Oxidative stress and inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation induced by peroxynitrite and nitrite in rat brain subcellular fractions.

Nitrite and nitrate, two endogenous oxides of nitrogen, are toxic in vivo. Furthermore, the reaction of superoxide (produced by all aerobic cells) with nitric oxide (NO) generates peroxynitrite, a potent oxidizing agent, that can cause biological oxidative stress. Using subcellular fractions from rat brain hemispheres we studied oxidative stress induced by these nitrogen compounds with special emphasis on nitrite. The consumption of Vitamin C (ascorbate) and Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol), two of the important nutritional antioxidants, was followed in synaptosomes (nerve-ending particles) and mitochondria along with changes in parameters of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Nitrite, but not nitrate, oxidized ascorbate without oxidizing alpha tocopherol in both synaptosomes and mitochondria whereas peroxynitrite oxidized both ascorbate and alpha tocopherol. Functionally, both nitrite and peroxynitrite inhibited mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Nitrite was less potent than peroxynitrite when the effects of equal concentrations of the two were compared. However, since nitrite is much more stable than peroxynitrite the impact of nitrite as an oxidant in vivo could be as much or even more significant than peroxynitrite. Nitrate would not have similar action unless it is reduced to nitrite. It is possible that nitrite may impair oxidative phosphorylation through modulating levels of nitric oxide, changing the activity of heme proteins or a mild uncoupling of mitochondria.

Stable compounds of cigarette smoke induce endothelial superoxide anion production via NADPH oxidase activation.

OBJECTIVE: Endothelial dysfunction is an early manifestation of cigarette smoke (CS) toxicity. We have previously demonstrated that CS impairs nitric oxide (NO)-mediated endothelial function via increased generation of superoxide anion (O2*). In these studies, we investigated whether stable compounds present in CS activate specific pathways responsible for the increased endothelial O2* production. METHODS AND RESULTS: Short exposure of bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells (BPAECs), human pulmonary artery endothelial cells, and rat pulmonary arteries to CS extracts (CSEs) resulted in a large increase in O2* production (20-fold, 3-fold, and 2-fold increase, respectively; P<0.05 versus control), which was inhibited by the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase inhibitors diphenyleneiodinium, apocynin, and gp91 docking sequence-tat peptide but not by oxypurinol, the NO synthase inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, or the mitochondrial respiration inhibitor rotenone. Exposure of BPAECs to acrolein, a stable thiol-reactive agent found in CS, increased O2* production 5-fold, which was prevented by prior inhibition of NADPH oxidase. CONCLUSIONS: These studies demonstrate that thiol-reactive stable compounds in CS can activate NADPH oxidase and increase endothelial O2* production, thereby reducing NO bioactivity and resulting in endothelial dysfunction. Clinically, these studies may contribute to the development of agents able to mitigate CS-mediated vascular toxicity.

Iron uncouples oxidative phosphorylation in brain mitochondria isolated from vitamin E-deficient rats.

Few, if any, studies have examined the effect of vitamin E deficiency on brain mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. The latter was studied using brain mitochondria isolated from control and vitamin E-deficient rats (13 months of deficiency) after exposure to iron, an inducer of oxidative stress. Mitochondria were treated with iron (2 to 50 microM) added as ferrous ammonium sulfate. Rates of state 3 and state 4 respiration, respiratory control ratios, and ADP/O ratios were not affected by vitamin E deficiency alone. However, iron uncoupled oxidative phosphorylation in vitamin E-deficient mitochondria, but not in controls. In vitamin E-deficient mitochondria, iron decreased ADP/O ratios and markedly stimulated state 4 respiration; iron had only a modest effect on these parameters in control mitochondria. Thus, vitamin E may have an important role in sustaining oxidative phosphorylation. Low concentrations of iron (2 to 5 microM) oxidized mitochondrial tocopherol that exists in two pools. The release of iron in brain may impair oxidative phosphorylation, which would be exacerbated by vitamin E deficiency. The results are important for understanding the pathogenesis of human brain disorders known to be associated with abnormalities in mitochondrial function as well as iron homeostasis (e.g., Parkinson's disease).

Oxidation of vitamin E and vitamin C and inhibition of brain mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation by peroxynitrite.

The effects of peroxynitrite (PN; product of the reaction between nitric oxide and superoxide) on mitochondrial respiration as well as oxidation of alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid were studied. Mitochondria were isolated from brain hemispheres of 4-month-old male Fisher rats by standard centrifugation procedures utilizing Ficoll gradients. Treatment of brain mitochondria with PN caused a concentration-dependent impairment of oxidative phosphorylation and depletion of the endogenous antioxidants alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid. PN-induced mitochondrial dysfunction was characterized by 1) decreases in state 3 respiration and oxidative phosphorylation, 2) loss of respiratory control [ratio of ADP-stimulated (state 3) to basal (state 4) respiration], and 3) uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation. PN did not function as a pure uncoupler, insofar as the increase in state 4 respiration was accompanied by a larger decrease in state 3 respiration. This contrasts with the uncoupling action of the protonophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrozone, which increases both state 3 and state 4 respiration. PN-induced reduction in respiratory control and oxidative phosphorylation closely paralleled the oxidation of membrane tocopherol and were preceded by loss of ascorbate. alpha-Tocopherol (the most potent biological lipid antioxidant) may have a unique role in protecting mitochondrial membranes from oxidative stress. The two antioxidant nutrients alpha-tocopherol and ascorbate (which interact with each other and glutathione) may be intimately involved in protecting mitochondria in situations in which excessive release of superoxide and nitric oxide occurs under normal and/or pathological conditions.

Suppression of nitric oxide oxidation to nitrite by curcumin is due to the sequestration of the reaction intermediate nitrogen dioxide, not nitric oxide.

Curcumin, a phytochemical with antioxidant and other cytoprotective properties, has been reported to reduce nitrite formation during nitric oxide (NO) oxidation in solution. This decrease in nitrite production was attributed to the direct sequestration of NO by curcumin. In this report, we confirm that curcumin inhibits nitrite formation from DEA/NO-derived NO in a concentration-dependent manner. However, curcumin over a concentration range of 3-50 microM had no effect on the concentration of free NO (0.5 microM) in solution at 37 degrees C as assessed using an NO electrode. We conclude that the inhibitory effect of curcumin on the oxidation of NO to nitrite is due to its known sequestration of the reaction intermediate nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)). The ability of curcumin to sequester NO(2), but not NO, suggests that curcumin may be useful for separating the actions of NO(2) from those of NO in various biological systems.

Acetaminophen-induced suppression of hepatic AdoMet synthetase activity is attenuated by prodrugs of L-cysteine.

Administration of acetaminophen (ACP, 400 mg/kg, i.p.) to fasted, male Swiss-Webster mice caused a rapid 90% decrease in total hepatic glutathione (GSH) and a 58% decrease in mitochondrial GSH by 2 h post ACP. This was followed by a time-dependent decrease (72%) in hepatic AdoMet synthetase activity and rise in plasma ALT levels (>10000 U/l) at 24 h post ACP treatment. AdoMet synthetase activity was maintained at 82, 78 and 60% of controls, respectively, by the cysteine prodrugs PTCA, CySSME and NAC. Total hepatic and mitochondrial GSH levels were also protected from severe ACP-induced depletion by CySSME and MTCA. These results suggest that the maintenance of GSH homeostasis by cysteine prodrugs can protect mouse hepatic AdoMet synthetase, a sulfhydryl enzyme whose integrity is dependent on GSH, as well as the liver itself from the consequences of oxidative stress elicited by toxic metabolites of xenobiotics.