Protoporphyrin IX

About: Protoporphyrin IX is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2250 publications have been published within this topic receiving 65544 citations. The topic is also known as: PpIX.

Expression studies in tetrapyrrole biosynthesis: inverse maxima of magnesium chelatase and ferrochelatase activity during cyclic photoperiods

Abstract: The synthesis of tetrapyrroles is regulated in anticipation of rhythmic changes in environmental conditions such as light intensity and temperature. To assess the control of the rate-limiting steps of the metabolic flow as well as the distribution of precursors for chlorophyll and heme synthesis, RNA steady-state levels and activities of enzymes involved in tetrapyrrole biosynthesis were analysed from 4-week-old tobacco (Nicotiana tobacum L.) plants grown under photoperiodically changing conditions. The kinetics of RNA levels and the enzyme activities were compared with those from plants which grew subsequent to the light/dark cycles for 48 h under constant light or dark conditions. The analysis revealed that the two peak activities for 5-aminolevulinic acid synthesis and of magnesium-protoporphyrin IX chelatase (Mg-chelatase) corresponded with the highest accumulation of the transcripts encoding glutamyl-tRNA reductase and CHL H, a subunit of Mg-chelatase, in the first half of the light period during a light/dark cycle. The activity of ferrochelatase (Fe-chelatase) and the level of its RNA showed a maximum just at the transition from light to dark and oscillated with a phase approximately opposite to that of Mg-chelatase activity. The control of 5-aminolevulinic acid synthesis and of the allocation of protoporphyrin IX to Mg- or Fe-chelatase probably reflect the functional coordination of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis in response to daily fluctuations in tetrapyrrole requirements. It is suggested that the coordination of expression and enzyme activities allows, in the light phase, an extensive flow of substrates into the chlorophyll-synthesizing branch of the metabolic pathway and, after the transition from light to dark, a channeling into the heme biosynthetic pathway. Implications for feedback control in the pathway are discussed.

Inhibition of heme oxygenase-1 by zinc protoporphyrin IX reduces tumor growth of LL/2 lung cancer in C57BL mice.

Abstract: Heme oxygenase (HO)-1 is a key player reducing cytotoxicity and enhancing protumoral effects of nitric oxide (NO). We examined zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) IX, an HO-1 inhibitor, to affect tumor growth of LL/2 mouse lung cancer cells. ZnPPIX reduced HO-1 expression and HO activity in LL/2 cells, whereas cobalt PPIX (CoPPIX), an HO-1 activator, increased both. LL/2 cells treated with sodium nitropurusside, an NO donor, showed growth inhibition dose-dependently, which was enhanced by ZnPPIX cotreatment, but was reduced by CoPPIX. In mice tumors, ZnPPIX decreased HO-1 expression. LL/2-tumors were found in 88% (7/8) vehicle-treated mice, whereas tumors were found in 38% (3/8) and 25% (2/8) mice treated with 5 and 20 μg/mouse ZnPPIX, respectively (p = 0.0302). Tumor growth was inhibited dose-dependently by ZnPPIX. Vascular endothealial growth factor concentration in tumors was reduced by ZnPPIX (p = 0.0341). Microvessel density (MVD) in ZnPPIX-treated tumors was lower than that in vehicle-treated tumors (p = 0.0362). Apoptotic cell count in ZnPPIX-treated tumors was higher than that in vehicle-treated tumors (p = 0.0003). In contrast, CoPPIX treatment increased HO-1 expression, enhanced tumorigenicity and MVD and reduced apoptosis. From these findings, inhibition of HO-1 by ZnPPIX provides relevant antitumoral effects. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Photosensitization of Mitochondrial Cytochrome c Oxidase by Hematoporphyrin Derivative and Related Porphyrins in Vitro and in Vivo

Abstract: Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase activity was inhibited by exposure to hematoporphyrin derivative followed by photoirradiation. Inhibition of enzyme activity in vitro was a dose- and time-related event, the log of percentage inhibition being linear with time. Exposure of mitochondria to hematoporphyrin or hydroxyethylvinyldeuteroporphyrin sensitized mitochondria to photoirradiation, whereas protoporphyrin IX was only weakly active as a photosensitizer for inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase. Mitochondria from mammary glands of pregnant rats showed hematoporphyrin-induced photosensitivity similar to those from R3230AC mammary adenocarcinomas. Mitochondria prepared from tumors of animals given injections of hematoporphyrin derivative in vivo and then photoirradiated in vitro demonstrated considerable sensitivity to light as reflected by significant inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase activity. A side by side comparison of hematoporphyrin derivative with hematoporphyrin, using this in vivo-in vitro experimental protocol, indicated that photosensitivity was retained for a longer time after treatment with hematoporphyrin derivative. Taken together, these data provide a potential mechanism of action, i.e., inhibition of respiration, for porphyrin-induced photosensitivity, and they offer a useful assay to investigate this family of therapeutic agents.