Hydroperoxide metabolism in mammalian organs.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the role of free radicals and catalytic metal ions in human disease. The importance of transition metal ions in mediating oxidant damage naturally leads to the question as to what forms of such ions might be available to catalyze radical reactions in vivo . The chapter discusses the metabolism of transition metals, such as iron and copper. It also discusses the chelation therapy that is an approach to site-specific antioxidant protection. The detection and measurement of lipid peroxidation is the evidence most frequently cited to support the involvement of free radical reactions in toxicology and in human disease. A wide range of techniques is available to measure the rate of this process, but none is applicable to all circumstances. The two most popular are the measurement of diene conjugation and the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test, but they are both subject to pitfalls, especially when applied to human samples. The chapter also discusses the essential principles of the peroxidation process. When discussing lipid peroxidation, it is essential to use clear terminology for the sequence of events involved; an imprecise use of terms such as initiation has caused considerable confusion in the literature. In a completely peroxide-free lipid system, first chain initiation of a peroxidation sequence in a membrane or polyunsaturated fatty acid refers to the attack of any species that has sufficient reactivity to abstract a hydrogen atom from a methylene group.

Role of free radicals and catalytic metal ions in human disease: an overview.

N epsilon-(carboxymethyl)lysine, N epsilon-(carboxymethyl)hydroxylysine, and the fluorescent cross-link pentosidine are formed by sequential glycation and oxidation reactions between reducing sugars and proteins. These compounds, termed glycoxidation products, accumulate in tissue collagen with age and at an accelerated rate in diabetes. Although glycoxidation products are present in only trace concentrations, even in diabetic collagen, studies on glycation and oxidation of model proteins in vitro suggest that these products are biomarkers of more extensive underlying glycative and oxidative damage to the protein. Possible sources of oxidative stress and damage to proteins in diabetes include free radicals generated by autoxidation reactions of sugars and sugar adducts to protein and by autoxidation of unsaturated lipids in plasma and membrane proteins. The oxidative stress may be amplified by a continuing cycle of metabolic stress, tissue damage, and cell death, leading to increased free radical production and compromised free radical inhibitory and scavenger systems, which further exacerbate the oxidative stress. Structural characterization of the cross-links and other products accumulating in collagen in diabetes is needed to gain a better understanding of the relationship between oxidative stress and the development of complications in diabetes. Such studies may lead to therapeutic approaches for limiting the damage from glycation and oxidation reactions and for complementing existing therapy for treatment of the complications of diabetes.

Role of Oxidative Stress in Development of Complications in Diabetes

O2- oxidizes the [4Fe-4S] clusters of dehydratases, such as aconitase, causing-inactivation and release of Fe(II), which may then reduce H2O2 to OH- +OH.. SODs inhibit such HO. production by scavengingO2-, but Cu, ZnSODs, by virtue of a nonspecific peroxidase activity, may peroxidize spin trapping agents and thus give the appearance of catalyzing OH. production from H2O2. There is a glycosylated, tetrameric Cu, ZnSOD in the extracellular space that binds to acidic glycosamino-glycans. It minimizes the reaction of O2- with NO. E. coli, and other gram negative microorganisms, contain a periplasmic Cu, ZnSOD that may serve to protect against extracellular O2-. Mn(III) complexes of multidentate macrocyclic nitrogenous ligands catalyze the dismutation of O2- and are being explored as potential pharmaceutical agents. SOD-null mutants have been prepared to reveal the biological effects of O2-. SodA, sodB E. coli exhibit dioxygen-dependent auxotrophies and enhanced mutagenesis, reflecting O2(-)-sensitive biosynthetic pathways and DNA damage. Yeast, lacking either Cu, ZnSOD or MnSOD, are oxygen intolerant, and the double mutant was hypermutable and defective in sporulation and exhibited requirements for methionine and lysine. A Cu, ZnSOD-null Drosophila exhibited a shortened lifespan.

Superoxide Radical and Superoxide Dismutases

The reactive superoxide radical, O2-, formerly of concern only to radiation chemists and radiobiologists, is now understood to be a normal product of the biological reduction of molecular oxygen. An unusual family of enzymes, the superoxide dismutases, protect against the deleterious actions of this radical by catalyzing its dismutation to hydrogen peroxide plus oxygen.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/201/4359/875.full.pdf

The biology of oxygen radicals

Publisher Summary This chapter analyzes poly(ADP-ribose) and ADP-ribosylation of proteins. Poly(ADP-ribose) and the ADP-ribosylation of proteins constitute a novel type of covalent modification of proteins. They are ubiquitously distributed in nature and are implicated in the regulation of cell proliferation, protein synthesis, and DNA as well as RNA metabolism. This type of post-translational modification is unique because NAD, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, whose primary function is an electron carrier in biological oxidation, invariably provides the ADP-ribosyl moiety, which is transferred on to a protein molecule. The ADP-ribosyl unit thus, covalently attached to a protein acceptor is present as either a monomer or a polymer as in the case of the nuclear system. This chapter also summarizes developments in this field of research and some experimental results. It reviews briefly, mono ADP-ribosylation of proteins, in which only a single ADP-ribosyl moiety is transferred to a protein acceptor. It also covers a more complex reaction, poly(ADP-ribose) in nuclei, in which the ADP-ribosyl units are polymerized.

Osamu Hayaishi

Papers

Poly(ADP-ribose) and ADP-ribosylation of proteins.

Diphtheria Toxin-dependent Adenosine Diphosphate Ribosylation of Aminoacyl Transferase II and Inhibition of Protein Synthesis

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase. Purification and some properties.

In Vitro and in Vivo Formation of Two New Metabolites of Melatonin

Enzymic Studies on the Biosynthesis of Serotonin in Mammalian Brain