized by the presence of phosphoenolpyruvate or EDTA, indicating that in the absence of substrate, a trace metal(s) was the inactivating agent. Cu2+ and Fe2+, but none of the other divalent metals that activate the enzyme, greatly accelerated the rate of inactivation and subunit dissociation. Both anaerobiosis and the addition of catalase significantly reduced Cu2+-catalyzed inactivation. In the spontaneously inactivated enzyme, there was a net loss of two of the seven thiols per subunit; this value increased with increasing concentrations of added Cu2+. Dithiothreitol completely restored the enzymatic activity and the two lost thiols in the spontaneously inactivated enzyme but was only partially effective in reactivation of the Cu2+-inactivated enzyme. Mutant enzymes with conservative replacements at either of the two active-site cysteines, Cys61 or Cys328, were insensitive to the metal attack. Peptide mapping of the Cu2+-inactivated enzyme revealed a disulfide linkage between these two cysteine residues. All results indicate that DAHPS(Phe) is a metal-catalyzed oxidation system wherein bound substrate protects active-site residues from oxidative attack catalyzed by bound redox metal cofactor. A mechanism of inactivation of DAHPS is proposed that features a metal redox cycle that requires the sequential oxidation of its two active-site cysteines.  (+info)

Stabilization of L-ascorbic acid by superoxide dismutase and catalase. (3/4896)

The effects of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase on the autoxidation rate of L-ascorbic acid (ASA) in the absence of metal ion catalysts were examined. The stabilization of ASA by SOD was confirmed, and the enzyme activity of SOD, which scavenges the superoxide anion formed during the autoxidation of ASA, contributed strongly to this stabilization. The stabilization of ASA by catalase was observed for the first time; however, the specific enzyme ability of catalase would not have been involved in the stabilization of ASA. Such proteins as bovine serum albumin (BSA) and ovalbumin also inhibited the autoxidation of ASA, therefore it seems that non-specific interaction between ASA and such proteins as catalase and BSA might stabilize ASA and that the non-enzymatic superoxide anion scavenging ability of proteins might be involved.  (+info)

Clusterin has chaperone-like activity similar to that of small heat shock proteins. (4/4896)

Clusterin is a highly conserved protein which is expressed at increased levels by many cell types in response to a broad variety of stress conditions. A genuine physiological function for clusterin has not yet been established. The results presented here demonstrate for the first time that clusterin has chaperone-like activity. At physiological concentrations, clusterin potently protected glutathione S-transferase and catalase from heat-induced precipitation and alpha-lactalbumin and bovine serum albumin from precipitation induced by reduction with dithiothreitol. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay data showed that clusterin bound preferentially to heat-stressed glutathione S-transferase and to dithiothreitol-treated bovine serum albumin and alpha-lactalbumin. Size exclusion chromatography and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses showed that clusterin formed high molecular weight complexes (HMW) with all four proteins tested. Small heat shock proteins (sHSP) also act in this way to prevent protein precipitation and protect cells from heat and other stresses. The stoichiometric subunit molar ratios of clusterin:stressed protein during formation of HMW complexes (which for the four proteins tested ranged from 1.0:1.3 to 1.0:11) is less than the reported ratios for sHSP-mediated formation of HMW complexes (1.0:1.0 or greater), indicating that clusterin is a very efficient chaperone. Our results suggest that clusterin may play a sHSP-like role in cytoprotection.  (+info)

Expression of antioxidant protective proteins in the rat retina during prenatal and postnatal development. (5/4896)

PURPOSE: In retinopathy of prematurity, capillary growth in the retina is attenuated. Subsequent cyclic elevation of oxygen levels leads to renewed capillary growth that may eventually result in retinal detachment. It is hypothesized that the sensitivity of the premature retina to oxidative shock results from the absence of antioxidant protective proteins. METHODS: The expression of heme oxygenase-1, metallothionein, superoxide dismutase, and catalase mRNAs was measured in retinas of rats from 6 days before birth to 4 days after birth using in situ hybridization and semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction with Southern blot analysis. RESULTS: Superoxide dismutase mRNA was expressed to a similar extent at all time points. Metallothionein mRNA expression, which was high at embryonic days (E) 16 and 18, decreased to low levels by the time of birth and remained low at least until 4 days after birth. Catalase mRNA expression was low until birth and increased until at least postnatal day 4. Heme oxygenase-1 mRNA showed low expression at E16 and E18, increased before birth, and then diminished. CONCLUSIONS: Four antioxidant protein mRNAs showed very different patterns of expression in the rat retina. Two of these proteins, heme oxygenase-1 and catalase, were expressed at relatively low levels until approximately the time of birth. The former is important in protection against heme-mediated generation of reactive oxygen species, whereas the latter protects against hydrogen peroxide-generated damage. As a result of the low expression of these mRNAs, and presumably the proteins encoded by them, the premature rat (and probably the premature human) is likely to be born without a full complement of antioxidant defenses.  (+info)

