Oxidation of NADH by chloramines and chloramides and its activation by iodide and by tertiary amines.

Irreversible oxidation of reduced nicotinamide nucleotides by neutrophil-derived halogen oxidants (HOCl, chloramines, HOBr, etc.) is likely to be a highly lethal process, because of the essential role of NAD(P)H in important cell functions such as mitochondrial electron transport, and control of the cellular thiol redox state by NADPH-dependent glutathione reductase. Chloramines (chloramine-T, NH(2)Cl, etc.) and N-chloramides (N-chlorinated cyclopeptides) react with NADH to generate the same products as HOCl, i.e., pyridine chlorohydrins, as judged from characteristic changes in the NADH absorption spectrum. Compared with the fast oxidation of NADH by HOCl, k approximately 3 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) at pH 7.2, the oxidation by chloramines is about five orders of magnitude slower; that by chloramides is about four orders of magnitude slower. Apparent rate constants for oxidation of NADH by chloramines increase with increasing proton or buffer concentration, consistent with general acid catalysis, but oxidation by chloramides proceeds with pH-independent kinetics. In presence of iodide the oxidation of NADH by chloramines or chloramides is faster by at least two orders of magnitude; this is due to reaction of iodide with the N-halogen to give HOI/I(2), the most reactive and selective oxidant for NADH among HOX species. Quinuclidine derivatives (QN) like 3-chloroquinuclidine and quinine are capable of catalyzing the irreversible degradation of NADH by HOCl and by chloramines; QN(+)Cl, the chain carrier of the catalytic cycle, is even more reactive toward NADH than HOCl/ClO(-) at physiological pH. Oxidation of NADH by NH(2)Br proceeds by fast, but complex, biphasic kinetics. A compilation of rate constants for interactions of reactive halogen species with various substrates is presented and the concept of selective reactivity of N-halogens is discussed.

On the oxidation of cytochrome c by hypohalous acids.

Oxidation of cytochrome c, a key protein in mitochondrial electron transport and a mediator of apoptotic cell death, by reactive halogen species (HOX, X2), i.e., metabolites of activated neutrophils, was investigated by stopped-flow. The fast initial reactions between FeIIIcytc and HOX species, with rate constants (at pH 7.6) of k > 3 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) for HOBr, k > 3 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) for HOCl, and k = (6.1+/-0.3) x 10(2) M(-1) s(-1) for HOI, are followed by slower intramolecular processes. All HOX species lead to a blue shift of the Soret absorption band and loss of the 695-nm absorption band, which is an indicator for the intact iron to Met-80 bond, and of the reducibility of FeIIIcytc. All HOX species do, in fact, persistently impair the ability of FeIIIcytc to act as electron acceptor, e.g., in reaction with ascorbate or O2*-. I2 selectively oxidizes the iron center of FeIIcytc, with a stoichiometry of 2 per I2, and with k(FeIIcytc + I2) approximately 4.6 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1) and k(FeIIcytc + I2*-) = (2.9+/-0.4) x 10(8) M(-1) s(-1). Oxidation of FeIIcytc by HOX species is not selectively directed toward the iron center; HOBr and HOCl are considered to react primarily by N-halogenation of side chain amino groups, and HOI mainly by sulfoxidation. There is some evidence for the generation of HO* radicals upon reaction of HOCl with FeIIcytc. Chloramines (e.g., NH2Cl), bromamine (NH2Br), and cyclo-Gly2 chloramide oxidize FeIIcytc slowly and unselectively, but iodide efficiently catalyzes reactions of these N-halogens to yield fast selective oxidation of the iron center; this is due to generation of I2 by reaction of I- with the N-halogen and recycling of I- by reaction of I2 with FeIIcytc. Iodide also catalyzes methionine sulfoxidation and thiol oxidation by NH2Cl. The possible biological relevance of these findings is discussed.

On the irreversible destruction of reduced nicotinamide nucleotides by hypohalous acids.

