Probing the Intracellular Glutathione Redox Potential by In‐Cell NMR Spectroscopy

Non‐invasive and real‐time analysis of cellular redox processes has been greatly hampered by lack of suitable measurement techniques. Here we describe an in‐cell nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based method for measuring the intracellular glutathione redox potential by direct and quantitative measurement of isotopically labeled glutathione introduced exogenously into living yeast. By using this approach, perturbations in the cellular glutathione redox homeostasis were also monitored as yeast cells were subjected to oxidative stress.     

Reaction of Chalcones with Cellular Thiols. The Effect of the 4-Substitution of Chalcones and Protonation State of the Thiols on the Addition Process. Diastereoselective Thiol Addition

Several biological effects of chalcones have been reported to be associated with their thiol reactivity. In vivo, the reactions can result in the formation of small-molecule or protein thiol adducts. Both types of reactions can play a role in the biological effects of this class of compounds. Progress of the reaction of 4-methyl- and 4-methoxychalcone with glutathione and N-acetylcysteine was studied by the HPLC-UV-VIS method. The reactions were conducted under three different pH conditions. HPLC-MS measurements confirmed the structure of the formed adducts. The chalcones reacted with both thiols under all incubation conditions. The initial rate and composition of the equilibrium mixtures depended on the ratio of the deprotonated form of the thiols. In the reaction of 4-methoxychalcone with N-acetylcysteine under strongly basic conditions, transformation of the kinetic adduct into the thermodynamically more stable one was observed. Addition of S-protonated N-acetylcysteine onto the polar double bonds of the chalcones showed different degrees of diastereoselectivity. Both chalcones showed a Michael-type addition reaction with the ionized and non-ionized forms of the investigated thiols. The initial reactivity of the chalcones and the equilibrium composition of the incubates showed a positive correlation with the degree of ionization of the thiols. Conversions showed systematic differences under each set of conditions. The observed differences can hint at the difference in reported biological actions of 4-methyl- and 4-methoxy-substituted chalcones.     

Detection of Oxidative Stress Induced by Nanomaterials in Cells—The Roles of Reactive Oxygen Species and Glutathione

The potential of nanomaterials use is huge, especially in fields such as medicine or industry. Due to widespread use of nanomaterials, their cytotoxicity and involvement in cellular pathways ought to be evaluated in detail. Nanomaterials can induce the production of a number of substances in cells, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), participating in physiological and pathological cellular processes. These highly reactive substances include: superoxide, singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical, and hydrogen peroxide. For overall assessment, there are a number of fluorescent probes in particular that are very specific and selective for given ROS. In addition, due to the involvement of ROS in a number of cellular signaling pathways, understanding the principle of ROS production induced by nanomaterials is very important. For defense, the cells have a number of reparative and especially antioxidant mechanisms. One of the most potent antioxidants is a tripeptide glutathione. Thus, the glutathione depletion can be a characteristic manifestation of harmful effects caused by the prooxidative-acting of nanomaterials in cells. For these reasons, here we would like to provide a review on the current knowledge of ROS-mediated cellular nanotoxicity manifesting as glutathione depletion, including an overview of approaches for the detection of ROS levels in cells.     

高效液相色谱-电化学检测法测定鼠脑微透析液中谷胱甘肽和半胱氨酸

采用高效液相色谱法,用电化学检测手段成功地测定了沙土鼠脑纹状体微透析液内的谷胱甘肽（ＧＳＨ）和半胱氨酸（Ｃｙｓ）。检测前用电化学自清洗方式能有效地提高玻璃碳电极的检测水平,使其具有较好的重现性和回收率。Ｃｙｓ和ＧＳＨ的回收率分别为９１．４％和８７．３％。电化学检测的工作电压为０．９Ｖ,用外标法定量。由微透析探针获取的纹状体透析液Ｃｙｓ和ＧＳＨ的浓度分别为６８．５９和６５．５４ｎｍｏｌ／Ｌ,验证了方法的实用性和可靠性。     

Protection of mitochondrial integrity from oxidative stress by selenium-containing glutathione transferase

