Automated assays for superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase activity

Automated assays for catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and superoxide dismutase are presented. The assay for catalase is based on the peroxidatic activity of the enzyme. The glutathione peroxidase and reductase assays measure the consumption of NADPH following the reduction of t-butyl hydroperoxide and oxidized glutathione, respectively. The assay for superoxide dismutase is based on the reduction of cytochrome c. All assays utilize the Cobas FARA clinical automated analyzer and provide considerable time savings over the manual assays.     

Purification and properties of a glutathione peroxidase from Southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) liver

A glutathione peroxidase (GPX) protein was purified approximately 1000-fold from Southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) liver to a final specific activity of 256 micromol NADPH oxidised min(-1) mg(-1) protein. Gel filtration chromatography and denaturing protein gel electrophoresis of the purified preparation indicated that the protein has a native molecular mass of 85 kDa and is most likely a homotetramer with subunits of approximately 24 kDa. The Km values of the purified enzyme for hydrogen peroxide, cumene hydroperoxide, t-butyl hydroperoxide and glutathione were 12, 90, 90 and 5900 microM, respectively. The Km values for cumene hydroperoxide and t-butyl hydroperoxide were approximately 8-fold greater than the Km value for hydrogen peroxide. Thus, the SBT liver GPX has a considerably greater affinity for hydrogen peroxide than for the other two substrates. The pH optimum of the purified enzyme was pH 8.0. Immunoblotting experiments with polyclonal antibodies, raised against a recombinant human GPX, provided further evidence that the purified SBT enzyme is a genuine GPX.     

Deficient metabolic utilization of hydrogen peroxide in Trypanosoma cruzi.

The glutathione peroxidase-glutathione reductase system, an alternative pathway for metabolic utilization of H2O2 [Chance, Sies & Boveris (1979) Physiol. Rev. 59, 527-605], was investigated in Trypanosoma cruzi, an organism lacking catalase and deficient in peroxidase [Boveris & Stoppani (1977) Experientia 33, 1306-1308]. The presence of glutathione (4.9 +/- 0.7 nmol of reduced glutathione/10(8) cells) and NADPH-dependent glutathione reductase (5.3 +/- 0.4 munit/10(8) cells) was demonstrated in the cytosolic fraction of the parasite, but with H2O2 as substrate glutathione peroxidase activity could not be demonstrated in the same extracts. With t-butyl hydroperoxide or cumene hydroperoxide as substrate, a very low NADPH-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity was detected (equivalent to 0.3-0.5 munit of peroxidase/10(8) cells, or about 10% of glutathione reductase activity). Blank reactions of the glutathione peroxidase assay (non-enzymic oxidation of glutathione by hydroperoxides and enzymic oxidation of NADPH) hampered accurate measurement of peroxidase activity. The presence of superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase activity in, as well as the absence of catalase from, epimastigote extracts was confirmed. Ascorbate peroxidase activity was cyanide-sensitive and heat-labile, but no activity could be demonstrated with diaminobenzidine, pyrogallol or guaiacol as electron donor. The summarized results support the view that T. cruzi epimastigotes lack an adequate enzyme defence against H2O2 and H2O2-related free radicals.     

Involvement of diminution of glutathione, produced by deficiency of methionine in the diet, in the elevation of malic enzyme level in rat liver

Rats fed on a low protein diet show an increase in the specific activity of malic enzyme and a concomitant decrease of glutathione concentration. We have studied the effect on malic enzyme activity of supplementing of low protein diet with essential amino acids. Only when methionine was excluded from the diet did the specific activity of malic enzyme increase to the same extent as found in rats fed with low protein diet. Immunoprecipitation of malic enzyme indicated that specific activity changes are the result of changes in the amounts of enzyme. Under all dietary conditions studied, the increase in malic enzyme activity is associated with a decrease in the concentration of GSH. To evaluate the possible causative role of GSH in malic enzyme induction, the specific activity of malic enzyme was measured in rats treated with BSO, an inhibitor of GSH biosynthesis. The results show that in BSO-treated rats the decrease of GSH levels is also accompanied by an increase in the activity of malic enzyme.     