Degradation of the reduced pyridine nucleotides NMNH and NADH by HOCl involves two distinct stages: a fast reaction, k = 4.2 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1), leads to generation of stable pyridine products (Py/Cl) with a strong absorption band at 275 nm (epsilon = 12.4 x 10(3) M(-1) cm(-1) in the case of NMNH); secondarily, a subsequent reaction of HOCl, k = 3.9 x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1), leads to a complete loss of the aromatic absorption band of the pyridine ring. HOBr and HOI(I(2)) react similarly. Apparent rate constants of the primary reactions of HOX species with NMNH at pH 7.2 increase in the order HOCl (3 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1)) < HOBr( approximately 4 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1)) < HOI(I(2))( approximately 6.5 x 10(7) M(-1) s(-1)). HOBr reacts fast also with the primary product Py/Br, k approximately 9 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1), while the reactions of HOI and I(2) with Py/I are slower, approximately 1.4 x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1) and >6 x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. Halogenation of the amide group of NMN(+) by HOX species is many orders of magnitude slower than oxidation of NMNH. Taurine inhibits HOCl-induced oxidation of NADH, but HOBr-induced oxidation is not inhibited because the taurine monobromamine rapidly oxidizes NADH, and oxidation by HOI(I(2)) is not inhibited because taurine is inert toward HOI(I(2)). Also sulfur compounds (GSH, GSSG, and methionine) are less efficient in protecting NADH against oxidation by HOBr and HOI(I(2)) than against oxidation by HOCl. The results suggest that reactions of HOBr and HOI(I(2)) in a cellular environment are much more selectively directed toward irreversible oxidation of NADH than reactions of HOCl. It is noteworthy that the rather inert N-chloramines react with iodide to generate HOI(I(2)), i.e., the most reactive and selective oxidant of reduced pyridine nucleotides. NMR investigations show that the primary stable products of the reaction between NMNH and HOCl are various isomeric chlorohydrins originating from a nonstereospecific electrophilic addition of HOCl to the C5&dbond;C6 double bond of the pyridine ring. The primary products (Py/X) of NMNH all exhibit similar absorption bands around 275 nm and are hence likely to result from analogous addition of HOX to the C5&dbond;C6 bond of the pyridine ring. Since the Py/X species are stable and inert toward endogeneous reductants like ascorbate and GSH, they may generally be useful markers for assessing the contribution of hypohalous acids to inflammatory injury.

Consecutive halogen transfer between various functional groups induced by reaction of hypohalous acids: NADH oxidation by halogenated amide groups.

Cyclic dipeptides (c-Gly(2), c-Ser(2), c-Gly-Phe, etc.) were used as simple protein models to investigate the HOCl-induced generation and reactivity of chlorinated amide groups. The pH dependence of the kinetics of amide chlorination reveals that ClO(-) (not HOCl) is the reactive agent. N-Chlorinated cyclopeptides are stable up to 30 min, they exhibit narrow absorption bands around 215 nm, and they are capable of oxidizing certain biological substrates, the reactivity decreasing in the order GSH > ascorbate > methionine > NADH >> GSSG. The chloroamide is less reactive, but much more selective in its reactions, than HOCl or ClO(-); thus, with formation of the chloroamide prolonged oxidative effects, directed toward specific target molecules, can be expected. Chlorination of NADH, yielding a catalytically inactive species (NAD/Cl), was investigated in most detail because it is likely to be an important and highly lethal process. The chloroamide group is far more reactive toward NADH than chloroamines derived from primary amines. Chloronucleotides formed by reaction of ClO(-) with inosine, GMP, TMP, or UMP are capable of quantitative chlorine transfer to cyclopeptides; however, no chlorine transfer between the amide nitrogen and primary amines is detectable, in either direction. The results presented enable prediction of chlorine transfer cascades induced by HOCl/ClO(-), involving nucleotides, peptide amide groups, and final target molecules. Chlorinated NAD(P)H, as a stable terminal product of consecutive chlorine transfer reactions, might be a useful biological marker for assessing the role of HOCl in inflammatory events. Bromination by BrO(-) of cyclopeptides is more than two orders of magnitude faster than chlorination by ClO(-), and the reactivity of bromoamide with NADH exceeds that of chloroamide by more than four orders of magnitude.

