Human jejunal glutathione reductase: purification and evaluation of the NADPH- and glutathione-induced changes in redox state

Human proximal jejunal glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.2) was purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography on 2', 5'-ADP-Sepharose 4B. In most of its molecular and kinetic properties, the enzyme resembled glutathione reductase from other sources: The subunit mass was 56 kDa; the isoelectric point and pH optimum were 6.75 and 7.25, respectively; Michaelis constants, determined at pH 7.4, 37 degrees C, fell within the range of previously reported values [Km(NADPH) = 20 microM, Km(GSSG) = 80 microM]. The response of the enzyme to reducing conditions, on the other hand, had unique features: Preincubation with 1 mM NADPH resulted in 90% loss of activity which could be partially reversed by 2 mM GSSG, but not GSH. (Treatment with GSSG regenerated 68% of the original activity.) Reduction by GSH also caused inactivation which potentially amounted to greater than 80%. This inactivation could not be reversed by GSSG. The protective effect of GSSG against inactivation by GSH was studied. Except where [GSSG] far exceeded [GSH], the presence of GSSG in the preincubation medium decreased the extent of inhibition without affecting the rate constant for approach to equilibrium activity. At [GSSG] greater than [GSH] a decrease in the rate constant for inactivation was also observed. The results were interpreted in terms of a three-step mechanism: (1) preequilibrium reduction of Eox to Ered; (2) rate-limiting change in conformation from Ered to E'red, and (3) irreversible conversion to catalytically inferior products.     

Mouse-liver glutathione reductase. Purification, kinetics, and regulation.

Glutathione reductase from the liver of DBA/2J mice was purified to homogeneity by means of ammonium sulfate fractionation and two subsequent affinity chromatography steps using 8-(6-aminohexyl)-amino-2'-phospho-adenosine diphosphoribose and N6-(6-aminohexyl)-adenosine 2',5'-biphosphate-Sephadex columns. A facile procedure for the synthesis of 8-(6-aminohexyl)-amino-2'-phospho-adenosine diphosphoribose is also presented. The purified enzyme exhibits a specific activity of 158 U/mg and an A280/A460 of 6.8. It was shown to be a dimer of Mr 105000 with a Stokes radius of 4.18 nm and an isoelectric point of 6.46. Amino acid composition revealed some similarity between the mouse and the human enzyme. Antibodies against mouse glutathione reductase were raised in rabbits and exhibited high specificity. The catalytic properties of mouse liver glutathione reductase have been studied under a variety of experimental conditions. As with the same enzyme from other sources, the kinetic data are consistent with a 'branched' mechanism. The enzyme was stabilized against thermal inactivation at 80 degrees C by GSSG and less markedly by NADP+ and GSH, but not by NADPH or FAD. Incubation of mouse glutathione reductase in the presence of NADPH or NADH, but not NADP+ or NAD+, produced an almost complete inactivation. The inactivation by NADPH was time, pH and concentration dependent. Oxidized glutathione protected the enzyme against inactivation, which could also be reversed by GSSG or other electron acceptors. The enzyme remained in the inactive state even after eliminating the excess NADPH. The inactive enzyme showed the same molecular weight as the active glutathione reductase. The spectral properties of the inactive enzyme have also been studied. It is proposed that auto-inactivation of glutathione reductase by NADPH and the protection as well as reactivation by GSSG play in vivo an important regulatory role.     

Properties and physiological function of a glutathione reductase purified from spinach leaves by affinity chromatography

Glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.2) was purified from spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaves by affinity chromatography on ADP-Sepharose. The purified enzyme has a specific activity of 246 enzyme units/mg protein and is homogeneous by the criterion of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis on native and SDS-gels. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 145,000 and consists of two subunits of similar size. The pH optimum of spinach glutathione reductase is 8.5–9.0, which is related to the function it performs in the chloroplast stroma. It is specific for oxidised glutathione (GSSG) but shows a low activity with NADH as electron donor. The pH optimum for NADH-dependent GSSG reduction is lower than that for NADPH-dependent reduction. The enzyme has a low affinity for reduced glutathione (GSH) and for NADP⁺, but GSH-dependent NADP⁺ reduction is stimulated by addition of dithiothreitol. Spinach glutathione reductase is inhibited on incubation with reagents that react with thiol groups, or with heavymetal ions such as Zn²⁺. GSSG protects the enzyme against inhibition but NADPH does not. Pre-incubation of the enzyme with NADPH decreases its activity, so kinetic studies were performed in which the reaction was initiated by adding NADPH or enzyme. The Km for GSSG was approximately 200 M and that for NADPH was about 3 M. NADP⁺ inhibited the enzyme, assayed in the direction of GSSG reduction, competitively with respect to NADPH and non-competitively with respect to GSSG. In contrast, GSH inhibited non-competitively with respect to both NADPH and GSSG. Illuminated chloroplasts, or chloroplasts kept in the dark, contain equal activities of glutathione reductase. The kinetic properties of the enzyme (listed above) suggest that GSH/GSSG ratios in chloroplasts will be very high under both light and dark conditions. This prediction was confirmed experimentally. GSH or GSSG play no part in the light-induced activation of chloroplast fructose diphosphatase or NADP⁺-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. We suggest that GSH helps to stabilise chloroplast enzymes and may also play a role in removing H₂O₂. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity may be required in chloroplasts in the dark in order to provide NADPH for glutathione reductase.Abbreviations GSH reduced form of the tripeptide glutathione - GSSG oxidised form of glutathione     

Effects of Exogenous Proline and Glycinebetaine on the Salt Tolerance of Rice Cultivars

Glutathione reductase was purified from iron-grown Thiobacillus ferrooxidas AP19-3 to an electrophoretically homogeneous state. The enzyme had an apparent molecular weight of 100,000 and was composed of two identical subunits of molecular weight (M_rs, 52,000) as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A purified enzyme reduced one mole of the oxidized form of glutathione (GSSG) with one mole of NADPH to produce two moles of the reduced form of glutathione (GSH) and one mole of NADP⁺. The glutathione reductase was most active at pH 6.5 and 40°C, and had an isoelectric point at 5.1. The Michaelis constants of glutathione reductase for GSSG, NADPH, and NADH were 300, 26, and 125 μM, respectively.     

Reversible inactivation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae glutathione reductase under reducing conditions

Glutathione reductase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was rapidly inactivated following aerobic incubation with NADPH, NADH, and several other reductants, in a time- and temperature-dependent process. The inactivation had already reached 50% when the NADPH concentration reached that of the glutathione reductase subunit. The inactivation was very marked at pH values below 5.5 and over 7, while only a slight activity decrease was noticed at pH values between these two values. After elimination of excess NADPH the enzyme remained inactive for at least 4 h. The enzyme was protected against redox inactivation by low concentrations of GSSG, ferricyanide, GSH, or dithiothreitol, and high concentrations of NAD(P)+; oxidized glutathione effectively protected the enzyme at concentrations even lower than GSH. The inactive enzyme was efficiently reactivated after incubation with GSSG, ferricyanide, GSH, or dithiothreitol, whether NADPH was present or not. The reactivation with GSH was rapid even at 0 degree C, whereas the optimum temperature for reactivation with GSSG was 30 degrees C. A tentative model for the redox interconversion, involving an erroneous intramolecular disulfide bridge, is put forward.     

Note on the activation of the heme-stabilized translational inhibitor of reticulocyte lysates by oxidized glutathione

The heme-controlled translational inhibitor (HCI) of reticulocyte lysates can be activated either by a lack of by heme or, in the presence of heme, by oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and various oxidative processes. The latter activation can be prevented or reversed by NADPH or NADPH generators, such as glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P). Since reticulocyte lysates contain a very active GSSG reductase, it was conceivable that GSSG acts by draining lysate NADPH via the reaction GSSG + NADPH + H+ in equilibrium 2 GSH + NADP+. However, removal of lysate GSSG reductase by its corresponding antibody has no effect on the activity of GSSG. This supports previous observations with lysates depleted of GSSG reductase by affinity chromatography and supports the notion that GSSG activates HCI in a more direct fashion. The role of NADPH generation in maintaining HCI in its inactive, pro-HCI form is further supported by the observation that the addition of anti-lysate G-6-P dehydrogenase antibody leads to activation of HCI in reticulocyte lysates.     