Effects of t-butyl hydroperoxide on NADPH, glutathione, and the respiratory burst of rat alveolar macrophages

The effects of t-butyl hydroperoxide on glutathione and NADPH and the respiratory burst (an NADPH-dependent function) in rat alveolar macrophages was investigated. Alveolar macrophages were exposed for 15 min to t-butyl hydroperoxide in the presence or absence of added glucose. Cells were then assayed for concanavalin A-stimulated O2 production or for NADPH, NADP, reduced glutathione, glutathione disulfide, glutathione released into the medium and glutathione mixed disulfides. Exposure of rat alveolar macrophages to 1 X 10(-5) M t-butyl hydroperoxide causes a loss of concanavalin A-stimulated superoxide production (the respiratory burst) that can be prevented or reversed by added glucose. Cells incubated without glucose had a higher oxidation state of the NADPH/NADP couple than cells incubated with glucose. With t-butyl hydroperoxide, NADP rose to almost 100% of the NADP + NADPH pool; however, addition of glucose prevented this alteration of the NADPH oxidation state. Cells exposed to 1 X 10(-5) M t-butyl hydroperoxide in the absence of glucose showed a significant increase in the percentage GSSG in the GSH + GSSG pool and increased glutathione mixed disulfides. These changes in glutathione distribution could also be prevented or reversed by glucose. With 1 X 10(-4) M t-butyl hydroperoxide, changes in glutathione oxidation were not prevented by glucose and cells were irreversibly damaged. We conclude that drastic alteration of the NADPH/NADP ratio does not itself reflect toxicity and that significant alteration of glutathione distribution can also be tolerated; however, when oxidative stress exceeds the ability of glucose to prevent alterations in oxidation state, irreversible damage to cell function and structure may occur.     

Biochemical characterisation of the recombinant peroxiredoxin (FhePrx) of the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica

The parasitic helminth Fasciola hepatica secretes a 2-Cys peroxiredoxin (Prx) that may play important functions in host-parasite interaction. Recombinant peroxiredoxin (FhePrx) prevented metal-catalyzed oxidative nicking of plasmid DNA and detoxified hydrogen peroxide when coupled with Escherichia coli thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase (k(cat)/K(m)=5.2 x 10(5)M(-1)s(-1)). Enzyme kinetic analysis revealed that the catalytic efficiency of FhePrx is similar to other 2-Cys peroxiredoxins; the enzyme displayed saturable enzyme Michaelis-Menten type kinetics with hydrogen peroxide, cumene hydroperoxide and t-butyl hydroperoxide, and is sensitive to concentrations of hydrogen peroxide above 0.5 mM. Like the 2-Cys peroxiredoxins from a related helminth, Schistosoma mansoni, steady-state kinetics indicate that FhePrx exhibits a saturable, single displacement-like reaction mechanism rather than non-saturable double displacement (ping-pong) enzyme substitution mechanism common to other peroxiredoxins. However, unlike the schistosome Prxs, FhePrx could not utilise reducing equivalents supplied by glutathione or glutathione reductase.     

Possible alternative functions of rat liver malic enzyme

The induction of rat liver malic enzyme by restriction of protein intake has been studied in conjunction with the biosynthesis of fatty acids, fatty acid synthetase, glutathione reductase, and other “lipogenic” enzymes in the various experimental animals. No correlation has been detected between malic enzyme activity and lipogenesis under these conditions. Conversely, a positive correlation between malic enzyme and glutathione reductase has been noted. Possible functions of malic enzyme which appear consistent with these observations are postulated.     

