Effect of hyperbaric oxygen treatment on nitric oxide and oxygen free radicals in rat brain.

Oxygen (O(2)) at high pressures acts as a neurotoxic agent leading to convulsions. The mechanism of this neurotoxicity is not known; however, oxygen free radicals and nitric oxide (NO) have been suggested as contributors. This study was designed to follow the formation of oxygen free radicals and NO in the rat brain under hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) conditions using in vivo microdialysis. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 100% O(2) at a pressure of 3 atm absolute for 2 h. The formation of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2, 3-DHBA) as a result of perfusing sodium salicylate was followed as an indicator for the formation of hydroxyl radicals. 2,3-DHBA levels in hippocampal and striatal dialysates of animals exposed to HBO conditions were not significantly different from controls. However, rats treated under the same conditions showed a six- and fourfold increase in nitrite/nitrate, break down products of NO decomposition, in hippocampal and striatal dialysates, respectively. This increase was completely blocked by the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor L-nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Using neuronal NOS, we determined the NOS O(2) K(m) to be 158 +/- 28 (SD) mmHg, a value which suggests that production of NO by NOS would increase approximately four- to fivefold under hyperbaric O(2) conditions, closely matching the measured increase in vivo. The increase in NO levels may be partially responsible for some of the detrimental effects of HBO conditions.

Decompression sickness risk in rats by microbial removal of dissolved gas.

We present a method for reducing the risk of decompression sickness (DCS) in rats exposed to high pressures of H2. Suspensions of the human colonic microbe Methanobrevibacter smithii were introduced via a colonic cannula into the large intestines of the rats. While the rats breathed H2 in a hyperbaric chamber, the microbe metabolized some of the H2 diffusing into the intestine, converting H2 and CO2 to methane and water. Rate of release of methane from the rats, which was monitored by gas chromatography, varied with chamber H2 pressure. This rate was higher during decompression than during compression, suggesting that during decompression the microbe was metabolizing H2 stored in the rats' tissues. Rats treated with M. smithii had a 25% (5 of 20) incidence of DCS, which was significantly lower (P < 0.01) than the 56% (28 of 50) incidence of untreated controls, brought on by a standardized compression and decompression sequence. Thus using a microbe in the intestine to remove an estimated 5% of the body burden of H2 reduced DCS risk by more than one-half. This method of biochemical decompression may potentially facilitate human diving.

Spectroscopic properties of Escherichia coli UDP-N-acetylenolpyruvylglucosamine reductase.

Purified uridine diphosphate N-acetylenolpyruvylglucosamine reductase (E.C. 1.1.1.158) was analyzed by circular dichroism (CD) and UV-visible spectroscopy to establish the spectral properties of its tightly bound flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) cofactor. The polypeptide backbone displayed a single circular dichroic minimum at 208 nm and a single maximum at 193 nm. The CD spectrum of bound flavin exhibited a single major negative Cotton peak at 364 nm and two minor negative Cotton peaks at 464 and 495 nm. The protein was reversibly unfolded in 9.8 M urea and refolded in buffer in the presence of excess FAD. The refolded enzyme incorporated FAD and catalyzed full activity. The bound FAD displayed an absorption maximum at 464 nm with an extinction coefficient of epsilon 464 = 11700 M-1 cm-1. Anaerobic reduction with dithionite was complete at 1 equiv. Anaerobic reduction with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced form (NADPH), also was essentially complete at 1 equiv and produced a long-wavelength absorbance band characteristic of an FAD-pyridine nucleotide charge transfer complex. Photochemical bleaching in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) followed exponential kinetics. None of the anaerobic reductive titrations produced a spectral intermediate characteristic of a flavin semiquinone, and all reduced enzyme species could be fully reoxidized by oxygen, with full recovery of catalytic activity. Photochemically reduced enzyme was reoxidized by titration with either NADP+ or uridine diphospho N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvate (UNAGEP). Reoxidation by NADP+ reached a chemical equilibrium, whereas reoxidation by UNAGEP was stoichiometric. Binding of NADP+ or UNAGEP to the oxidized form of the enzyme produced a dead-end complex that could be titrated by following a 10-nm red shift in the absorption spectrum of the bound FAD. The Kd of NADP+ for oxidized enzyme was 0.7 +/- 0.3 microM and the Kd of UNAGEP was 2.7 +/- 0.3 microM. Solvent deuterium isotope effects on binding were observed for both NADP+ and UNAGEP, depending on the pH. At pH 8.5, the HKd/DKd was 2.2 for NADP+ and 3.9 for UNAGEP. No spectral changes were observed in the presence of a 40-fold excess of uridine diphospho N-acetylmuramic acid (UNAM) either aerobically or anaerobically. These studies have identified spectral signals for five steps in the kinetic mechanism, have indicated that product formation is essentially irreversible, and have indicated that hydrogen bonding or protonation contributes significantly to ground-state complex formation with the physiological substrate.