Properties of latent and thiol-activated rat hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase and regulation of enzyme activity

The effect of the thiols glutathione (GSH), dithiothreitol (DTT), and dithioerythritol (DTE) on the conversion of an inactive, latent form (El) of rat liver 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase, EC 1.1.1.34) to a catalyticaly active form (Ea) is examined. Latent hepatic microsomal HMG-CoA reductase is activated to a similar degree of activation by DTT and DTE and to a lower extent by GSH. All three thiols affect both Km and Vmax values of the enzyme toward HMG-CoA and NADPH. Studies of the effect of DTT on the affinity binding of HMG-CoA reductase to agarose-hexane-HMG-CoA (AG-HMG-CoA) resin shows that thiols are necessary for the binding of the enzyme to the resin. Removal of DTT from AG-HMG-CoA-bound soluble Ea (active enzyme) does not cause dissociation of the enzyme from the resin at low salt concentrations. Substitution of DTT by NADPH does not promote binding of soluble El (latent enzyme) to AG-HMG-CoA. The enzymatic activity of Ea in the presence of DTT and GSH indicates that these thiols compete for the same binding site on the enzyme. Diethylene glycol disulfide (ESSE) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) inhibit the activity of Ea. ESSE is more effective for the inhibition of Ea than GSSG, causing a higher degree of maximal inhibition and affecting the enzymatic activity at lower concentrations. A method is described for the rapid conversion of soluble purified Ea to El using gel-filtration chromatography on Bio-Gel P-4 columns. These combined results point to the importance of the thiol/disulfide ratio for the modulation of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activity.     

Purification and characterization of glutathione reductase from bovine erythrocytes

Glutathione reductase (E.C.1.8.1.7; GR) was purified from bovine erythrocytes and some characteristics properties of the enzyme were investigated. The purification procedure was composed of preparation of the hemolysate, ammonium sulfate fractionation, affinity chromatography on 2',5'-ADP Sepharose 4B, and gel filtration chromatography on Sephadex G-200. As a result of four consecutive procedures, the enzyme was purified 31,250-fold with a yield of 11.39%. Specific activity at the final step was 62.5 U (mg proteins)(-1). For the enzyme, optimum pH, optimum temperature, optimum ionic strength, and stable pH were found to be 7.3, 55 degrees C, 435 mM, 7.3, respectively. The molecular weight of the enzyme was found to be 118 kDa by Sephadex G-200 gel filtration chromatography and the subunit molecular weight was found to be 58 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). In addition, Km and Vmax values were determined for glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and NADPH. Ki constants and inhibition types were established for glutathione (GSH) and NADP+. Also, effects of NADPH and GSSG were investigated on the enzyme activities.     

The redox interconversion mechanism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae glutathione reductase

The changes undergone by pure yeast glutathione reductase during redox interconversion have been studied. Both the active and inactive forms of the enzyme had similar molecular masses, suggesting that the inactivation is probably due to intramolecular modification(s). The glutathione reductase and transhydrogenase activities were similarly inactivated by NADPH and reactivated by GSH, while the diaphorase activity remained unaltered during redox interconversion of glutathione reductase. These results suggest that the inactivation site could be located far from the NADPH-binding site, although interfering with transhydrogenase activity, perhaps by conformational changes. The inactivation of glutathione reductase by 0.2 mM NADPH at pH 8 was paralleled by a gradual decrease in the absorbance at 530 nm and a simultaneous increase in the absorbance at 445 nm, while the reactivation promoted by GSH was initially associated with reversal of these spectral changes. The inactive enzyme spectrum retained some absorbance between 500 nm and 700 nm, showing a shoulder at 580-600 nm. Upon treatment of the enzyme with NADPH at pH 6.5 the spectrum remained unchanged, while no redox inactivation was observed under these conditions. It is suggested that the redox inactivation could be associated with the disappearance of the charge-transfer complex between the proximal thiolate and oxidized FAD in the two-electron-reduced enzyme. The inactive enzyme was reactivated by low GSSG concentrations, moderate dithiol concentrations, and high monothiol concentrations. These results and the spectral changes described above support the hypothesis attributing the redox interconversion to formation/disappearance of an erroneous disulfide between one of the half-cystines located at the GSSG-binding site and another cysteine nearby.     