Reactions of hypochlorous acid with biological substrates are activated catalytically by tertiary amines.

The activation of reactions of HOCl with a variety of model substrates by tertiary amines was investigated spectroscopically by tandem-mix and stopped-flow techniques. HOCl-induced chlorination of salicylate can be sped up by several orders of magnitude by catalytic amounts of trimethylamine (TMN). The effect is obviously due to the fast generation of reactive quarternary chloramonium ions, TMN+ Cl, which act as chain carrier in a catalytic reaction cycle. Of various catalysts tested, quinine shows the highest activity; this is attributable to the quinuclidine (QN) substituent, a bicyclic tertiary amine, forming a particularly reactive chloro derivative, QN+ Cl, which does not decompose autocatalytically. The rate of catalytic salicylate chlorination as a function of pH (around pH 7) depends not at least on the basicity of the tertiary amine; the rate increases with pH in the cases of TMN and quinuclidine (high basicity), but decreases with pH in the case of MES (low basicity). Tertiary amines also catalyze the interaction between HOCl and alkenes, as shown using sorbate as model. Reaction of HOCl with the nucleotides GMP and CMP is sped up remarkably by catalytic amounts of tertiary amines. In the case of GMP the same product spectrum is produced by HOCl in absence and presence of catalyst, but a change in the product spectra is obtained when AMP and CMP are reacted with HOCl in presence of catalyst. Using poly(dA-dT).poly(dA-dT) as DNA model, it is shown that HOCl primarily induces an absorbance increase at 263 nm, which indicates unfolding of the double strand due to fast chlorination of thymidine; a subsequent secondary absorbance decrease can be explained by slow chlorination of adenosine. Both the primary and secondary processes are activated by catalytic amounts of quinine. No evidence was found for a radical pathway in TMN-mediated oxidation of formate by HOCl. The present results suggest that low concentrations of certain tertiary amines have the potential of modifying the spectrum of target molecules which can be damaged by HOCl in biological systems.

Interactions of hypochlorous acid with pyrimidine nucleotides, and secondary reactions of chlorinated pyrimidines with GSH, NADH, and other substrates.

HOCl-induced chlorination of pyrimidine nucleotides, PyNH, strikingly depends on the nature of the available chlorine acceptor group. For CMP, with an -NH2 group as acceptor, the reaction is slow and involves predominantly the acid [k(CMP + HOCl) approximately 100 M-1 s-1 at pH 6]; apparent rate constants of the reaction decrease around the pK alpha (HOCl), to 0 in alkaline solution. For TMP and UMP, with a heterocyclic > NH group (at 3N) as acceptor, the reaction is faster and involves mainly the conjugated CIO- anion [e.g., k(UMP + ClO-) approximately 3 x 10(4) M-1 s-1 and k(UMP + HOCl) approximately 200 M-1 s-1]. The 3-N-methylthymidine derivative is inert toward HOCl. Reactions of ClO- with TMP, UMP, and poly(U) are shown to be reversible, PyNH + ClO- = PyNCl + OH-; an increase in pH due to this reaction was confirmed, and equilibrium constants have been estimated. The chlorinated derivatives of TMP and UMP are very reactive toward GSH, disulfide, aliphatic amines, and NADH. In contrast, the PyNCl derivative of CMP is unreactive, except with GSH. Rate constants of reactions of PyNCl species with various substrates are presented. Oxidation of NADH, by both HOCl and PyNCl derivatives, leads to a stable product (not NAD+) which is irreversibly degraded by reaction with excess HOCl, but inert toward acsorbate, GSH, and H2O2. Thiols (GSH) and disulfides (DTPA) were previously found capable of scavenging up to four HOCl molecules (Prütz, W. A., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 332, 110-120, 1996). In the present study it was established that reactions of GSH or DTPA with excess HOCl give rise to a rapid drop in the pH by release of up to four HCl molecules per GSH or DTPA, as expected for a sequence of consecutive sulfoxidations. Reactions of GSH and DTPA with PyNCl efficiently regenerate PyNH, namely up to four molecules per GSH or DTPA in the case of TMP and UMP, but only one molecule per GSH in the case of CMP. The PyNCl derivatives of TMP and UMP transfer chlorine slowly but completely to CMP or AMP. Such chlorine transfer between nucleic acid bases is likely to occur also in DNA; it is shown that HOCl in fact induces a complex series of reactions on interaction with native DNA.