Lower decompression sickness risk in rats by intravenous injection of foreign protein.

We have identified a novel means of reducing the risk of decompression sickness (DCS) in rats. A substantial reduction in DCS, from 55% in untreated animals to 24% in animals injected intravenously with a hydrogenase of bacterial origin, was documented for animals breathing a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen. However, this reduction was clearly not a function of metabolic elimination of H2; injections of proteins lacking hydrogenase activity also elicited a lower DCS incidence, and animals breathing hyperbaric helium had the same protective advantage as animals breathing H2. The reduction in DCS risk was shown to be caused by intravenous injection of a foreign protein. The magnitude of the effect varied: two foreign proteins tested did not induce a statistically significant response. We speculated that the foreign protein elicited an immune reaction pre-dive, which diminished the subsequent response of the immune system in DCS. Identifying the underlying mechanism may be important to understanding the pathophysiology of this malady, and may ultimately lead to a therapy applied pre-decompression for reducing DCS risk in human diving.

Hydrogenase encapsulation into red blood cells and regeneration of electron acceptor.

Biochemical decompression has been proposed as a method for reducing the amount of time required for deep-sea divers to return to the surface. Divers breathing H2/O2 mixtures would be presented with hydrogenase enzyme, and decompression would be accelerated by means of the enzymic removal of excess H2 from the tissues. We have studied FAD as a hydrogenase electron acceptor that is capable of transferring electrons derived from H2 oxidation directly to O2. Kinetic activity constants for the soluble hydrogenase from the bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 were determined with FAD, FMN and riboflavin as electron acceptors, and these values were compared with those obtained with the physiological electron acceptor NAD+. The Michaelis constants (K(m)) were similar for FAD, FMN and NAD. However, the maximal catalytic-centre activity (Kcat) was much lower for the flavins, and the catalytic efficiency (Kcat/K(m)) with FAD was 1/20th the value for NAD+. After enzyme-catalysed FAD reduction to FADH2, the FAD could be regenerated by addition of O2 and reduced again by the enzyme in the presence of H2. Thus FAD served as a regenerable electron shuttle between H2 and O2. H2O2, a by-product of FADH2 oxidation by O2, inhibited the enzyme. Much greater inhibition was observed with the reduced form of the enzyme. Active hydrogenase was efficiently encapsulated into human and pig red blood cells. Hydrogen consumption was seen with lysed carrier cells, but was demonstrated with unlysed carrier cells only when FAD was co-encapsulated along with enzyme. These results demonstrate that red blood cells encapsulating hydrogenase and FAD act as a system for continuous H2 consumption in a mammalian tissue without addition of exogenous factors, and such cells may provide a biotherapeutic method for reducing the risk and treatment of decompression sickness.

Kinetic mechanism studies of the soluble hydrogenase from Alcaligenes eutrophus H16.

Purified soluble hydrogenase (H2:NAD+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.12.1.2) from Alcaligenes eutrophus was activated to high specific activities by flushing the enzyme consecutively with N2 and H2 and then adding substoichiometric quantities of NADH. H2-dependent NAD+ reduction activities > or = 110 mumol NADH formed/min/mg protein at pH 8.0 and 30 degrees C were obtained which were stable for several hours at 4 degrees C. Kinetic studies were conducted anaerobically using activated enzyme for the purpose of evaluating the potential of using hydrogenase to enhance decompression of mammals breathing H2/O2 mixtures under hyperbaric conditions (i.e., at ambient pressures greater than 1 atm). Using nonlinear curve fitting of the kinetic data, it was found that H2 and NAD+ bind hydrogenase via a ping pong bi bi mechanism with Km values (+/- SE) of 11 +/- 0.9 and 138 +/- 11 microM, respectively, at 30 degrees C and pH 8.0. Sodium ions were found to reversibly inhibit hydrogenase via a dead-end type of inhibition in which two catalytic forms of the enzyme bind Na+ with dissociation constants calculated to be 8.3 +/- 1.2 and 49.8 +/- 11.5 mM. In the absence of NaCl, maximum NAD+ reduction activity was measured at pH 8.3 at 30 and 37 degrees C. In the presence of 50 mM NaCl, inhibition was observed primarily at alkaline pH, and at assay pH values < or = 7.0, little or no difference was observed in activity in the presence or absence of 50 mM NaCl at a given temperature. Least squares analyses of the kinetic data indicated that substrate inhibition by H2 occurs at high substrate concentrations (Ki = 1.46 +/- 0.64 mM), which would become a significant influence on enzyme catalytic activity at hyperbaric levels of H2.

