Synthesis and analysis of aminochromes by HPLC-photodiode array. Adrenochrome evaluation in rat blood

The catecholamine oxidation process induces cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Catecholamines can oxidize to aminochromes through autoxidation or by enzymatic or non-enzymatic catalysis. Although some toxic effects seem to be related to the formation of aminochromes there is still scarce information concerning the identification and evaluation of these compounds in in vivo models. In this study five catecholamines were oxidized to their respective aminochromes: adrenaline/adrenochrome; noradrenaline/noradrenochrome; dopa/dopachrome; dopamine/dopaminochrome; and isoproterenol/isoprenochrome. The evaluation of the catecholamines oxidation profile was performed by HPLC with photodiode array detection and using either enzymatic (tyrosinase) or non-enzymatic [Ag(2)O, CuSO(4), NaIO(4) and K(3)Fe(CN)(6)] catalytic systems. The NaIO(4) was found to be the most efficient oxidant of catecholamines. An isocratic reverse-phase HPLC method was developed to analyse each pair of catecholamine-aminochrome. The analytical system was then applied to the detection of adrenochrome in rat blood at 490 nm. Thus, adrenochrome was administered i.p. to rats and its concentration in whole blood was monitored after 5, 15 and 25 min. Blood treatment for adrenochrome evaluation consists of an acidification for protein precipitation followed by a rapid neutralization. The results showed a rapid decrease of adrenochrome concentration in blood after its administration. The adrenochrome present in blood was characterized by UV and tandem mass spectrometry.     

On-line redox derivatization liquid chromatography using double separation columns and one derivatization unit

A new on-line redox derivatization technique using double separation columns and one redox derivatization unit was presented for enhancement of separation selectivity of HPLC. This on-line redox derivatization HPLC system consisted of two separation columns and one redox derivatization unit placed between them. The redox reaction proceeds in the derivatization unit so that an analyte compound migrates as its original form in the first column, while as its oxidized or reduced form in the second column. The retention of the analytes is controlled by the lengths of the two separation columns in this system. We adopted a small column packed with porous graphitic carbon (PGC) as a redox derivatization unit and two C18 silica columns treated with hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride as separation columns. The redox activity of PGC and the efficiency of the on-line redox derivatization HPLC system for enhancement of separation selectivity were investigated using EDTA complexes of some metal ions. Original untreated PGC and PGC treated with hydrogen peroxide completely oxidized Co(II)-EDTA and converted it to Co(III)-EDTA, while the other metal complexes eluted as their original oxidation states throughout the system. Selective separation and determination of cobalt in a reference copper alloy by the developed method were demonstrated.     

Voltammetric Investigation of Zinc Release from Metallothioneins Modulated by the Glutathione Redox Couple and Separated with a Porous Membrane

Glutathione (GSH), in addition to serving as a redox buffer in cellular environment, has been suggested as a modulator in metal regulation and homeostasis by metallothioneins (MTs). The interactions of MTs with both GSH and its oxidized form GSSG have been shown to govern the direction of metal transfer. Common methods for the determination of zinc release from MTs modulated by GSH/GSSG either involve radioactive species or enzymes or are labor‐intensive. In this study, upon separation of Zn²⁺ from the reaction mixture of MTs and GSH with a centrifugal filter membrane, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was used for the Zn²⁺ quantification. The same approach is extended to the studies of metal transfer between Zn₇MT with a GSH/GSSG mixture and that between Zn₇MT with GSSG. The concomitant conversion between the free thiol and disulfide bonds was confirmed with UV‐vis spectrophotometry. The results demonstrate that GSSG, GSH, and the GSH/GSSG mixture all modulate zinc release from Zn₇MT. The percentage of zinc release increases in the order of GSH, GSSG, and the GSH/GSSG mixture. The new approach is demonstrated to be well suited for investigation of redox regulation of MT and its reaction with zinc‐containing enzymes.     

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.     