The antioxidant activity of a novel artificial glutathione peroxidase-like enzyme, selenium-containing glutathione 5-transferase from Lucilia cuprina (seleno-LuGST1-1), was studied by using a ferrous sulfate/ascorbate-induced mitochondrial damage model system. Swelling of mitochondria, lipid peroxidation, and cytochrome-c oxidase activity were selected to evaluate the preservation of mitochondrial integrity in this system. Seleno-LuGST1-1 could effectively protect the mitochondria against oxidative damage in a dose-dependent manner and exhibited both higher catalytic activity and greater antioxidant ability than the classic mimic, 2-phenyl-1,2-benziososelenazol-3(2H)-one (Ebselen). This novel artificial biocatalyst therefore may have great protential for pharmacologic application in the treatment of reactive oxygen species-related diseases.     

Electrochemical Study of Thiols and Disulfides Using Modified Electrodes

Abstract

The electrochemical oxidative behavior of cysteine and several disulfides, such as cystine, lipoic acid and disulfiram, have been investigated using a carbon past (EPC) and a modified carbon paste (EPCM) electrode. The study has permitted the differentiation of the oxidative behavior of the thiol and of the disulfides. Modification of the carbon paste, by incorporating cobalt(II) phtalocyanine, offers interesting properties due to the electrocatalytic capability of the electrode. Using these types of electrodes the different molecules have been quantitatively determined at concentration as low as 2.10^?7 M.     

纳米脂质体包裹荧光试剂进入单细胞的研究

本研究首次使用直径约100 nm的小脂质体包裹荧光染料, 通过细胞的内吞作用或融合过程, 转移不透膜荧光物质进入细胞内, 标记细胞内组分.     

Inhibition of Reduction Current of Oxygen by Cysteine and Glutathione at Smooth Platinum Electrodes

Abstract

The reduction of molecular oxygen is inhibited by the chemisorption of cysteine and glutathione on the smooth platinum electrode. The cathodic current of the molecular oxygen reduction is dependent on the concentration of both substances.     

芯片毛细管电泳评估脂质体介导超氧化物歧化酶减低细胞内氧化应激

超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)可用作抗氧化的药物。它能催化并清除细胞内的活性氧组分(ROS),保护细胞免受自由基的氧化破坏。但是由于SOD分子量较大,难以透过细胞膜进入细胞内,显著降低了SOD的药效。本研究用激光共聚焦荧光显微镜拍摄的荧光图像说明,纳米脂质体可介导SOD进入细胞。用芯片毛细管电泳激光诱导荧光分析法(MCE-LIF)测定单细胞中ROS和谷胱甘肽(GSH)的荧光信号强度,评估了用脂质体包裹的SOD与细胞作用的抗氧化效果。用脂质体包裹的SOD与肝癌细胞共培养2h,与直接用SOD作用于肝癌细胞相比较,细胞内ROS明显降低,GSH明显提高。实验结果说明,用脂质体包裹SOD是一种减低细胞内氧化应激的有效给药途径。     

A study of the glutathione metaboloma peptides by energy-resolved mass spectrometry as a tool to investigate into the interference of toxic heavy metals with their metabolic processes

To better understand the fragmentation processes of the metal-biothiol conjugates and their possible significance in biological terms, an energy-resolved mass spectrometric study of the glutathione conjugates of heavy metals, of several thiols and disulfides of the glutathione metaboloma has been carried out. The main fragmentation process of gamma-glutamyl compounds, whether in the thiol, disulfide, thioether or metal-bis-thiolate form, is the loss of the gamma-glutamyl residue, a process which ERMS data showed to be hardly influenced by the sulfur substitution. However, loss of the gamma-glutamyl residue from the mono-S-glutathionyl-mercury (II) cation is a much more energetic process, possibly pointing at a strong coordination of the carboxylic group to the metal. Moreover, loss of neutral mercury from ions containing the gamma-glutamyl residue to yield a sulfenium cation was a much more energetic process than those not containing them, suggesting that the redox potential of the thiol/disulfide system plays a role in the formal reduction of the mercury dication in the gas phase. Occurrence of complementary sulfenium and protonated thiol fragments in the spectra of protonated disulfides of the glutathione metaboloma mirrors the thiol/disulfide redox process of biological importance. The intensity ratio of the fragments is proportional to the reduction potential in solution of the corresponding redox pairs. This finding has allowed the calculation of the previously unreported reduction potentials for the disulfide/thiol pair of cysteinylglycine, thereby confirming the decomposition scheme of bis- and mono-S-glutathionyl-mercury (II) ions. Finally, on the sole basis of the mass spectrometric fragmentation of the glutathione-mercury conjugates, and supported by independent literature evidence, an unprecedented mechanism for mercury ion-induced cellular oxidative stress could be proposed, based on the depletion of the glutathione pool by a catalytic mechanism acting on the metal (II)-thiol conjugates and involving as a necessary step the enzymatic removal of the glutamic acid residue to yield a mercury (II)-cysteinyl-glycine conjugate capable of regenerating neutral mercury through the oxidation of glutathione thiols to the corresponding disulfides.     