FMN cofactor dissociation from the soluble hydrogenase of Alcaligenes eutrophus H16.

The specific activity of purified soluble hydrogenase of Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 was found to vary with enzyme concentration. Specific activity as a function of concentration of purified enzyme could be fit to an equation describing the dissociation of a compound into two components. An association constant, kappa(a), was determined in this way to be 39.4 +/- 8.7 micrograms protein/ml. The concentration of the enzyme affected its kinetic parameters: a tenfold decrease in enzyme concentration caused by a reduction of the V(max) and Kappa(m) (NAD) values to 45% and 58%, respectively, of the values for undiluted (0.64 mg/ml) enzyme. Diaphorase (NAD-dependent reduction of benzyl viologen) specific activity of the hydrogenase was unaffected by dilution. The extent of dilution-induced activity loss was dependent on pH, with greater activity loss observed at higher pH values. The substrate NAD prevented loss of specific activity due to dilution, while the product NADH did not. Specific activity loss due to dilution as reversed with the addition of the cofactor FMN. Dilution of the hydrogenase caused an increase in the enzyme's specific flavin fluorescence. These results suggest that dilution of the soluble hydrogenase of Alcaligenes eutrophus causes dissociation of the cofactor FMN, and this activity loss should be taken into account as an important factor governing hydrogenase activity and kinetic properties.

Hydrogen gas is not oxidized by mammalian tissues under hyperbaric conditions.

Mammalian tissues, including heart, lung, liver, kidney, spleen, and skeletal muscle of guinea pig, rat, or pig, were exposed to tritium (T2) and high pressures of H2. Incorporation of the tritium label was measured to test for a latent capacity by mammalian tissues to oxidize H2 under conditions such as those experienced by deep divers breathing H2. Tissues were removed aseptically, and either minced, homogenized, or prepared as live cell cultures. The tissues were placed in a chamber to which 8 mCi T2, 1 MPa He, and either 1 or 5 MPa H2 were added. After 1 h the chamber was decompressed. The tissues were spun briefly in a vortex mixer to facilitate elimination of T2 in the gas phase. Samples were analyzed by scintillation counting for tritium incorporation in the liquid phase or in the tissues. Saline and distilled water were used as negative controls. Palladium (Pd) beads immersed in water, and cultures of the H2-metabolizing bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus were used as positive controls. The tissues incorporated on the order of 10 nCi T2.ml-1, which implied a H2 incorporation of 10-50 nmol H2.g-1.min-1. However this incorporation was not different from that found in the water controls and was attributed to radioisotope effects. The Pd and bacterial samples incorporated over 1,000-fold more T2 than the mammalian tissues. We concluded that the mammalian tissues did not oxidize H2 under hyperbaric conditions, with a limit of detection of 100 nmol H2.g-1.min-1.

Coordination of selenium to molybdenum in formate dehydrogenase H from Escherichia coli.

Formate dehydrogenase H from Escherichia coli contains multiple redox centers, which include a molybdopterin cofactor, an iron-sulfur center, and a selenocysteine residue (SeCys-140 in the polypeptide chain) that is essential for catalytic activity. Here we show that addition of formate to the native enzyme induces a signal typical of Mo(V) species. This signal is detected by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Substitution of 77Se for natural isotope abundance Se leads to transformation of this signal, indicating a direct coordination of Se with Mo. Mutant enzyme with cysteine substituted at position 140 for the selenocysteine residue has decreased catalytic activity and exhibits a different EPR signal. Since determination of the Se content of wild-type enzyme indicates approximately 1 gram atom per mol, we conclude that it is the Se atom of the SeCys-140 residue in the protein that is coordinated directly with Mo. The amino acid sequence flanking the selenocysteine residue in formate dehydrogenase H is similar to a conserved sequence found in several other prokaryotic molybdopterin-dependent enzymes. In most of these other enzymes a cysteine residue, or in a few cases a serine or a selenocysteine residue, occurs in the position corresponding to SeCys-140 of formate dehydrogenase H. By analogy with formate dehydrogenase H in these other enzymes, at least one of the ligands to Mo should be provided by an amino acid residue of the protein. This ligand could be the Se of a selenocysteine residue, sulfur of a cysteine residue, or, in the case of a serine residue, oxygen.