C−N Bond Formation from a Masked High‐Valent Copper Complex Stabilized by Redox Non‐Innocent Ligands

The reactivity of a stable copper(II) complex bearing fully oxidized iminobenzoquinone redox ligands towards nucleophiles is described. In sharp contrast with its genuine low‐valent counterpart bearing reduced ligands, this complex performs high‐yielding C?N bond formations. Mechanistic studies suggest that this behavior could stem from a mechanism akin to reductive elimination occurring at the metal center but facilitated by the ligand: it is proposed that a masked high oxidation state of the metal can be stabilized as a lower copper(II) oxidation state by the redox ligands without forfeiting its ability to behave as a high‐valent copper(III) center. These observations are substantiated by a combination of advanced EPR spectroscopy techniques with DFT studies. This work sheds light on the potential of redox ligands as promoters of unusual reactivities at metal centers and illustrates the concept of masked high‐valent metallic species.     

Effects of redox conditions and zinc(II) ions on metallothionein aggregation revealed by chip capillary electrophoresis

Metallothioneins (MTs) belong to cysteine-rich proteins with unique higher structure. One of the most known MT's functions is metals detoxification and maintaining their homeostasis in a cell. Structure of MT with naturally occurred zinc(II) ions can be affected by concentration of metal ions as well as redox milieu inside a cell, however the exact explanation and biochemical effects of the structural changes are still missing. In this study we used capillary electrophoresis on chip coupled with fluorescence detection to determine structural changes of MT with increasing concentration of zinc(II) ions and under various redox conditions. To investigate the structural-dependent effects, reduced and/or oxidized apo-MT (MT without natural occurred metal ion) was prepared. Zinc binding into reduced and/or oxidized apo-MT was compared. MT was incubated with 0, 5, 15, 25, 50 and 100 μM ZnCl₂ for 1 h in 37 °C. Formation of MT aggregates with increasing zinc concentration was observed by spectrophotometry, chip capillary electrophoresis, and SDS-PAGE. We found out that reduced MT forms aggregates more readily compared to oxidized MT. Using the chip capillary electrophoresis allowed us relative quantification of MT aggregation as a decrease in the area of the signal corresponding to the monomer form of MT (Mw 15 kDa, migration time 26.5 s) and its ratio to total signal (sum of all signals measured by the electrophoresis). The dependences had an exponential character with equation y = 2.4 × e^−0.01x, R² = 0.945 for 15 kDa peak area and y = 0.11 × e^−0.01x, R² = 0.938 for decrease of 15 kDa peak area ratio to the total signal. Zn–MT interaction was 30% faster during the first 15 min and 50% faster during the whole experiment for reduced MT. It can be concluded that formation of MT aggregates is dependent on redox state and Zn(II) concentration.     

Electrochemistry of and Redox‐Induced Metal Release from Metallothioneins at a Nafion‐Coated Bismuth Film Electrode

Nafion‐coated bismuth film electrodes (NCBiFEs) were used to investigate the redox behavior of and metal release from rabbit liver metallothioneins (MTs) in an acetate buffer. Owing to the permselective exchange between positively charged MT molecules and cations in Nafion and the absence of detectable MT adsorption at bismuth surface, a diffusion‐controlled Nernstian redox wave of MTs (E_pc=?0.869 V) was observed for the first time. The Nernstian behavior of the diffusing MTs is in contrast to the voltammetric responses of MTs at thin mercury films or Nafion‐coated mercury film electrodes, which either result in the replacement of the metals originally present in MTs by mercury or lead to a noticeable MT adsorption. By avoiding these undesirable features, the NCBiFE provides an excellent milieu for voltammetric studies of different types of MTs and related isoforms, paving the way for studying the redox‐modulated metal transfer of MTs and understanding the biological role of MTs in heavy metal detoxification and essential metal regulations.     

Determination of the thiol redox state of organisms: new oxidative stress indicators