Detection of Thiols by o‐Quinone Nanocomposite Modified Electrodes

A chemically modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode was developed as an amperometric sensor for detection of biological thiols. The electrode was modified by inclusion of co‐enzyme pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and a co‐catalyst of oxidized single wall carbon nanotubes (Ox‐SWNT) into a gold polypyrrole (Au‐PPy) nanocomposite matrix. The electrode (PQQ/Ox‐SWNT/Au‐PPy/GC) was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Optimal conditions for the PQQ/Ox‐SWNT/Au‐PPy/GC electrode were determined and then utilized for the amperometric detection of L‐cysteine, N‐acetyl‐L‐cysteine, L‐penicillamine and D, L‐glutathione. The electrochemical response for each thiol in pH 3.2 citrate phosphate buffer at +450 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) was found to be linear with limit of detections (LOD, S/N=3) ranging from 0.50 µM for L‐penicillamine to 1.55 µM for D, L‐glutathione with sensitivities of 30.2 nA/µM and 3.6 nA/µM respectively. The electrode design is simple and easy to construct using a minimum amount of co‐enzyme and co‐catalyst, resulting in detection methods with very good stability and improved sensitivity for thiol detection.     

Long‐Lived 1H Nuclear Spin Singlet in Dimethyl Maleate Revealed by Addition of Thiols

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have become important techniques in many research areas. One major limitation is the relatively low sensitivity of these methods, which recently has been addressed by hyperpolarization. However, once hyperpolarization is imparted on a molecule, the magnetization typically decays within relatively short times. Singlet states are well isolated from the environment, such that they acquire long lifetimes. We describe herein a model reaction for read‐out of a hyperpolarized long‐lived state in dimethyl maleate using thiol conjugate addition. This type of reaction could lend itself to monitoring oxidative stress or hypoxia by sensitive detection of thiols. Similar reactions could be used in biosensors or assays that exploit molecular switching. Singlet lifetimes of about 4.7 min for ¹H spins in [D₄]MeOH are seen in this system.     

Intermediate Detection in the Casiopeina–Cysteine Interaction Ending in the Disulfide Bond Formation and Copper Reduction

A strategy to improve the cancer therapies involves agents that cause the depletion of the endogenous antioxidant glutathione (GSH), increasing its efflux out of cells and inducing apoptosis in tumoral cells due to the presence of reactive oxygen species. It has been shown that Casiopeina copper complexes caused a dramatic intracellular GSH drop, forming disulfide bonds and reducing Cu^II to Cu^I. Herein, through the determination of the [Cu^II]–SH bond before reduction, we present evidence of the adduct between cysteine and one Casiopeina as an intermediate in the cystine formation and as a model to understand the anticancer activity of copper complexes. Evidence of such an intermediate has never been presented before.     

