Potential Energy Surface of The Reaction of Imidazole with Peroxynitrite: Density Functional Theory Study

This article presents a theoretical investigation of the reaction mechanism of imidazole nitration by peroxynitrite using density functional theory calculations. Understanding this reaction mechanism will help in elucidating the mechanism of guanine nitration by peroxynitrite, which is one of the assumed chemical pathways for damaging DNA in cells. This work focuses on the analysis of the potential energy surface (PES) for this reaction in the gas phase. Calculations were carried out using Hartree–Fock (HF) and density functional theory (DFT) Hamiltonians with double-zeta basis sets ranging from 6-31G(d) to 6-31++G(d,p), and the triple-zeta basis set 6-311G(d). The computational results reveal that the reaction of imidazole with peroxynitrite in gas phase produces the following species: (i) hydroxide ion and 2-nitroimidazole, (ii) hydrogen superoxide ion and 2-nitrosoimidazole, and (iii) water and 2-nitroimidazolide. The rate-determining step is the formation of a short-lived intermediate in which the imidazole C2 carbon is covalently bonded to peroxynitrite nitrogen. Three short-lived intermediates were found in the reaction path. These intermediates are involved in a proton-hopping transport from C2 carbon to the terminal oxygen of the OO moiety of peroxynitrite via the nitroso (ON) oxygen. Both HF and DFT calculations (using the Becke3–Lee–Yang–Parr functional) lead to similar reaction paths for proton transport, but the landscape details of the PES for HF and DFT calculations differ. This investigation shows that the reaction of imidazole with peroxynitrite produces essentially the same types of products (nitro- and nitroso-) as observed experimentally in the reaction of guanine with peroxynitrite, which makes the former reaction a good model to study by computation the essential characteristics of the latter reaction. Nevertheless, the computationally determined activation energy for imidazole nitration by peroxynitrite in the gas phase is 84.1 kcal/mol (calculated at the B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level), too large for an enzymatic reaction. Exploratory calculations on imidazole nitration in solution, and on the reaction of 9-methylguanine with peroxynitrite in the gas phase and solution, show that solvation increases the activation energy for both imidazole and guanine, and that the modest decrease (15 kcal mol−1) in the activation energy, due to the adjacent six member ring of guanine, is counterbalanced by solvation. These results lead to the speculation that proton tunneling may be at the origin of experimentally observed high reaction rate of guanine nitration by peroxynitrite in solution. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 200

Resistance to endotoxic shock in mice lacking natriuretic peptide receptor-A

Background and purpose: Excessive production of nitric oxide (NO) by inducible NO synthase (iNOS) is thought to underlie the vascular dysfunction, systemic hypotension and organ failure that characterize endotoxic shock. Plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and C‐type natriuretic peptide (CNP) are raised in animal models and humans with endotoxic shock and correlate with the associated cardiovascular dysfunction. Since both NO and natriuretic peptides play important roles in cardiovascular homeostasis via activation of guanylate cyclase‐linked receptors, we used mice lacking natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR)‐A (NPR1) to establish if natriuretic peptides contribute to the cardiovascular dysfunction present in endotoxic shock. Experimental approach: Wild‐type (WT) and NPR‐A knockout (KO) mice were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and vascular dysfunction (in vitro and in vivo), production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, and iNOS expression and activity were evaluated. Key results: LPS‐treated WT animals exhibited a marked fall in mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) whereas NPR‐A KO mice maintained MABP throughout. LPS administration caused a greater suppression of vascular responses to the thromboxane‐mimetic U46619, ANP, acetylcholine and the NO‐donor spermine‐NONOate in WT versus NPR‐A KO mice. This differential effect on vascular function was paralleled by reduced pro‐inflammatory cytokine production, iNOS expression and activity (plasma [NOx] and cyclic GMP). Conclusions and implications: These observations suggest that NPR‐A activation by natriuretic peptides facilitates iNOS expression and contributes to the vascular dysfunction characteristic of endotoxic shock. Pharmacological interventions that target the natriuretic peptide system may represent a novel approach to treat this life‐threatening condition.This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust

Polymorphic Allele of Human IRGM1 Is Associated with Susceptibility to Tuberculosis in African Americans

An ancestral polymorphic allele of the human autophagy-related gene IRGM1 is associated with altered gene expression and a genetic risk for Crohn's Disease (CD). We used the single nucleotide polymorphism rs10065172C/T as a marker of this polymorphic allele and genotyped 370 African American and 177 Caucasian tuberculosis (TB) cases and 180 African American and 110 Caucasian controls. Among African Americans, the TB cases were more likely to carry the CD-related T allele of rs10065172 (odds ratio of 1.54; 95% confidence interval, 1.17–2.02; P<0.01) compared to controls. Our finding suggests that this CD-related IRGM1 polymorphic allele is also associated with human susceptibility to TB disease among African Americans

The SPRY domain–containing SOCS box protein SPSB2 targets iNOS for proteasomal degradation

Macrophages lacking SPSB2 have increased NO production and enhanced pathogen-killing capabilities due to decreased ubiquitin-mediated destruction of iNOS

DNA repair systems and the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: varying activities at different stages of infection

Mycobacteria, including most of all MTB (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), cause pathogenic infections in humans and, during the infectious process, are exposed to a range of environmental insults, including the host's immune response. From the moment MTB is exhaled by infected individuals, through an active and latent phase in the body of the new host, until the time they reach the reactivation stage, MTB is exposed to many types of DNA-damaging agents. Like all cellular organisms, MTB has efficient DNA repair systems, and these are believed to play essential roles in mycobacterial pathogenesis. As different stages of infection have great variation in the conditions in which mycobacteria reside, it is possible that different repair systems are essential for progression to specific phases of infection. MTB possesses homologues of DNA repair systems that are found widely in other species of bacteria, such as nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair and repair by homologous recombination. MTB also possesses a system for non-homologous end-joining of DNA breaks, which appears to be widespread in prokaryotes, although its presence is sporadic within different species within a genus. However, MTB does not possess homologues of the typical mismatch repair system that is found in most bacteria. Recent studies have demonstrated that DNA repair genes are expressed differentially at each stage of infection. In the present review, we focus on different DNA repair systems from mycobacteria and identify questions that remain in our understanding of how these systems have an impact upon the infection processes of these important pathogens

Regulation of neutrophils by interferon-γ limits lung inflammation during tuberculosis infection

IFN-γ functions to suppress neutrophil accumulation in the lungs of mice infected with M. tuberculosis, in part by suppressing IL-17 production from CD4+ T cells

The Role of Nitric Oxide in Mycobacterial Infections

Although tuberculosis poses a significant health threat to the global population, it is a challenge to develop new and effective therapeutic strategies. Nitric oxide (NO) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) are important in innate immune responses to various intracellular bacterial infections, including mycobacterial infections. It is generally recognized that reactive nitrogen intermediates play an effective role in host defense mechanisms against tuberculosis. In a murine model of tuberculosis, NO plays a crucial role in antimycobacterial activity; however, it is controversial whether NO is critically involved in host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in humans. Here, we review the roles of NO in host defense against murine and human tuberculosis. We also discuss the specific roles of NO in the central nervous system and lung epithelial cells during mycobacterial infection. A greater understanding of these defense mechanisms in human tuberculosis will aid in the development of new strategies for the treatment of disease