Acute lindane intoxication: A study on lindane tissue concentration and oxidative stress-related parameters in liver and erythrocytes

Treatment of rats with daily dosis of 20 mg of lindane/kg for 3 consecutive days led to the accumulation of the insecticide in several tissues, including erythrocytes and liver. Lindane did not alter the hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration but reduced methemogiobin levels by 17%. Red blood cells from controls and lindane-treated rats, exposed to t-butyl hydroperoxide, exhibited comparable rates of oxygen uptake and visible chemiluminescence, whereas the induction period that precedes oxygen uptake was significantly enhanced in the latter group. Lindane treatment did not modify the activity of erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, catalase, and methemoglobin reductase, being the total content of glutathione and superoxide dismutase activity significantly increased. The liver from lindane-treated rats showed an enhanced microsomal pro-oxidant activity, evidenced by higher cytochrome P450 content and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and NADPH oxidase activities. The higher enzyme activities led to an increased superoxide anion generation (adrenochrome formation) and lipid peroxidation (measured either by the production of thiobarbituric acid reactants and spontaneous visible chemiluminescence). Concomitantly, liver glutathione content and the activity of glutathione peroxidase-glutathione reductase couple were augmented by lindane treatment, without any change in superoxide dismutase activity, together with a reduction in that of catalase. Results suggest that lindane does not alter the prooxidant/antioxidant status of the erythrocyte in conditions of a significant cellular accumulation of the insecticide, which might exert direct action on enzymatic systems leading to enhanced superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione content. In the liver, lindane-induced pro-oxidant condition was not accompanied by cell injury, probably due to the adaptative increase in some antioxidant mechanisms of the hepatocyte.     

A comparison of protein S-thiolation (protein mixed-disulfide formation) in heart cells treated with t-butyl hydroperoxide or diamide

Beating neonatal heart cell cultures were treated with diamide or t-butyl hydroperoxide, and changes in glutathione oxidation, cell beating, and protein S-thiolation (protein mixed-disulfide formation) were examined. Both compounds caused extensive oxidation of glutathione. Cells treated with diamide stopped beating within 2 min, and beating returned to normal after 30-45 min. Cells stopped beating 25 min after the addition of t-butyl hydroperoxide, and beating did not resume. t-Butyl hydroperoxide caused S-thiolation of a variety of proteins, but only one protein, of molecular mass 23 kDa, was extensively modified. Diamide caused extensive modification of proteins with molecular masses of 97, 42 and 23 kDa as well as three proteins of about 35 kDa. Though the GSSG content of cell cultures returned to normal by 15 min after diamide treatment. S-thiolation of several proteins persisted. These studies show that S-thiolation of proteins is an important metabolic response in cells exposed to an oxidative challenge by t-butyl hydroperoxide or diamide, and that the specificity of the response depends on the agent used.     

Synechocystis DrgA protein functioning as nitroreductase and ferric reductase is capable of catalyzing the Fenton reaction

In order to identify an enzyme capable of Fenton reaction in Synechocystis, we purified an enzyme catalyzing one-electron reduction of t-butyl hydroperoxide in the presence of FAD and Fe(III)-EDTA. The enzyme was a 26 kDa protein, and its N-terminal amino acid sequencing revealed it to be DrgA protein previously reported as quinone reductase [Matsuo M, Endo T and Asada K (1998) Plant Cell Physiol39, 751-755]. The DrgA protein exhibited potent quinone reductase activity and, furthermore, we newly found that it contained FMN and highly catalyzed nitroreductase, flavin reductase and ferric reductase activities. This is the first demonstration of nitroreductase activity of DrgA protein previously identified by a drgA mutant phenotype. DrgA protein strongly catalyzed the Fenton reaction in the presence of synthetic chelate compounds, but did so poorly in the presence of natural chelate compounds. Its ferric reductase activity was observed with both natural and synthetic chelate compounds with a better efficiency with the latter. In addition to small molecular-weight chemical chelators, an iron transporter protein, transferrin, and an iron storage protein, ferritin, turned out to be substrates of the DrgA protein, suggesting it might play a role in iron metabolism under physiological conditions and possibly catalyze the Fenton reaction under hyper-reductive conditions in this microorganism.     