This study describes a new methodology by which the concentrations of non-protein (NP) thiols glutathione (GSH), cysteine (CSH), N-acetylcysteine (AcCSH), and protein (P) thiols (PSH), as well as the contribution of these components to symmetric and mixed disulfides (NPSSR, NPSSC, NPSSCAc, PSSR, PSSC, PSSCAc, PSSP) can reliably be measured. The methodology consists of a strict sequence of methods which are applied to every sample. Free thiols at any given state of the procedure are measured by Ellmans assay, the CSH fraction is measured by its unique response in the ninhydrin assay, AcCSH is selectively measured with ninhydrin after enzymatic deacylation, proteins are separated from non-protein thiols/disulfides by precipitation with trichloroacetic or perchloric acid, disulfides are reduced into free thiols with borohydride, mixed disulfides between a protein and a non-protein component are measured by extracting the non-protein thiol from the protein pellet after borohydride treatment, and protein thiols/disulfides are measured after resolubilization of the protein pellet.When this method was applied to animal and fungal tissue, new molecular indicators of the thiol redox state of living cells were identified. The findings of the present study clearly show that the new parameters are very sensitive indicators of redox state, while at the same time the traditional parameters GSH and GSSG often remain constant even upon dramatic changes in the overall redox state of biological tissue. Therefore, unbiased assessment of the redox state also requires explicit measurement of its most sensitive thiol indicators.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.     

Simple,Extremely Fast,and High‐Yielding Oxidation of Thiols to Disulfides

Abstract

Results of oxidation of thiols to disulfides with 1,3‐dibromo‐5,5‐dimethylhydantoin (DBDMH) are described. A simple addition of 0.20–0.25 mol equivalent of solid DBDMH to thiol in chloroform at room temperature yielded the disulfides in excellent yield. The reaction is extremely fast and gave no other oxidized side products.     

Lipoic Acid Combined with Melatonin Mitigates Oxidative Stress and Promotes Root Formation and Growth in Salt-Stressed Canola Seedlings (Brassica napus L.)

Lipoic acid (LA) and melatonin (MT) are pleiotropic molecules participating in plant stress resistance by modulating cellular biochemical changes, ion homeostasis, and antioxidant enzyme activities. However, the combined role of these two molecules in counteracting the detrimental impacts of salinity stress is still unknown. In the present study, we determined the effects of exogenous LA (0.5 µM), MT (1 µM) and their combination (LA + MT) on growth performance and biomass accumulation, photosynthetic pigments, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities, and ions homeostatic in canola (Brassica napus L.) seedlings under salinity stress (0, 100 mM) for 40 days. The results indicate that exogenous application of LA + MT improved the phenotypic growth (by 25 to 45%), root thickness (by 68%), number of later lateral roots (by 52%), root viability (by 44%), and root length (by 50%) under salinity stress. Moreover, total soluble protein, chlorophyll pigments, the concentration of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase peroxidase (CAT), and ascorbic peroxidase (ASA) increased with the presence of salt concentration into the growth media and then decreased with the addition of LA + MT to saline solution. Leaf protein contents and the degradation of photosynthetic pigments were lower when LA + MT treatments were added into NaCl media. The proline and phenol contents decreased in the exogenous application of LA + MT treatments more than individual LA or MT treatments under the salinity stress. The incorporation of LA or MT or a combination of LA + MT to saline solution decreased salinity-induced malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage. In conclusion, the alteration of metabolic pathways, redox modulation, and ions homeostasis in plant tissues by the combined LA and MT application are helpful towards the adaptation of Brassica napus L. seedlings in a saline environment. The results of this study provide, for the first time, conclusive evidence about the protective role of exogenous LA + MT in canola seedlings under salinity stress.     

Reactive ligands in radical processes catalyzed by copper complexes

The effect of the reactivity of donor ligands on the catalytic properties of copper complexes in the oxidative dimerization of mercaptans is considered. Catalytic compositions containing metal complexes in an excess of organic reagent ligands, which can show pronounced reductive properties (aromatic amines) or, on the contrary, oxidative properties (dimethyl sulfoxide) toward substrates, exhibit the greatest activity. In the course of the oxidation of mercaptans catalyzed by copper complexes, redox reactions accompanied by not only a change in the oxidation state of the metal but also the direct interaction of a substrate with an organic donor occur. In the presence of aromatic amines, the coupled oxidation of thiols and amines occurs, whereas dimethyl sulfoxide participates in the reaction as an oxidizing agent.     