Hypochlorous acid interactions with thiols, nucleotides, DNA, and other biological substrates.

HOC1-induced one-electron oxidation of Fe(CN)(6)4- was used as a reference reaction to investigate the stoichiometry of interaction of HOCl with a variety of biological substrates. GSH and GSSG were both found capable of reacting with four and 2-mercaptoethanol with three HOCl molecules. Stopped-flow investigations, with HOCl in excess, indicate that very fast primary reactions of HOCl with GSH and DTPA are followed by slower secondary reactions. In the case of GSH we propose that one HOCl reacts at the terminal alpha-amino-group and three HOCl react at the -SH group to generate the sulfonylchloride GSO2Cl. This assignment is supported by the finding that reaction of HOCl (in excess) with 2-mercaptonaphthalene generates the absorption spectrum of authentic naphthalene-2-sulfonylchloride. NADH reacts with at least two HOCl molecules. A very fast primary reaction of HOCl was followed by a slower secondary reaction at HOCl/NADH > 2, but neither the primary nor the secondary reaction led to NAD+. Stopped-flow investigations of reactions of HOCl with nucleotides indicate that HOCl reacts slowly with the amino-groups of AMP, CMP, and GMP but very fast with the heterocyclic NH-groups of GMP, inosine, and TMP. AMP and CMP promote, but GMP, inosine, and TMP retard HOCl-induced oxidation of Fe(CN)(6)4-. At present we have no convincing evidence, however, that products of interaction of HOCl with nucleotides are capable of one-electron oxidation of Fe(CN)6(-4), with generation of free radical intermediates. HOCl causes slow but very efficient denaturation of native DNA, in our opinion not by oxidative fragmentation, but due to chlorination of amino- and heterocyclic NH-groups of the DNA-bases, which leads to dissociation of the double strand by the loss of hydrogen bonding. HOCl-induced oxidation of Fe(CN)(6)4- is promoted very efficiently by catalytic amounts of Cu2+. Catalysis is explainable by formation of a CuIFeIII(CN)(6)2- complex, with CuI acting as electron donor in a propagating Fenton-like reaction, CuIFeIII(CN)(6)2- +HOCl-->Cu2+ + Fe(CN)(6)3- + Cl- + OH, the rate constant of which was estimated as k = 1.8 x 10(5) M-1 s-1. HOCl is inactivated by Tris, but Hepes promotes HOCl-induced oxidation of Fe(CN)(6)4- very efficiently; this is a warning against application of such buffers in investigations of HOCl- or myeloperoxidase-induced reactions. Anthranilic acid was found to interact with four HOCl molecules to yield highly reactive (unidentified) one-electron oxidants.

Measurement of copper-dependent oxidative DNA damage by HOCl and H2O2 with the ethidium-binding assay.

The ETB-binding assay provides a rapid means to investigate time profiles for oxidative degradation of double-stranded DNA, by detecting the loss of ability of DNA to form a fluorescent intercalation complex with ETB. The assay was applied to demonstrate copper-dependent damage to DNA by HOCl using ascorbate as reductant. DNA degradation in this system proceeds with a rate comparable to that of reaction of HOCl with the DNA-Cu(I) complex, as monitored by the loss of DNA-Cu(I) absorption. The reaction of HOCl with DNA-Cu(I) is more than two orders of magnitude faster than the reaction of H2O2 with DNA-Cu(I). HOCl presumably reacts like H2O2 with DNA-Cu(I) to generate strongly oxidizing OH radicals immediately at the Cu(I) binding site. Quenching of the DNA/ETB fluorescence by DNA-bound copper was investigated because this may interfere with detection of copper-dependent damage to DNA with the ETB-binding assay, if not appropriate chelators are applied to remove the copper from the DNA.

