Faculty Bibliography

The nitrone spin trapping agents, 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide and N-t-butyl-alpha-phenyl-nitrone, affect the metabolism of glucose by red cells. Both nitrone spin trapping agents have a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the metabolism of glucose via the hexose monophosphate pathway. The formation of lactate and pyruvate via the Embden-Meyerhoff pathway in red cells is not significantly affected by treatment with 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide, whereas, treatment with N-t-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone supresses pyruvate and stimulates lactate formation. These results suggest that nitrone spin trapping agents inhibit the hexose monophosphate pathway in red cells. Since the stimulation of the flux of glucose oxidised via this pathway is thought to be important in the ability of red cells to respond to oxidative stress, the treatment of red cells with spin trapping agents appears to inhibit the cellular protective (antioxidant) response. The use of nitrone spin trapping agents in the study of red cells under oxidative stress (imposed by the spontaneous autoxidation of metabolites or by drug-induced processes) is predicted to exaggerate the degree of oxidative damage by virtue of the inhibitory effort of nitrone spin traps on the hexose monophosphate shunt

The production of free radicals during the autoxidation of simple monosaccharides at 37 degrees has been studied by the electron spin resonance (e.s.r.) technique of spin trapping. In the presence of the spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO), monosaccharides undergoing autoxidation produced hydroxyl and 1-hydroxyalkyl radical-derived spin adducts, indicating that hydroxyl and hydroxyalkyl free-radicals are involved in the autoxidation of monosaccharides. The pH profile for the production of free radicals from monosaccharides undergoing autoxidation revealed the formation of both hydroxyl and hydroxyalkyl radicals at relatively high pH, whereas at low pH, only the formation of hydroxyalkyl radicals was observed; the transition between these routes for the production of free radicals occurred at pH 8.0-8.5. Glycolaldehyde, glyceraldehyde, dihydroxyacetone, and erythrose are relatively rapidly enolised (to an ene-diol) and autoxidised with the concomitant production of free radicals. Ribose and glucose enolise and autoxidise very slowly without detectable production of free radicals. A comparison of the pH profiles of the rates of enolisation and the pH dependence of the production of free radicals from glyceraldehyde during autoxidation suggests that a change in reaction mechanism occurs at pH 8.2. Below pH 8.2, the rates of enolisation and autoxidation increase with increasing pH, with a concomitant increase in the formation of hydroxyalkyl spin-adducts. Above pH 8.2, glyceraldehyde undergoing autoxidation shows a much higher rate of enolisation than of autoxidation and, although the formation of hydroxyalkyl radicals is decreased, the production of hydroxyl radicals is also observed. A free-radical mechanism for the autoxidation of monosaccharides is proposed, to account for the pH-dependent characteristics of the production of free radicals and the relationships between the production of free radicals, autoxidation, and enolisation of the monosaccharides.

Red cells were incubated in the presence of t-butyl hydroperoxide and effects on red cell membrane proteins were studied by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. t-Butyl hydroperoxide caused diminution in intensity of all major cytoskeletal bands with the concomitant formation of high molecular weight material. Membrane glycoproteins were unaffected. t-Butyl hydroperoxide increased hemoglobin binding to ghosts. After dissolution in SDS and beta-mercaptoethanol, membrane-bound hemoglobin appeared on the gels in the form of monomers and crosslinked polymers of hemoglobin or globin chains. Crosslinking was partially prevented by metabolism of t-butyl hydroperoxide by the hexose monophosphate shunt except in methemoglobin-containing red cells where reaction with methemoglobin accounted for most of the consumption of t-butyl hydroperoxide. Metal chelators, deferoxamine mesylate and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, had no effect on membrane protein changes. Butylated hydroxytoluene, diphenylamine and ascorbate, compounds that inhibit t-butyl hydroperoxide-induced red cell membrane lipid peroxidation, had no effect on t-butyl hydroperoxide-induced membrane protein changes. These results suggest that membrane proteins and membrane lipids have different mechanisms of peroxidant damage