Overproduction of a selenocysteine-containing polypeptide in Escherichia coli: the fdhF gene product.

The fdhF gene of Escherichia coli codes for the selenocysteine-including protein subunit of formate dehydrogenase H. The protein subunit consists of 715 amino acid residues containing a single selenocysteine residue at position 140 which is encoded by a UGA codon. The decoding of this opal termination codon occurs under anaerobic growth conditions by means of a specific tRNA, i.e. the selC gene product. The ability of E. coli cells to overproduce a selenopolypeptide was examined using the fdhF gene as a model system. Surprisingly, E. coli was able to synthesize the fdhF gene product at the level of approximately 12% of the total cellular protein. This was achieved by cloning fdhF in a multicopy plasmid together with a synthetic selC gene under the Ipp promoter. FdhF production was absolutely dependent upon the addition of selenium to the culture medium and was almost completely blocked in the presence of oxygen. The product was specifically labelled with 75Se, proving that it consisted of a selenoprotein. The product was purified to homogeneity and shown to exhibit the catalytic properties characteristic of formate dehydrogenase H.

Catalytic properties of an Escherichia coli formate dehydrogenase mutant in which sulfur replaces selenium.

Formate dehydrogenase H of Escherichia coli contains selenocysteine as an integral amino acid. We have purified a mutant form of the enzyme in which cysteine replaces selenocysteine. To elucidate the essential catalytic role of selenocysteine, kinetic and physical properties of the mutant enzyme were compared with those of wild type. The mutant and wild-type enzymes displayed similar pH dependencies with respect to activity and stability, although the mutant enzyme profiles were slightly shifted to more alkaline pH. Both enzymes were inactivated by reaction with iodoacetamide; however, addition of the substrate, formate, was necessary to render the enzymes susceptible to alkylation. Alkylation-induced inactivation was highly dependent on pH, with each enzyme displaying an alkylation vs. pH profile suggestive of an essential selenol or thiol. Both forms of the enzyme use a ping-pong bi-bi kinetic mechanism. The mutant enzyme binds formate with greater affinity than does the wild-type enzyme, as shown by reduced values of Km and Kd. However, the mutant enzyme has a turnover number which is more than two orders of magnitude lower than that of the native selenium-containing enzyme. The lower turnover number results from a diminished reaction rate for the initial step of the overall reaction, as found in kinetic analyses that employed the alternative substrate deuterioformate. These results indicate that the selenium of formate dehydrogenase H is directly involved in formate oxidation. The observed differences in kinetic properties may help explain the evolutionary conservation of selenocysteine at the enzyme's active site.

Kinetics for formate dehydrogenase of Escherichia coli formate-hydrogenlyase.

Kinetic parameters of the selenium-containing, formate dehydrogenase component of the Escherichia coli formate-hydrogenlyase complex have been determined with purified enzyme. A ping-pong Bi Bi kinetic mechanism was observed. The Km for formate is 26 mM, and the Km for the electron-accepting dye, benzyl viologen, is in the range 1-5 mM. The maximal turnover rate for the formate-dependent catalysis of benzyl viologen reduction was calculated to be 1.7 x 10(5) min-1. Isotope exchange analysis showed that the enzyme catalyzes carbon exchange between carbon dioxide and formate in the absence of other electron acceptors, confirming the ping-pong reaction mechanism. Dissociation constants for formate (12.2 mM) and CO2 (8.3 mM) were derived from analysis of the isotope exchange data. The enzyme catalyzes oxidation of the alternative substrate deuterioformate with little change in the Vmax, but the Km for deuterioformate is approximately three times that of protioformate. This implies formate oxidation is not rate-limiting in the overall coupled reaction of formate oxidation and benzyl viologen reduction. The deuterium isotope effect on Vmax/Km was observed to be approximately 4.2-4.5. Sodium nitrate was found to inhibit enzyme activity in a competitive manner with respect to formate, with a Ki of 7.1 mM. Sodium azide is a noncompetitive inhibitor with a Ki of about 80 microM.

Escherichia coli formate-hydrogen lyase. Purification and properties of the selenium-dependent formate dehydrogenase component.