Photocatalytic and free radical interactions of the heterocyclic N-oxide resazurin with NADH, GSH, and Dopa.

Electron donating free radicals NAD(.), (.)CO2(-), MV(.)+, and e(aq)-, generated by pulse radiolysis, reduce resazurin (RNO) with rate constants of 1.9 x 10(9), 2.8 x 10(9), 4.8 x 10(9), and 2.3 x 10(10) M(-1) s(-1), respectively, neutral solution. The semireduced dye (RN(.)-O- disproportionates slowly to RN (resorufin) and RNO. There was little evidence that RN(.)-O- behaves as an oxidizing species capable of initiating chain reactions, for instance via oxidation of NADH to NAD(.). The oxidizing radicals GS(.), (.)OH, and N3(.) interact with RNO via complex consecutive processes, probably by addition-elimination reactions. Stable products generated upon oxidation of RNO by N3(.) exhibit a red-shifted absorption, but GS(.) and (.)OH also cause partial reduction to RN. Neither O2(.)- nor dopa semiquinone nor tyrosine phenoxyl radicals appear to interact with RNO. Radicals formed by reaction of (.)OH with (Gly)3 reduce RNO to RN with stoichiometry near two (gamma-radiolysis), and there is evidence (pulse radiolysis) for direct slow O-atom transfer from RNO to these species. Resazurin is highly photosensitive under anaerobic conditions in presence of H-atom donors like NADH, GSH, or dopa. Under aerobic conditions RNO becomes an efficient catalyst of red light induced photooxidation of these donors; the RN(.)-O- intermediate, formed in the photooxidative process, is apparently recycled to RNO by O2, and by other electron acceptors. Our results suggest that RNO can behave as a photoactive, free radical generating xenobiotic compound.

Glutathione peroxidase-like activity of simple selenium compounds. Peroxides and the heterocyclic N-oxide resazurin acting as O-atom donors.

Selenite and selenocystamine [(CyaSe)2] efficiently activate the decomposition of H2O2 by GSH and by other thiols, as demonstrated using a leuco crystal violet POD-based H2O2 assay which is applicable (unlike other assays) also in presence of thiols. The GPx-like activities were estimated to be 3.6 and 2.7 mumol H2O2/min per mumol SeO3(2-) and (CyaSe)2, respectively. Both selenium compounds also activate reduction of the heterocyclic N-oxide resazurin (RN-->O) to resorufin (RN) by GSH; H2O2 competes with reduction of this dye. GSSeH and CyaSeH, formed by interaction of GSH with SeO3(2-) and (CyaSe)2, respectively, are likely to be the active reductants. CyaSeH, generated gamma-radiolytically from (CyaSe)2, exhibits an absorption peak at 243 nm and is removed by H2O2 with a rate constant of 9.7 x 10(2) M-1 s-1, and slightly slower by hydroperoxides. We have no evidence for one-electron interactions between GSSeH or CyaSeH and H2O2, with formation of free radical intermediates, as previously proposed in the case of selenium-activated reduction of cytochrome c by GSH (Levander et al., Biochemistry 23, 4591-4595 (1973)). Our results can be explained by O-atom transfer from the substrate to the active selenol group, RSeH + H2O2 (RN-->O)-->RSeOH + H2O (RN), and recycling of RSeOH to RSeH (+ H2O) by GSH, analogous to the selenenic acid pathway of GPx. The substrate specificity appears to be different, however, in that GPx is unable to catalyse RN-->O reduction, and GSSeH hardly catalyses the decomposition of cumene- or t-butyl-hydroperoxide; CyaSeH, on the other hand, is active also with the hydroperoxides. RN-->O is reduced to RN also by certain oxidizing free radicals, e.g. by the thiyl CyaS.., O-atom transfer may in this case lead to the generation of reactive oxyl radicals.

Interaction between glutathione and Cu(II) in the vicinity of nucleic acids.