Different effects of Triton X-100, deoxycholate, and fatty acids on the kinetics of glutathione peroxidase and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase

The effects of Triton X-100, deoxycholate, and fatty acids were studied on the two steps of the ping-pong reaction catalyzed by Se-dependent glutathione peroxidases. The study was carried out by analyzing the single progression curves where the specific glutathione oxidation was monitored using glutathione reductase and NADPH. While the "classic" glutathione peroxidase was inhibited only by Triton, the newly discovered "phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase" was inhibited by deoxycholate and by unsaturated fatty acids. The kinetic analysis showed that in the case of glutathione peroxidase only the interaction of the lipophilic peroxidic substrate was hampered by Triton, indicating that the enzyme is not active at the interface. Phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase activity measured with linoleic acid hydroperoxide as substrate, on the other hand, was not stimulated by the Triton concentrations which have been shown to stimulate the activity on phospholipid hydroperoxides. Furthermore a slight inhibition was apparent at high Triton concentrations and the effect could be attributed to a surface dilution of the substrate. Deoxycholate and unsaturated fatty acids were not inhibitory on glutathione peroxidase but inhibited both steps of the peroxidic reaction of phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase, in the presence of either amphiphilic or hydrophilic substrates. This inhibition pattern suggests an interaction of anionic detergents with the active site of this enzyme. These results are in agreement with the different roles played by these peroxidases in the control of lipid peroxide concentrations in the cells. While glutathione peroxidase reduces the peroxides in the water phase (mainly hydrogen peroxide), the new peroxidase reduces the amphyphilic peroxides, possibly at the water-lipid interface.     

Oxidative stress during selenium deficiency in seedlings ofTrigonella foenum-graecum and mitigation by mimosine part II. glutathione metabolism

Adaptive alterations in glutathione (GSH) metabolism were studied during oxidative stress induced by selenium (Se) deficiency in germinating seedlings of Trigonella foenum-graecum grown for 72 h and the response to supplementation individually of Se or mimosine was explored. Growth enhancement with improved mitochondrial efficiency was elicited by supplementation of Se at 0.5-0.75 ppm or mimosine at 0.1-0.2 mM. Total thiol and protein levels of mitochondrial and soluble fractions, in general, did not vary significantly with supplementation of either Se or mimosine except that the mitochondrial protein levels in mimosine groups (0.1-0.2 mM) decreased by 20-30%. Mitochondrial glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) increased by twofold in activity toward H2O2, cumene hydroperoxide (CHP), and t-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP) in Se groups, and by 50-60% increase toward H2O2 and CHP but by a twofold enhancement in enzyme activity with tBHP in mimosine groups. Soluble GSH-Px activity increased by 30-40% only in mimosine groups and remained unaltered in Se groups. Glutathione S-transferase activity (GST) in the soluble fraction of both Se and mimosine groups increased dramatically by fivefold to sixfold. Distinct differences were noted in the response of the stressed seedlings toward exposure to Se or mimosine and included a decline in glutathione reductase (GR) activity by 50-60% in both mitochondria and soluble fractions of Se groups and an increase in GR activity of the mitochondria by twofold and of the soluble enzyme activity by 30% in the mimosine groups. Mimosine exposure resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase levels, but, in contrast, a significant enhancement by 50% was noted in the Se group at 0.75 ppm. The results including the differential response of GR activity to Se or mimosine supplementation are reflective of an effective reductive environment in Se groups and increased turnover of GSH in the presence of mimosine.     

Involvement of thiol transferase- and thioredoxin-dependent systems in the protection of ''essential'' thiol groups of ornithine decarboxylase.

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), an enzyme with 'essential' thiol group(s), may be inactivated in vitro by removal of thiol reducing agents and re-activated by soluble factors from rat liver in the presence of NADPH or GSH. The NADPH- and GSH-dependent reducing systems were separated and resolved into three components, called factors A, B1 and B2, by chromatographic techniques. Factor B1 (Mr 12,000) could reactivate ODC in the presence of GSH and co-purified with thiol transferase activity. Factor B2 (Mr 12,000) and factor A (Mr approx. 110,000) were both needed to re-activate ODC in the presence of NADPH, and co-purified with thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase activity respectively. In an attempt to investigate the physiological role of the 'essential' thiol group(s) of ODC, erythroleukaemia cells were incubated with NN-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-N'-nitrosourea, t-butyl hydroperoxide and vinblastine, which are known to increase the cellular GSSG/GSH ratio, azelaic acid, an inhibitor of thioredoxin reductase, and sodium arsenite, a strong inhibitor of the ODC-re-activating factors. All these compounds were able to decrease significantly the ODC activity induced in these cells. These results suggest that the thiol transferase- and thioredoxin-dependent systems may be physiologically relevant in maintaining ODC in the active, reduced, state.     

