Regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell bioenergetic function by protein glutathiolation

AbstractProtein thiolation by glutathione is a reversible and regulated post-translational modification that is increased in response to oxidants and nitric oxide. Because many mitochondrial enzymes contain critical thiol residues, it has been hypothesized that thiolation reactions regulate cell metabolism and survival. However, it has been difficult to differentiate the biological effects due to protein thiolation from other oxidative protein modifications. In this study, we used diamide to titrate protein glutathiolation and examined its impact on glycolysis, mitochondrial function, and cell death in rat aortic smooth muscle cells. Treatment of cells with diamide increased protein glutathiolation in a concentration-dependent manner and had comparably little effect on protein–protein disulfide formation. Diamide increased mitochondrial proton leak and decreased ATP-linked mitochondrial oxygen consumption and cellular bioenergetic reserve capacity. Concentrations of diamide above 200 μM promoted acute bioenergetic failure and caused cell death, whereas lower concentrations of diamide led to a prolonged increase in glycolytic flux and were not associated with loss of cell viability. Depletion of glutathione using buthionine sulfoximine had no effect on basal protein thiolation or cellular bioenergetics but decreased diamide-induced protein glutathiolation and sensitized the cells to bioenergetic dysfunction and death. The effects of diamide on cell metabolism and viability were fully reversible upon addition of dithiothreitol. These data suggest that protein thiolation modulates key metabolic processes in both the mitochondria and cytosol

HPLC-based monitoring of products formed from hydroethidine-based fluorogenic probes — The ultimate approach for intra- and extracellular superoxide detection

International audienceBackgroundNearly ten years ago, we demonstrated that superoxide radical anion (View the MathML source) reacts with the hydroethidine dye (HE, also known as dihydroethidium, DHE) to form a diagnostic marker product, 2-hydroxyethidium (2-OH-E+). This particular product is not derived from reacting HE with other biologically relevant oxidants (hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, or peroxynitrite). This discovery negated the longstanding view that View the MathML source reacts with HE to form the other oxidation product, ethidium (E+). It became clear that due to the overlapping fluorescence spectra of E+ and 2-OH-E+, fluorescence-based techniques using the “red fluorescence” are not suitable for detecting and measuring View the MathML source in cells using HE or other structurally analogous fluorogenic probes (MitoSOXTM Red or hydropropidine). However, using HPLC-based assays, 2-OH-E+ and analogous hydroxylated products can be easily detected and quickly separated from other oxidation products.Scope of reviewThe principles discussed in this chapter are generally applicable in free radical biology and medicine, redox biology, and clinical and translational research. The assays developed here could be used to discover new and targeted inhibitors for various superoxide-producing enzymes, including NADPH oxidase (NOX) isoforms.Major conclusionsHPLC-based approaches using site-specific HE-based fluorogenic probes are eminently suitable for monitoring View the MathML source in intra- and extracellular compartments and in mitochondria. The use of fluorescence-microscopic methods should be avoided because of spectral overlapping characteristics of View the MathML source-derived marker product and other, non-specific oxidized fluorescent products formed from these probes.General significanceMethodologies and site-specific fluorescent probes described in this review can be suitably employed to delineate oxy radical dependent mechanisms in cells under physiological and pathological conditions. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Current methods to study reactive oxygen species - pros and cons and biophysics of membrane proteins. Guest Editor: Christine Winterbourn

Boronate Probes as Diagnostic Tools for Real Time Monitoring of Peroxynitrite and Hydroperoxides

International audienceBoronates, a group of organic compounds, are emerging as one ofthe most effective probes for detecting and quantifying peroxynitrite,hypochlorous acid, and hydrogen peroxide. Boronates react with peroxynitritenearly a million times faster than with hydrogen peroxide. Boronate-containingfluorogenic compounds have been used to monitor real time generation ofperoxynitrite in cells and for imaging hydrogen peroxide in living animals. Thisperspective highlights potential applications of boronates and other fluorescentprobes to high-throughput analyses of peroxynitrite and hydroperoxides intoxicological studies

Global Profiling of Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species in Biological Systems HIGH-THROUGHPUT REAL-TIME ANALYSES

International audienceHerein we describe a high-throughput fluorescence and HPLC-based methodology for global profiling of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) in biological systems. The combined use of HPLC and fluorescence detection is key to successful implementation and validation of this methodology. Included here are methods to specifically detect and quantitate the products formed from interaction between the ROS/RNS species and the fluorogenic probes, as follows: superoxide using hydroethidine, peroxynitrite using boronate-based probes, nitric oxide-derived nitrosating species with 4,5-diaminofluorescein, and hydrogen peroxide and other oxidants using 10-acetyl-3,7-dihydroxyphenoxazine (Amplex (R) Red) with and without horseradish peroxidase, respectively. In this study, we demonstrate real-time monitoring of ROS/RNS in activated macrophages using high-throughput fluorescence and HPLC methods. This global profiling approach, simultaneous detection of multiple ROS/RNS products of fluorescent probes, developed in this study will be useful in unraveling the complex role of ROS/RNS in redox regulation, cell signaling, and cellular oxidative processes and in high-throughput screening of anti-inflammatory antioxidants

Etomoxir Inhibits Macrophage Polarization by Disrupting CoA Homeostasis

Long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) oxidation has been shown to play an important role in interleukin-4 (IL-4)-mediated macrophage polarization (M(IL-4)). However, many of these conclusions are based on the inhibition of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 with high concentrations of etomoxir that far exceed what is required to inhibit enzyme activity (EC90 < 3 μM). We employ genetic and pharmacologic models to demonstrate that LCFA oxidation is largely dispensable for IL-4-driven polarization. Unexpectedly, high concentrations of etomoxir retained the ability to disrupt M(IL-4) polarization in the absence of Cpt1a or Cpt2 expression. Although excess etomoxir inhibits the adenine nucleotide translocase, oxidative phosphorylation is surprisingly dispensable for M(IL-4). Instead, the block in polarization was traced to depletion of intracellular free coenzyme A (CoA), likely resulting from conversion of the pro-drug etomoxir into active etomoxiryl CoA. These studies help explain the effect(s) of excess etomoxir on immune cells and reveal an unappreciated role for CoA metabolism in macrophage polarization