Redox interconversion of Escherichia coli glutathione reductase. A study with permeabilized and intact cells

Summary The redox interconversion of Escherichia coli glutathione reductase has been studied both in situ, with permeabilized cells treated with different reductants, and in vivo, with intact cells incubated with compounds known to alter their intracellular redox state.The enzyme from toulene-permeabilized cells was inactivated in situ by NADPH, NADH, dithionite, dithiothreitol, or GSH. The enzyme remained, however, fully active upon incubation with the oxidized forms of such compounds. The inactivation was time-, temperature-, and concentration-dependent; a 50% inactivation was promoted by just 2 M NADPH, while 700 M NADH was required for a similar effect. The enzyme from permeabilized cells was completely protected against redox inactivation by GSSG, and to a lesser extent by dithiothreitol, GSH, and NAD(P)⁺. The inactive enzyme was efficiently reactivated in situ by physiological GSSG concentrations. A significant reactivation was promoted also by GSH, although at concentrations two orders of magnitude below its physiological concentrations. The glutathione reductase from intact E. coli cells was inactivated in vivo by incubation with DL-malate, DL-isocitrate, or higher L-lactate concentrations. The enzyme was protected against redox inactivation and fully reactivated by diamide in a concentration-dependent fashion. Diamide reactivation was not dependent on the synthesis of new protein, thus suggesting that the effect was really a true reactivation and not due to de novo synthesis of active enzyme. The glutathione reductase activity increased significantly after incubation of intact cells with tert-butyl or cumene hydroperoxides, suggesting that the enzyme was partially inactive within such cells. In conclusion, the above results show that both in situ and in vivo the glutathione reductase of Escherichia coli is subjected to a redox interconversion mechanism probably controlled by the intracellular NADPH and GSSG concentrations.     

Light-dependent Reduction of Oxidized Glutathione by Ruptured Chloroplasts

Crude extracts of pea shoots (Pisum sativum) catalyzed oxidized glutathione (GSSG)-dependent oxidation of NADPH which was attributed to NADPH-specific glutathione reductase. The pH optimum was 8 and the K_m values for GSSG and NADPH were 23 μm and 4.9 μm, respectively. Reduced glutathione (GSH) inhibited the reaction. Crude extracts also catalyzed NADPH-dependent reduction of GSSG; the ratio of the rate of NADPH oxidized to GSH formed was 0.49. NADH and various substituted mono- and disulfides would not substitute for NADPH and GSSG respectively. Per mg of chlorophyll, enzyme activity of isolated chloroplasts was 69% of the activity of crude extracts.     

An essential histidine residue in the catalytic mechanism of mammalian glutathione reductase

Glutathione reductase from human erythrocytes was inactivated by ethoxyformic anhydride, and > 95% activity was lost by modification of about 1–1.5 histidine residues per flavin (or subunit), as measured by the increased absorbance at 240 nm. Full reactivation was obtained with hydroxylamine. The rate of inactivation increased with pH and an apparent pK = 5.9 was obtained for the protolytic dissociation. The modified enzyme was inactive with NADPH and GSSG as substrates, but almost fully active in catalysis of a transhydrogenase reaction involving pyridine nucleotides. The visible absorption spectrum of oxidized or two-electron-reduced enzyme was not changed, but the flavin fluorescence of oxidized enzyme increased 2-fold after the modification. NADPH or NADP⁺ did not protect the enzyme against inactivation. It is concluded that the modification affects a histidine involved in the second half-reaction of the catalysis, i.e. reduction of GSSG by the dithiol of reduced enzyme. Glutathione reductase from three additional mammalian sources was similarly inactivated, but enzyme from yeast was much less inactivated by the corresponding treatment with ethoxyformic anhydride.     