Glutathione oxidation and activation of pentose phosphate cycle during hydroperoxide metabolism. A comparison of livers from fed and fasted rats

Perfusion of livers from fed and fasted rats with 0.07--0.1 mM t-butyl hydroperoxide for 15 min decreased the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) by 1.5 mumol/g liver in both nutritional states. Glutathione disulfide (GSSG) was increased by 70 and 140 nmol/g liver and glutathione mixed disulfides enhanced by 45 and 150 nmol/g liver in livers from fed and fasted animals, respectively. The ratio of GSH/GSSG was decreased from 243 to 58 in fed animals, and from 122 to 8 in fasted animals. The increase of GSSG and the mixed disulfides was nearly parallel until an apparently critical low GSH content of 1.5 mumol/g was reached. Only in livers from fasted rats 14CO2-production from [1-14C]glucose was stimulated upon t-butyl hydroperoxide infusion at the employed rates. Flux of glucose through pentose phosphate cycle rose from 8 to 12% of glucose utilization via glycolysis, whereas in livers from fed animals this portion remained unchanged at 8% Dithio-erythritol reversed pentose phosphate cycle activity as well as GSSG and protein-bound glutathione contents to the original levels. In livers from fasted rats the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was increased by 34% by t-butyl hydroperoxide infusion.     

Effect of t-butyl hydroperoxide on liver microsomal membranes and microsomal calcium sequestration

In vitro exposure of hepatocytes or liver microsomes to t-butyl hydroperoxide resulted in a marked decrease of liver microsomal calcium pump activity. Decreased calcium pump activity was dependent upon both concentration and time. Liver microsomes could be protected from this effect by glutathione or dithiothreitol. In addition to decreased calcium pump activity, exposure of liver microsomes to t-butyl hydroperoxide produced a concentration-dependent aggregation of microsomal membrane protein as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Inhibition of microsomal calcium pump activity was observed when intact hepatocytes were incubated, in vitro, with t-butyl hydroperoxide. However, aggregation of microsomal membrane protein was not observed when hepatocytes were incubated with t-butyl hydroperoxide. The effects produced by exposure of liver microsomes to this compound do not appear to be a complete model of actions of the compound on intact cells.     

Lipid peroxidation and haemoglobin degradation in red blood cells exposed to t-butyl hydroperoxide. Effects of the hexose monophosphate shunt as mediated by glutathione and ascorbate.

Lipid peroxidation and haemoglobin degradation were the two extremes of a spectrum of oxidative damage in red cells exposed to t-butyl hydroperoxide. The exact position in this spectrum depended on the availability of glucose and the ligand state of haemoglobin. In red cells containing oxy- or carbonmono-oxy-haemoglobin, hexose monophosphate-shunt activity was mainly responsible for metabolism of t-butyl hydroperoxide; haem groups were the main scavengers in red cells containing methaemoglobin. Glutathione, via glutathione peroxidase, accounted for nearly all of the hydroperoxide metabolizing activity of the hexose monophosphate shunt. Glucose protection against lipid peroxidation was almost entirely mediated by glutathione, whereas glucose protection of haemoglobin was only partly mediated by glutathione. Physiological concentrations of intracellular or extracellular ascorbate had no effect on consumption of t-butyl hydroperoxide or oxidation of haemoglobin. Ascorbate was mainly involved in scavenging chain-propagating species involved in lipid peroxidation. The protective effect of intracellular ascorbate against lipid peroxidation was about 100% glucose-dependent and about 50% glutathione-dependent. Extracellular ascorbate functioned largely without a requirement for glucose metabolism, although some synergistic effects between extracellular ascorbate and glutathione were observed. Lipid peroxidation was not dependent on the rate or completion of t-butyl hydroperoxide consumption but rather on the route of consumption. Lipid peroxidation appears to depend on the balance between the presence of initiators of lipid peroxidation (oxyhaemoglobin and low concentrations of methaemoglobin) and terminators of lipid peroxidation (glutathione, ascorbate, high concentrations of methaemoglobin).     