Effect of alpha-hederin on hepatic detoxifying systems in mice. (6/4896)

AIM: To examine whether alpha-hederin (Hed) modulates hepatic detoxifying systems as a means of hepatoprotection. METHODS: Mice were injected Hed 10 and 30 mumol.kg-1 sc for 3 d, and liver cytosols were prepared 24 h after the last dose to study antioxidant enzymes and nonenzymatic defense components. RESULTS: Hed increased liver glutathione (GSH) content (20%), but had no effect on GSH peroxidase, GSH reductase, and GSH S-transferase. The activities of superoxide dismutase and quinone reductase were unaffected by Hed treatment. At the high dose of Hed, catalase activity was decreased by 20%. Hepatic content of metallothionein was dramatically increased (50-fold), along with elevations of hepatic Zn and Cu concentrations (25%-80%). Hed also increased ascorbic acid concentration (20%), but no effect on alpha-tocopherol in liver. CONCLUSION: Hed enhanced some nonenzymatic antioxidant components in liver, which play a partial role in Hed protection against hepatotoxicity produced by some chemicals.  (+info)

In vivo role of catalase-peroxidase in synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. (7/4896)

The katG gene coding for the only catalase-peroxidase in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 was deleted in this organism. Although the rate of H2O2 decomposition was about 30 times lower in the DeltakatG mutant than in the wild type, the strain had a normal phenotype and its doubling time as well as its resistance to H2O2 and methyl viologen were indistinguishable from those of the wild type. The residual H2O2-scavenging capacity was more than sufficient to deal with the rate of H2O2 production by the cell, estimated to be less than 1% of the maximum rate of photosynthetic electron transport in vivo. We propose that catalase-peroxidase has a protective role against environmental H2O2 generated by algae or bacteria in the ecosystem (for example, in mats). This protective role is most apparent at a high cell density of the cyanobacterium. The residual H2O2-scavenging activity in the DeltakatG mutant was a light-dependent peroxidase activity. However, neither glutathione peroxidase nor ascorbate peroxidase accounted for a significant part of this H2O2-scavenging activity. When a small thiol such as dithiothreitol was added to the medium, the rate of H2O2 decomposition in the DeltakatG mutant increased more than 10-fold, indicating that a thiol-specific peroxidase, for which thioredoxin may be the physiological electron donor, is present. Oxidized thioredoxin is likely to be reduced again by photosynthetic electron transport. Therefore, under laboratory conditions, there are only two enzymatic mechanisms for H2O2 decomposition present in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. One is catalyzed by a catalase-peroxidase, and the other is catalyzed by thiol-specific peroxidase.  (+info)

Superoxide dismutase and catalase in Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida and their roles in resistance to reactive oxygen species. (8/4896)

Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida (formerly Pasteurella piscicida) is the causative agent of pasteurellosis or pseudotuberculosis in warm water marine fish. Enzymes which neutralize reactive oxygen species, produced during aerobic metabolism or during respiratory burst in fish macrophages, are important virulence factors in many pathogens. This study characterizes a periplasmic superoxide dismutase (SOD) and a cytoplasmic catalase in P. damselae. Purification and partial amino-terminal sequencing confirmed the SOD to be iron-cofactored, with a high degree of homology to other bacterial FeSODs. The SOD was common to all strains analysed in terms of type, location and activity, whilst the catalase varied in activity between strains. The catalase was constitutively expressed, but the SOD appeared to be repressed under low oxygen conditions. In spite of the presence of a periplasmic SOD, P. damselae was susceptible to killing by exogenous superoxide anion generated in a cell-free system. Addition of exogenous SOD to this system did not abolish the bactericidal effect; however, addition of catalase was protective. These results suggest that lack of periplasmic catalase may be implicated in susceptiblity to killing by reactive oxygen species.  (+info)

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