Glutathione reductase: solvent equilibrium and kinetic isotope effects

Glutathione reductase catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of oxidized glutathione (GSSG). The kinetic mechanism is ping-pong, and we have investigated the rate-limiting nature of proton-transfer steps in the reactions catalyzed by the spinach, yeast, and human erythrocyte glutathione reductases using a combination of alternate substrate and solvent kinetic isotope effects. With NADPH or GSSG as the variable substrate, at a fixed, saturating concentration of the other substrate, solvent kinetic isotope effects were observed on V but not V/K. Plots of Vm vs mole fraction of D2O (proton inventories) were linear in both cases for the yeast, spinach, and human erythrocyte enzymes. When solvent kinetic isotope effect studies were performed with DTNB instead of GSSG as an alternate substrate, a solvent kinetic isotope effect of 1.0 was observed. Solvent kinetic isotope effect measurements were also performed on the asymmetric disulfides GSSNB and GSSNP by using human erythrocyte glutathione reductase. The Km values for GSSNB and GSSNP were 70 microM and 13 microM, respectively, and V values were 62 and 57% of the one calculated for GSSG, respectively. Both of these substrates yield solvent kinetic isotope effects greater than 1.0 on both V and V/K and linear proton inventories, indicating that a single proton-transfer step is still rate limiting. These data are discussed in relationship to the chemical mechanism of GSSG reduction and the identity of the proton-transfer step whose rate is sensitive to solvent isotopic composition. Finally, the solvent equilibrium isotope effect measured with yeast glutathione reductase is 4.98, which allows us to calculate a fractionation factor for the thiol moiety of GSH of 0.456.     

Measurement of oxidized glutathione by enzymatic recycling coupled to bioluminescent detection

A new method is described for the quantification of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in tissues by enzymatic recycling coupled to NADPH bioluminescent detection. Tissue samples are treated with metaphosphoric acid. In a first step, after derivatization of GSH with 4-chloro-7-trifluoromethyl-1-methylquinolinium (CFQ), GSSG is recycled in the presence of dithionitrobenzoic acid (DTNB) and NADPH by glutathione reductase. In a second step, the GSSG-dependent NADPH consumption is measured by luminescence with NADPH:FMN oxidoreductase-bacterial luciferase. The coefficient of variation for GSSG measurements on repeated assays (n = 5) is 2 and 3% for standards and tissue samples, respectively. The sensitivity of this method is at the picomole level and is convenient for determination of GSSG physiological concentrations in tissues: GSSG levels measured in rat liver and kidney ranged from 76 to 215 and 52 to 170 nmol/g wet weight, respectively.     

Thioltransferase in human red blood cells: purification and properties

Thioltransferase activity was identified and the enzyme purified to apparent homogeneity from human red blood cells. Activity was measured as glutathione-dependent reduction of the prototype substrate hydroxyethyl disulfide; formation of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) was coupled to NADPH oxidation by GSSG reductase (1 unit of activity = 1 mumol/min of NADPH oxidized). The thioltransferase-GSH-GSSG reductase system was shown also to catalyze the regeneration of hemoglobin from the mixed disulfide hemoglobin-S-S-glutathione (HbSSG) and to reactivate the metabolic control enzyme phosphofructokinase (PFK) after oxidation of its sulfhydryl groups. On a relative concentration basis, thioltransferase was about 1200 times more efficient than dithiothreitol in reactivation of phosphofructokinase; e.g., 500 microM DTT was required to effect the same extent of reactivation as that of 0.4 microM TTase. The GSH plus GSSG reductase system without thioltransferase was ineffective for reduction of HbSSG or reactivation of PFK. The average amount of thioltransferase in intact erythrocytes was calculated to be 4.6 units/g of Hb at 25 degrees C. This level of activity is about the same as those of other enzymes that participate in sulfhydryl maintenance in red blood cells, such as GSSG reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. These results suggest a physiological role for the thioltransferase in erythrocyte sulfhydryl homeostasis. Certain properties of the human erythrocyte thioltransferase resemble those of other mammalian thioltransferase and glutaredoxin enzymes. Thus, the human erythrocyte enzyme, purified about 28,000-fold to apparent homogeneity, is a single polypeptide with a molecular weight of 11,300. Its N-terminus is blocked, it is heat stable, and it contains four cysteine residues per protein molecule. However, the human erythrocyte thioltransferase is a distinct protein based on its amino acid composition. For example, it contains no methionine residues; whereas the related mammalian enzymes described to date have at least one internal methionine residue in their largely homologous sequences.     