Selenium-dependent and non-selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase in human tissues of New Zealand residents

Glutathione peroxidase was assayed in human tissues of New Zealand residents by the coupled assay method. Total glutathione peroxidase was assayed using cumene hydroperoxide. The non-selenium-dependent activity was not detected with t-butyl hydroperoxide and thus was determined from the difference between total activity and the selenium-dependent activity using hydrogen peroxide or t-butyl hydroperoxide. Only selenium-dependent activity was found in whole blood, erythrocytes, platelets and biopsy skeletal muscle. A small non-selenium dependent activity was measured in plasma and a larger activity in biopsy liver supernatant and homogenate. Glutathione-S-transferase was detected in all tissues.     

Responses of glutathione system and antioxidant enzymes to exhaustive exercise and hydroperoxide.

Glutathione (gamma-glutamylcysteinylglycine) is one of the major antioxidants in the body. The present study investigated the changes of glutathione status, oxidative injury, and antioxidant enzyme systems after an exhaustive bout of treadmill running and/or hydroperoxide injection in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Concentrations of total and reduced glutathione in deep vastus lateralis muscle were significantly increased (P less than 0.01) after exhaustive exercise with either hydroperoxide (t-butyl hydroperoxide) or saline injection, whereas hydroperoxide alone had no significant effect. Exhaustive exercise increased muscle glutathione disulfide content by 75 and 60% (P less than 0.05), respectively, in hydroperoxide and saline groups. Concentrations of glutathione-related amino acids glutamate, cysteine, and aspartate were significantly increased in the same muscle after exhaustion. Hepatic glutathione status was not affected by either hydroperoxide injection or exercise. Glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase activities were significantly elevated after exhaustive exercise with or without hydroperoxide injection in muscle but not in liver. Hydroperoxide and exhaustive exercise enhanced lipid peroxidation in muscle and liver, respectively. It is concluded that exhaustive exercise can impose a severe oxidative stress on skeletal muscle and that glutathione systems as well as antioxidant enzymes are important in coping with free radical-mediated muscle injury.     

Regulation of hepatic malic enzyme by perfluorodecanoic acid

Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) administration to adult male rats increased both the activity of hepatic malic enzyme and liver weight in a dose-dependent manner. Hepatomegaly and augmented activity of malic enzyme in liver were apparent within one day following PFDA administration and reached a plateau by three days posttreatment. Malic enzyme quantity per liver in PFDA-treated rats was elevated within one day following dosing and increased continually throughout five days posttreatment. Administration of PFDA to rats in the fed state also led to an increase in the specific activity of hepatic malic enzyme that peaked at three days following dosing. When compared to the fed condition, rats fasted for 48 hours had a decrease in both relative liver weight and the quantity of supernatant protein per liver. The total activity (U/liver) and specific activity of malic enzyme in the liver were also reduced in the fasted state. During the 24 hours after treatment in rats fasted for 48 hours, the body weight as well as the absolute and relative liver weight of animals receiving vehicle declined continuously in the absence of feed. Following the administration of PFDA to fasted rats, body weight was maintained until eight hours posttreatment but then declined at a rate similar to that found with the vehicle-treated group. Absolute and relative liver weight in PFDA-treated rats were increased significantly at eight hours posttreatment when compared to those receiving vehicle, and this increment was maintained throughout the rest of the 24 hours following dosing. While the activity and enzyme content of hepatic malic enzyme decreased in the vehicle-treated group, administration of PFDA to rats fasted for 48 hours prevented their decline. The specific activity of hepatic malic enzyme in 48 hours fasted rats receiving PFDA was also elevated significantly at 16 hours posttreatment. Thus, the administration of PFDA to the adult male rat in both the fed and fasted nutritional states was found to regulate hepatic malic enzyme by not only increasing enzyme quantity but also by augmenting the specific activity, (ie, catalytic state) of the enzyme.