GSH interacts with Cu(II) in the vicinity of DNA (pH approximately 7) to form the DNA-Cu(I) complex, which can be quantified by characteristic absorption changes [e.g. delta epsilon 295 = 4516 cm-1.M-1 Cu(I)]. Under initial conditions of Cu(II)/GSH >> 1 and DNA(base)/Cu(II) >> 5, the stoichiometry is 1 DNA-Cu(I) per SH group (also for other thiols). Stopped-flow kinetics show that the complex is formed with half-lives of 1-30 s, depending on the environment, but independent of O2. DNA-Cu(I) generation is much slower, less efficient, and O2-dependent at Cu(II)/GSH < 1, or when GSH interacts with Cu(II) before the addition of DNA. Interaction of GSH with Cu(II) in the presence of DNA [at Cu(II)/GSH > 1] leads to DNA-associated transients, probably DNA-GS(-)-Cu(I); DNA-Cu(I) formation under these conditions is proposed to occur by ligand exchange: DNA-GS(-)-Cu(I)+Cu(II)<-->DNA-Cu(I)+GS(-)-Cu(II). There is no evidence for generation of free thiyl radicals (GS.) on reaction of Cu(II) with GSH. Formation of DNA-Cu(I) is, in our opinion, a primary step involved in DNA-strand cleavage by GSH in the presence of Cu(II) [Reed and Douglas (1991) Biochem. J. 275, 601-608]. In this context the question of the pro-oxidative and/or antioxidative activity of GSH, when combined with copper, is discussed. GSH also generates Cu(I) complexes with other nucleic acids. An updated order of affinities of various nucleic acids for Cu(I) is presented. Cu(I) exhibits a high preference for alternating dG-dC sequences and might even be a Z-DNA inducer. The poly(C)-Cu(I) complex seems to form a base-paired structure at pH approximately 7, as demonstrated by intercalation of ethidium bromide.

Sulfane-activated reduction of cytochrome c by glutathione.

The inorganic sulfane tetrathionate (-O3SSSSO3-) resembles glutathione trisulfide (GSSSG) in that it remarkably activates the reduction of cytochrome c by GSH, both under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. These observations can be explained by the formation of the persulfide GSS-, due to nucleophilic displacements of sulfane sulfur. The GSS- species has previously been proposed to act as a chain carrier in the catalytic reduction of cytochrome c, and perthiyl radicals GSS., formed in the reduction step, were thought to recycle to sulfane via dimerization to GSSSSG.2 The present study provides some arguments in favour of a chain mechanism involving the GSS. + GS-<-->(GSSSG).- equilibrium and sulfane regeneration by a second electron transfer from (GSSSG).- to cytochrome c. Thiosulfate sulfurtransferase (rhodanese) is shown to act as a cytochrome c reductase in the presence of thiosulfate and GSH, and again the generation of GSS- can be envisaged to explain this result.

Catalytic reduction of Fe(III)-cytochrome-c involving stable radiolysis products derived from disulphides, proteins and thiols.

gamma-Radiolysis, with doses less than 1 kGy, of aqueous solutions of disulphides, disulphide-proteins or thiols leads to the generation of stable products, capable of stimulating the catalytic reduction of Fe(III)-cytochrome-c by unirradiated glutathione, and by other thiols. The stimulatory activity fades within 20-60 min in the case of irradiated thiols, but there was little loss of this activity when irradiated solutions of disulphides or disulphide-proteins were stored at 4 degrees C for days. Disulphides (e.g. cystamine) are mainly activated by .OH radicals, disulphide-proteins (e.g. alpha-chymotrypsin) mainly by e-aq, and thiols (e.g. cysteine) by virtually all water radicals. The radiolytic activation, which is only partially prevented by oxygen, can be attributed to the generation of trace amounts of higher sulphides and persulphides (RSSSR, RSSSSR and RSSH). Such species are known to stimulate Fe(III)-cytochrome-c reduction by glutathione in a chain reaction (Massey et al. 1971). The radiolytic stimulation of reductive catalytic activity of thiols and disulphides may play a role in irradiated biological systems, and might be exploited to identify irradiated proteins with Fe(III)-cytochrome-c as detector.