The formate-hydrogen lyase complex of Escherichia coli decomposes formic acid to hydrogen and carbon dioxide under anaerobic conditions in the absence of exogenous electron acceptors. The complex consists of two separable enzymatic activities: a formate dehydrogenase and a hydrogenase. The formate dehydrogenase component (FDHH) of the formate-hydrogen lyase complex was purified to near homogeneity in two column chromatographic steps. The purified enzyme was composed of a single polypeptide of molecular weight 80,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Metal analysis showed each mole of enzyme contained 3.3 g atoms of iron. Denaturation of FDHH released a compound which, when oxidized, displayed a fluorescence spectrum similar to that of the molybdopterin cofactor found in certain other enzymes. The enzyme contained selenium in the form of selenocysteine as determined by radioactive labeling of the enzyme with 75Se and amino acid analysis. FDHH activity was maximal between pH 7.5 and 8.5; however, the enzyme was maximally stable at pH 5.3-6.4 and highly unstable above pH 7.5. Nitrate and nitrite salts caused a drastic reduction in activity. Although azide inhibited FDHH activity, it also protected the enzyme from inactivation by oxygen.

Isolation and nucleotide sequence of the chloroperoxidase gene from Caldariomyces fumago.

The chloroperoxidase gene from the filamentous fungus Caldariomyces fumago has been isolated within a 16.3-kilobase insert in the vector lambda EMBL3. The DNA sequence of the gene and its immediate flanking regions has been determined, and the start site of transcription has been mapped by primer extension.

Anaerobic induction of Escherichia coli formate dehydrogenase (hydrogenase-linked) is enhanced by gyrase inactivation.

Escherichia coli synthesizes a hydrogenase-linked formate dehydrogenase (FDHH) under anaerobic conditions in the absence of nitrate. In striking contrast to many other anaerobic-specific genes, which require DNA to be negatively supercoiled for expression, we have found that inhibition of DNA gyrase activity enhances expression from the gene (fdhF) encoding the selenopolypeptide of FDHH. Fusions of the 5' flanking region of fdhF and the structural gene of lacZ were used to determine fdhF expression under varying conditions. Chemical inhibitors and a temperature-sensitive mutant allowed in vivo inhibition of gyrase activity. In each case, concomitant with gyrase inhibition there was a substantial increase in the induction of fusion protein synthesis. This enhancement of expression is observed for the intact fdhF gene residing on the chromosome as well as the fusion gene in a multicopy plasmid. Inhibition of gyrase activity will partially overcome the inhibition of fdhF expression due to nitrate but does not allow fusion protein synthesis in the presence of oxygen.

Fructose induces and glucose represses chloroperoxidase mRNA levels.

The fungus Caldariomyces fumago can be induced to secrete the heme protein chloroperoxidase at levels of 500 mg/liter. Chloroperoxidase synthesis is controlled at the mRNA level. Glucose strongly represses production of chloroperoxidase mRNA and protein, whereas fructose induces both to high levels. Chloroperoxidase has been partially sequenced by automated Edman degradation of tryptic peptides. Based on this amino acid sequence data, a 2-fold degenerate, 29-base oligonucleotide (29-mer) complementary to chloroperoxidase mRNA was synthesized. Polyadenylated RNA, purified from C. fumago, was used as substrate for cDNA synthesis using the 29-mer as primer. cDNAs were made double-stranded and cloned into plasmid pBR322 by conventional methods. Screening the resultant cDNA bank by colony hybridization with the 29-mer as probe showed that 18% of the clones contained the 29-mer sequence. Dideoxy sequencing of one clone (pMA340) identified it as part of the coding region for chloroperoxidase by comparison with known amino acid sequences. In addition, the amino-terminal coding region of clone pMA340 reveals a putative signal peptide for chloroperoxidase. Clone pMA340 was then used in Northern analysis of chloroperoxidase mRNA levels under conditions which induce and repress enzyme secretion.

Cloning and sequencing of chloroperoxidase cDNA.

An oligod-d(T) 12-18 primed cDNA library has been prepared from Caldariomyces fumago mRNA. A clone containing a full-length insert was sequenced on the supercoiled plasmid, pBR322. The complete primary sequence of chloroperoxidase has been derived. We have also determined about 73% of the peptide sequence by amino acid sequencing. The DNA sequence data matches all of the available known peptide sequences. The mature polypeptide contains 300 amino acids having a combined molecular weight of 32,974 daltons. A putative signal peptide of 21 amino acids is proposed from DNA sequence data. The chloroperoxidase gene encodes three potential glycosylation sites recognized as Asn-X-Thr/Ser sequences. Three cysteine residues are found in the protein sequence. A small region around Cys87 bears a minimal homology to the active site of cytochrome P450cam. No other heme protein homologues can be detected. We propose that Cys87 serves as a thiolate ligand to the iron of heme prosthetic group. A rare arginine codon, AGG, is used three times out of twelve in contrast to the very infrequent use of this codon in E. coli or yeast.