A Redox‐Active Dinuclear Platinum Complex Exhibiting Multicolored Electrochromism and Luminescence

A redox series of cyclometalated platinum complexes based on a dinuclear motif linked by acetamidato (aam) bridging ligands, [Pt₂(μ‐aam)₂(ppy)₂] (ppy^?=2‐phenylpyridinate ion), has been synthesized. The complexes in this series are easily oxidized and reduced by both electrochemical and chemical methods, and this is accompanied by multistep changes in their optical properties, that is, multiple color changes and luminescence. Isolation of the complexes and the structural determination of three oxidation states, +2, +2.33, and +3, have been achieved. The mixed‐valent complex, with an average oxidation state of +2.33, forms a trimer based on the dinuclear motif. The mixed‐valent complex has a characteristic color owing to intervalence transitions in the platinum chain. In contrast, the divalent complex exhibits strong red phosphorescence originating from a triplet metal‐metal‐to‐ligand charge transfer (³MMLCT) state. This study demonstrates the unique chromic behavior of a redox‐active and luminescent platinum complex.     

蛋白质半胱氨酸上的翻译后修饰组分析方法进展

半胱氨酸的巯基具有很高的反应活性,作为亲核、氧化还原催化反应、金属结合及变构调节位点等在蛋白质的结构和功能中发挥着非常重要的作用,且容易发生多种翻译后修饰,调控亦或损伤蛋白功能,与人类许多重要疾病关系密切,因此,定性与定量分析蛋白质半胱氨酸上的翻译后修饰组对理解其生物学功能具有重要意义。本文综述了近年来蛋白质半胱氨酸上常见的翻译后修饰组的质谱和蛋白质组学分析方法进展。     

Synthesis of Cleavable Polymers via Oxidation of Thioether Moieties and Thiol Click Reactions: A Click-Declick Strategy

In the past decades click chemistries including thiol chemistries have found wide applications in the synthesis of well-defined polymers. In this research, a click-declick strategy based on the oxidation of heteroaromatic thioethers and the substitution reactions between the oxidized groups and thiols, is proposed for the synthesis of the cleavable polymers. In proof-of-concept experiments, block copolymers (BCPs) and star-like polymers are synthesized by thiol-phenylsulfone substitution reactions, and heteroaromatic thioethers are produced at the junction points of the BCP chains or on the crosslinking sites of the star-like polymer. The thioethers can be oxidized to heteroaromatic sulfoxides or sulfones, depending on the oxidization condition. It is demonstrated that both sulfoxides or sulfones can have base catalyzed nucleophilic substitution reactions with thiols, leading to the cleavage of the polymers.     

Oxidation of thiol compounds by molecular oxygen in aqueous solutions

Side self-oxidation of thiols was studied. It was found that these reactions in neutral and alkaline solutions are induced by impurities of variable-valence metals. The ability of transition metals to catalyze oxidation of thiols changes in the order Cu > Mn > Fe > Ni Co. The plot of the self-oxidation rate vs. pH passes through a maximum whose position on the pH scale depends on both the nature of metal and the structure of the thiol oxidized. For thiols having different structures, the kinetic orders in reactions catalyzed by copper ions differently vary with pH, which is apparently associated with the formation of complexes possessing different catalytic activity.     

Dehydrogenative Coupling Reactions with Oxidized Guanidino‐Functionalized Aromatic Compounds: Novel Options for σ‐Bond Activation

We present a new option for metal‐free σ‐bond activation, making use of oxidized, guanidino‐functionalized aromatic compounds (GFAs). We demonstrate this new option by the homocoupling reactions of thiols and phosphines. The kinetics and the reaction pathway were studied by a number of experiments (including heterocoupling of thiols and phosphines), supported by quantum‐chemical computations. Reaction of the oxidized GFA with p‐dihydrobenzoquinone to give p‐benzoquinone shows that typical proton‐coupled electron‐transfer reactions are also possible.     

Proton-coupled electron transfer in a biomimetic peptide as a model of enzyme regulatory mechanisms