The interaction between hydrogen peroxide and the DNA-Cu(I) complex: effects of pH and buffers.

The rate of interaction between H2O2 and the DNA-Cu(I) complex increases with pH and with salt (NaCl) concentration, suggesting that HO2- is involved. The pH dependence can be fitted, assuming k(DNA-Cu(I) + H2O2) = 1 M-1 S-1 and k(DNA-Cu(I) + HO2-) = 10(5) M-1 S-1 (at low salt concentrations). These interactions cause DNA damage, probably due to the formation of .OH radicals near the site of Cu(I) fixation at DNA bases. About 70% of the intermediates DNA.OH, formed by free .OH radicals were found capable of reducing Cu(II) to regenerate DNA-Cu(I); thus a (limited) reaction chain involving "reductive propagation" by DNA.OH species appears feasible upon reaction of H2O2 with DNA-Cu(I). .OH-induced intermediates of poly(C) are more efficient (about 80%), those of poly(A) and poly(G) are less efficient (about 38%), in reducing Cu(II). Certain organic buffers, particularly HEPES and PIPES, promote autoxidation in DNA/Cu(II)/H2O2 systems, and it is shown that .OH-induced buffer intermediates as well as secondary stable buffer products can engage in "reductive propagation" of redox cycles.

Interaction of copper(I) with nucleic acids.

Poly(dG-dC) and poly(I) form particularly stable complexes with Cu(I): thus characteristic UV absorbance changes enabled demonstration of Cu(I) transfer from poly(dA-dT) to poly(dG-dC), or from DNA to poly(I). Using pulse radiolysis to generate Cu(I), a rate constant of approximately 4 x 10(7) dm3 mol-1 s-1 (per base unit) was estimated for association of Cu(I) to native DNA, and slightly higher values were found for poly(dA-dT), poly(C), poly(dG-dC) and poly(G). For native DNA and for the models poly(dA-dT) and poly(dG-dC) the addition of Cu(I) was followed by secondary absorbance changes in the time scale of 10 ms, probably due to internal Cu(I) transfer; such secondary reactions were not detectable in heat-denatured DNA or in the homopolymers of A, C, G, and I. Extraction of Cu(I) from the DNA by EDTA is slow, 0.019 s-1, and independent of EDTA concentration, indicating that dissociation of the DNA-Cu(I) complex is the rate-determining step. A tentative value can hence be given for the DNA-Cu(I) stability constant: K = k (forward)/k (reverse) approximately 2 x 10(9) dm3 mol-1. Addition of H2O2 to solutions of gamma-radiolytically generated DNA-Cu(I), at Cu(I)/base less than 0.01, resulted in DNA degradation, comparable in yield to .OH-induced degradation. In the case of poly(dA-dT) and poly(dG-dC) the reaction of H2O2 with the corresponding Cu(I) complexes produced even more damage than the reaction of .OH. The formation of DNA-Cu(I), and the deleterious reaction with H2O2, were hardly affected by RNase or BSA, when added at equal (w/v) concentration. Dismutation of O2.- by (Cu,Zn)-SOD was partly inhibited by DNA and even more by poly(I) at pH 4.4, but not at pH 7, probably by competitive complexation of Cu(I), occurring in the catalytic cycle of SOD.

'Chemical repair' in irradiated DNA solutions containing thiols and/or disulphides. Further evidence for disulphide radical anions acting as electron donors.