Purification, properties, and oligomeric structure of glutathione reductase from the cyanobacterium Spirulina maxima

Glutathione reductase [NAD(P)H:GSSG oxidoreductase EC 1.6.4.2] from cyanobacterium Spirulina maxima was purified 1300-fold to homogeneity by a simple three-step procedure involving ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, and affinity chromatography on 2',5'-ADP-Sepharose 4B. Optimum pH was 7.0 and enzymatic activity was notably increased when the phosphate ion concentration was increased. The enzyme gave an absorption spectrum that was typical for a flavoprotein in that it had three peaks with maximal absorbance at 271, 370, and 460 nm and a E1%271 of 23.3 Km values were 120 +/- 12 microM and 3.5 +/- 0.9 microM for GSSG and NADPH, respectively. Mixed disulfide of CoA and GSH was also reduced by the enzyme under assay conditions, but the enzyme had a very low affinity (Km 3.3 mM) for this substrate. The enzyme was specific for NADPH. The isoelectric point of the native enzyme at 4 degrees C was 4.35 and the amino acid composition was very similar to that previously reported from other sources. The molecular weight of a subunit under denaturing conditions was 47,000 +/- 1200. Analyses of pure enzyme by a variety of techniques for molecular weight determination revealed that, at pH 7.0, the enzyme existed predominantly as a tetrameric species in equilibrium with a minor dimer fraction. Dissociation into dimers was achieved at alkaline pH (9.5) or in 6 M urea. However, the equilibrium at neutral pH was not altered by NADPH or by disulfide reducing reagents. The Mr and S20,w of the oligomeric enzyme were estimated to be 177,000 +/- 14,000 and 8.49 +/- 0.5; for the dimer, 99,800 +/- 7000 and 5.96 +/- 0.4, respectively. Low concentrations of urea increased the enzymatic activity, but this increase was not due to changes in the proportions of both forms.     

Reduction of disulphide bonds in proteins mixed disulphides catalysed by a thioltransferase in rat liver cytosol.

The reduction of mixed disulphides of some proteins and GSH [Protein(-SSG)n] is accomplished with GSH as a reductant and a thioltransferase from rat liver as a catalyst, thus: See article. The spontaneous reaction is negligible in comparison with the enzymic reaction in vivo, and any direct reduction with glutathione reductase is not detectable with the substrates used. The reduction is only indirectly dependent on NADPH, which is required for the regeneration of GSH from GSSG. Other protein disulphides apparently are reduced via analogous GSH-dependent reactions     

Glutathione metabolism of the erythrocyte. The enzymic cleavage of glutathione–haemoglobin preparations by glutathione reductase

A complex of haemoglobin and GSH was prepared by incubating haemoglobin with GSH and acetylphenylhydrazine. GSH could be released from the crude preparation by incubation with NADPH. However, when the haemoglobin preparation was separated from glutathione reductase by DEAE-Sephadex chromatography, NADPH no longer released GSH. Rather, the addition of a combination of either partially purified human erythrocyte or crystalline glutathione reductase and NADPH was required to release GSH from the haemoglobin-GSH complex. This complex is commonly believed to represent a mixed disulphide of GSH and the cysteine-beta-93 thiol group. This interpretation was supported by the finding that prior alkylation of available haemoglobin thiol groups prevented the formation of the complex. By using haemoglobin-[(35)S]GSH complex as a substrate, it was shown that GSH itself released the radioactivity from the complex only very slowly. In contrast, the release of [(35)S]GSH was very rapid in the presence of NADPH and glutathione reductase. This suggests that the cleavage of the haemoglobin-GSH complex is not mediated by GSH with cyclic reduction of GSSG formed, but rather proceeds enzymically through glutathione reductase.     

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.     

Inhibition of glutathione disulfide reductase by glutathione

Rat-liver glutathione disulfide reductase is significantly inhibited by physiological concentrations of the product, glutathione. GSH is a noncompetitive inhibitor against GSSG and an uncompetitive inhibitor against NADPH at saturating concentrations of the fixed substrate. In both cases, the inhibition by GSH is parabolic, consistent with the requirement for 2 eq. of GSH in the reverse reaction. The inhibition of GSSG reduction by physiological levels of the product, GSH, would result in a significantly more oxidizing intracellular environment than would be realized in the absence of inhibition. Considering inhibition by the high intracellular concentration of GSH, the steady-state concentration of GSSG required to maintain a basal glutathione peroxidase flux of 300 nmol/min/g in rat liver is estimated at 8-9 microM, about 1000-fold higher than the concentration of GSSG predicted from the equilibrium constant for glutathione reductase. The kinetic properties of glutathione reductase also provide a rationale for the increased glutathione (GSSG) efflux observed when cells are exposed to oxidative stress. The resulting decrease in intracellular GSH relieves the noncompetitive inhibition of glutathione reductase and results in an increased capacity (Vmax) and decreased Km for GSSG.