Proton-coupled electron-transfer reactions are central to enzymatic mechanism in many proteins. In several enzymes, essential electron-transfer reactions involve oxidation and reduction of tyrosine side chains. For these redox-active tyrosines, proton transfer couples with electron transfer, because the phenolic pKA of the tyrosine is altered by changes in the tyrosine redox state. To develop an experimentally tractable peptide system in which the effect of proton and electron coupling can be investigated, we have designed a novel amino acid sequence that contains one tyrosine residue. The tyrosine can be oxidized by ultraviolet photolysis or electrochemical methods and has a potential cross-strand interaction with a histidine residue. NMR spectroscopy shows that the peptide forms a beta-hairpin with several interstrand dipolar contacts between the histidine and tyrosine side chains. The effect of the cross-strand interaction was probed by electron paramagnetic resonance and electrochemistry. The data are consistent with an increase in histidine pKA when the tyrosine is oxidized; the effect of this thermodynamic coupling is to increase tyrosyl radical yield at low pH. The coupling mechanism is attributed to an interstrand pi-cation interaction, which stabilizes the tyrosyl radical. A similar interaction between histidine and tyrosine in enzymes provides a regulatory mechanism for enzymatic electron-transfer reactions.     

Cover Feature: Redox-Active Guanidines in Proton-Coupled Electron-Transfer Reactions: Real Alternatives to Benzoquinones? (Chem. Eur. J. 70/2019)

Guanidino-functionalized aromatics (GFAs) are readily available, stable organic redox-active compounds. In this work we apply one particular GFA compound, 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(tetramethylguanidino)benzene, in its oxidized form in a variety of oxidation/oxidative coupling reactions to demonstrate the scope of its proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactivity. Addition of an excess of acid boosts its oxidation power, enabling the oxidative coupling of substrates with redox potentials of at least +0.77 V vs. Fc⁺/Fc. The green recyclability by catalytic re-oxidation with dioxygen is also shown. Finally, a direct comparison indicates that GFAs are real alternatives to toxic halo- or cyano-substituted benzoquinones.     

Mass spectrometric analysis of the interactions between CP12, a chloroplast protein, and metal ions: a possible regulatory role within a PRK/GAPDH/CP12 complex

The small chloroplast protein CP12 plays the role of a protein linker in the assembly process of a PRK/GAPDH/CP12 complex that is involved in CO2 assimilation in photosynthetic organisms. The redox state of CP12 regulates its role as a protein linker. Only the oxidized protein, with two disulfide bonds, is active in complex formation. Several observations indicating that CP12 might bind a metal ion led us to screen the binding of different metal ions on oxidized or reduced CP12 using non-covalent electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) experiments. The oxidized protein bound specifically Cu2+ and Ni2+ (Kd of 26+/-1 microM and 11+/-1 microM, respectively); other cations such as Fe2+ and Zn2+ did not bind, while cations such as Cd2+ formed non-specific adducts to CP12. Similar results were obtained for metal ions on screening with the reduced CP12. Interestingly, the present results suggest that Cu2+ catalyzes the re-formation of the disulfide bonds of the reduced CP12, leading to recovery of the fully oxidized CP12 that is then able to bind a Cu2+ ion. Finally the high similarity between CP12 and copper chaperones from Arabidopsis thaliana, as judged by hydrophobic cluster analysis, provides additional evidence for the relevance of metal binding for the in vivo situation. The findings that CP12 is able to bind a metal ion, and that Cu2+ catalyzes the oxidation of the thiol groups of CP12, are new characteristics of this protein that may prove to be important in the regulation of the assembly process of the PRK/GAPDH/CP12 complex.     

Active transition metal oxo and hydroxo moieties in nature's redox,enzymes and their synthetic models: Structure and reactivity relationships

The high oxidation state transition metal oxo moieties in redox enzymes and their models are generally recognized to serve as the key active intermediates in a series of hydrogen abstraction, oxygen transfer, and electron transfer processes. New evidence suggests that certain transition metal hydroxo moieties also play key roles in oxidative processes in biological and chemical systems. Clarifying the structure and reactivity similarities and differences between the metal oxo functionality and its corresponding metal hydroxo form will help promote understanding of their complementary roles in oxidation processes and aid in the rational design of selective oxidation catalysts to match different requirements. This review summarizes the structure and reactivity similarities and differences of the reported redox enzymes and their models in which the metal oxo and/or corresponding metal hydroxo moieties have demonstrated their activity in oxidation processes. Those enzymes include heme enzymes, lipoxygenases, sulfite oxidases and xanthine oxidases, because the heme enzymes and lipoxygenases would provide the platform to compare the iron oxo with its corresponding hydroxo species, and the sulfite oxidases and xanthine oxidases provide the platform for molybdenum oxo and hydroxo species.