The ring-closed disulphide radical anion D/SS.-, formed radiolytically either by hydrogen abstraction from dithiothreitol (D(SH)2), or by one-electron reduction of the corresponding cyclic dithiane (DS2), is proposed to engage efficiently in 'chemical repair' of .OH-induced DNA intermediates (DNA.) under gamma-irradiation of aqueous DNA solutions, DNA.+D/SS.- ----DNA+DS2 Evidence for this concept derives from the observation that radioprotection of DNA by DS2 or D(SH)2 can be enhanced in anoxic N2O-saturated solution by the addition of formate, at a constant total .OH scavenger capacity: carbon dioxide radical anions (CO2.-) actually promote the generation of D/SS.-, by interacting both with DS2 and D(SH)2. Oxygen enhancement of radiation-induced DNA damage in systems containing DS2 and/or D(SH)2 can be easily explained with the above concept, as previously proposed in the case of cysteine (Prütz and Mönig 1987), by O2-induced annihilation of the protective disulphide radical anion. In further support of the mechanism proposed it is shown that the protection efficiency under anoxia, and concomitantly the oxygen enhancement, increase with dose rate and with salt concentration, when DNA is irradiated in presence of DS2.

The role of sulphur peptide functions in free radical transfer: a pulse radiolysis study.

Cascading transfers of free radical centres, involving sulphur and aromatic protein functions, have been studied in further detail. The disulphide radical anion appears to be an important terminus of both oxidative and reductive radical transfer. In deaerated solutions of cysteine (20 mmol dm-3) the yield of Cys2/SS.- closely resembles the yield of all primary free radicals generated by water radiolysis (.OH, H. and eaq-). The alanyl Ala/C beta., formed by electron addition to cysteine and subsequent SH- elimination, oxidizes cysteine with a rate constant of k8 = 5.0 x 10(6)dm3mol-1s-1 at pH 6 to 7 and 3.6 x 10(6)dm3mol-1s-1 at pH 9 to 10. In the case of glutathione (GSH) the eaq--induced carbon-centred radical oxidizes the parent thiol with rate constants k(G. + GSH) of 7.0 x 10(6) and 1.3 x 10(6)dm3mol-1s-1 at pH 8 and pH 10, respectively; and with dithiothreitol (D(SH)2) the corresponding reaction rate is k(.DSH + D(SH)2) = 5.5 x 10(6)dm3mol-1s-1 at pH 7.0. The decarboxylated methionyl Met/C. alpha, formed by reaction of .OH with methionine, is capable of electron transfer to cystine, indicating a reduction potential for decarboxylated methione more negative than -1.6 V. The ring-closed methionyl radical cation Met/SN.+, formed by reaction of .OH with Met-Gly, oxidizes azide via equilibration, Met/SN.+ + H+ + N3- in equilibrium Met + N3., which enables an estimate to be given for the one-electron reduction potential: E degrees (Met/SN.+ + H+; Met) = +1.42 +/- 0.3 V (pH 6.8). Some further reactions of oxidizing dimeric Met2/SS.+ species in neutral solution have been demonstrated. The direction and nature of the transfers can be expressed by the scheme: (formula; see text).

On the effect of oxygen or copper(II) in radiation-induced degradation of DNA in the presence of thiols.

Degradation of DNA when gamma-irradiated in aqueous solutions containing cysteine can be efficiently enhanced not only with oxygen, but to the same extent also with Cu2+ ions under hypoxic conditions. The result can be explained by 'self-repair' in this system due to recombination of DNA. with RSS.-R intermediates, and repair inhibition by oxygen or copper involving RSS.-R scavenging. It is emphasized that oxygen enhancement in DNA-thiol systems may occur not only by peroxidation, via defect fixation (DNA-O2.) or thiol activation (RS-O2.), but also by the well-established inactivation of RSS.-R by oxygen. There is evidence also from literature data for a correlation between oxygen enhancement and RSS.-R stability, which varies with thiol concentration, pH and thiol structure.

Copper-catalyzed DNA damage by ascorbate and hydrogen peroxide: kinetics and yield.

Time profiles for degradation of DNA via reaction of H2O2 with the DNA-Cu+ complex were analyzed over a wide range of concentrations of the components. The yield of DNA damage per H2O2 molecule is 10 times lower than that obtained with gamma-radiolytically generated .OH radicals. The observations can be explained by a model in which H2O2 reacts, slowly on the one hand with DNA-Cu+ by formation of toxic .OH radicals immediately at the DNA and faster on the other hand with Cu+ in the bulk solution by formation of less toxic Cu(III) intermediates.