Carbon Fiber-gold/mercury Dual-electrode Detection for Capillary Electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has become a useful and powerful separation technique and has many applications. Electrochemical detection (ED) has been shown to be one of the most sensitive detection techniques available for use in CE. Dual-electrode detection can expand the applicability of CE-ED1-5, the materials such as gold/mercury1,3, carbon fiber2, Pt4 and Au3,5 have been used for the two electrodes in dual-electrodes. As is well known, the electrochemical response of different c…     

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with Fluorescence Detection for Quantification of Steroids in Clinical,Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Samples: A Review

Steroids are compounds widely available in nature and synthesized for therapeutic and medical purposes. Although several analytical techniques are available for the quantification of steroids, their analysis is challenging due to their low levels and complex matrices of the samples. The efficiency and quick separation of the HPLC combined with the sensitivity, selectivity, simplicity, and cost-efficiency of fluorescence, make HPLC coupled to fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) an ideal tool for routine measurement and detection of steroids. In this review, we covered HPLC-FLD methods reported in the literature for the steroids quantification in clinical, pharmaceutical, and environmental applications, focusing on the various approaches of fluorescent derivatization. The aspects related to analytical methodology including sample preparation, derivatization reagents, and chromatographic conditions will be discussed.     

柱前衍生化-气相色谱-质谱法定量测定食品中丙烯酰胺的含量

建立了气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)定量测定食品中丙烯酰胺含量的分析方法。选择13C3-丙烯酰胺作为内标物。通过超纯水提取食品中的丙烯酰胺,经正己烷脱脂两次后,在酸性条件下选用溴化钾/溴酸钾为衍生剂进行衍生化反应,再采用乙酸乙酯进行液-液萃取两次,最后用三乙胺将丙烯酰胺转化为更稳定的产物2-溴丙烯酰胺,利用质谱检测器在选择离子扫描模式下测定2-溴丙烯酰胺。该方法在0.05～2.00 mg/kg范围具有良好的线性(r2=0.9995);检出限和定量限分别达到3 μg/kg和7 μg/kg;回收率范围为62.7%～65.5%。通过与前期建立的液相色谱-串联质谱(HPLC-MS/MS)方法进行对比,该法在薯片和面包样品中丙烯酰胺的检测结果略偏高,是一种可以用于常见食品中丙烯酰胺含量测定的分析方法。     

Planar Chromatography of Heterocyclic Thiols with Detection by Use of the Iodine-Azide Reaction

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Reaction between iodine and the azide ion induced by heterocyclic thiols has been used for detection in TLC and HPTLC. The...     

The Redox Potential of the β-93-Cysteine Thiol Group in Human Hemoglobin Estimated from In Vitro Oxidant Challenge Experiments

Glutathionyl hemoglobin is a minor form of hemoglobin with intriguing properties. The measurement of the redox potential of its reactive β-⁹³-Cysteine is useful to improve understanding of the response of erythrocytes to transient and chronic conditions of oxidative stress, where the level of glutathionyl hemoglobin is increased. An independent literature experiment describes the recovery of human erythrocytes exposed to an oxidant burst by measuring glutathione, glutathione disulfide and glutathionyl hemoglobin in a two-hour period. This article calculates a value for the redox potential E₀ of the β-⁹³-Cysteine, considering the erythrocyte as a closed system at equilibrium described by the Nernst equation and using the measurements of the literature experiment. The obtained value of E₀ of −121 mV at pH 7.4 places hemoglobin as the most oxidizing thiol of the erythrocyte. By using as synthetic indicators of the concentrations the electrochemical potentials of the two main redox pairs in the erythrocytes, those of glutathione–glutathione disulfide and of glutathionyl–hemoglobin, the mechanism of the recovery phase can be hypothesized. Hemoglobin acts as the redox buffer that scavenges oxidized glutathione in the oxidative phase and releases it in the recovery phase, by acting as the substrate of the NAD(P)H-cofactored enzymes.     

Nanoisozymes: Crystal‐Facet‐Dependent Enzyme‐Mimetic Activity of V2O5 Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials with enzyme‐like activity (nanozymes) attract significant interest owing to their applications in biomedical research. Particularly, redox nanozymes that exhibit glutathione peroxidase (GPx)‐like activity play important roles in cellular signaling by controlling the hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) level. Herein we report, for the first time, that the redox properties and GPx‐like activity of V₂O₅ nanozyme depends not only on the size and morphology, but also on the crystal facets exposed on the surface within the same crystal system of the nanomaterials. These results suggest that the surface of the nanomaterials can be engineered to fine‐tune their redox properties to act as “nanoisozymes” for specific biological applications.