Glyceraldehyde induces changes in the flux of glucose oxidised through the hexose monophosphate pathway, the concentrations of intermediates in the Embden-Meyerhoff pathway, the oxidative status of haemoglobin and levels of reduced and oxidised pyridine nucleotides and glutathione in red cells. Glyceraldehyde autoxidises in the cellular incubations, consuming oxygen and producing glyoxalase I- and II-reactive materials. Major fates of glyceraldehyde in red cells appear to be: (i) adduct formation with reduced glutathione and cellular protein; (ii) autoxidation and reaction with oxyhaemoglobin and pyridine nucleotides, and (iii) phosphorylation of D-glyceraldehyde and entry into the glycolytic pathway as glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. The production of glycerol from glyceraldehyde by red cell L-hexonate dehydrogenase appears not to be a major reaction of glyceraldehyde in red cells. These results indicate that high concentrations of glyceraldehyde (1-50 mM) may induce oxidative stress in red cells by virtue of the spontaneous autoxidation of glyceraldehyde, forming hydrogen peroxide and alpha-ketoaldehydes (glyoxalase substrates). The implications of glyceraldehyde-induced oxidative stress for the in vitro anti-sickling effect of DL-glyceraldehyde and for the polyol pathway metabolism of glyceraldehyde are discussed.

Red cells suspended in either defined medium or buffered plasma were oxidatively stressed by incubation in the presence of 1,4-naphthoquinone-2-sulfonate at concentrations which caused less than 50% methemoglobin accumulation, stimulation of the hexose monophosphate shunt to less than 15% of capacity, and about a 30% increase in flux through glycolysis. Normal plasma concentrations of lactate and pyruvate in either defined medium or buffered plasma allowed increased contribution of reducing equivalents from glycolysis in response to oxidative stress. Increased utilization of reducing equivalents by the red cell was observed as increased accumulation of pyruvate, whereas accumulation of lactate represented storage of reducing equivalents. Exogenous lactate or pyruvate did not serve as a net electron source or sink since the total content in red cell suspensions of both lactate and pyruvate was increased during exposure to oxidative stress. If exogenous lactate had been used as a net source of reducing equivalents, the lactate concentration would have decreased during incubation of red cell suspensions. Plasma ascorbate or other constituents did not alter the qualitative response of glycolysis to oxidative stress (decreased lactate accumulation, increased pyruvate accumulation, and increased total flux through glycolysis), but plasma constituents did raise significantly the dose of oxidant agent required to elicit a given quantitative response. At levels of oxidative stress likely to be encountered in vivo, glycolysis and the hexose monophosphate shunt may be equal in importance as aerobic/antioxidant pathways

Glyceraldehyde and other simple monosaccharides autoxidise under physiological conditions generating 1-hydroxyalkyl (carbon-centred) free radicals and intermediates of dioxygen reduction: superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. The major glyceraldehyde-derived product is the alpha-ketoaldehyde, hydroxypyruvaldehyde. Close similarities between the temperature dependence of the kinetics of glyceraldehyde autoxidation and glyceraldehyde enolisation to an ene-diol indicates that enolisation is the rate-determining step in the autoxidative process. Inspection of a wide range of carbonyl compounds showed that the monosaccharide moiety -CH(OH)-C- is conserved in carbonyl compounds reactive towards autoxidation, indicating that the ability to form an ene-diol is a prerequisite to monosaccharide autoxidation. The ene-diol intermediate autoxidises rapidly to the products: hydrogen peroxide, water and alpha-ketoaldehydes: beta-hydroxypyruvaldehyde is produced from glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone, glyoxal from glycolaldehyde autoxidation. Ene-diol autoxidation is catalysed by hydrogen peroxide and trace metal ion contaminants; removal of either of these factors sufficiently retards ene-diol autoxidation such that ene-diol autoxidation rather than enolisation becomes the rate determining step in the overall autoxidative process. Under enolisation control, the rate of monosaccharide autoxidation is influenced by pH and the buffer system used for pH control.

Glyceraldehyde and other simple monosaccharides oxidize oxyhaemoglobin to methaemoglobin in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C, with the concomitant production of H2O2 and an alpha-oxo aldehyde derivative of the monosaccharide. Simple monosaccharides also reduce methaemoglobin to ferrohaemichromes (non-intact haemoglobin) at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C. Carbonmonoxyhaemoglobin is unreactive towards oxidation by autoxidizing glyceraldehyde. Free-radical production from autoxidizing monosaccharides with haemoglobins was observed by the e.s.r. technique of spin trapping with the spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-l-pyrroline N-oxide. Hydroxyl and l-hydroxyalkyl radical production observed from monosaccharide autoxidation was quenched in the presence of oxyhaemoglobin and methaemoglobin. The haemoglobins appear to quench the free radicals by reaction with the free radicals and/or the ene-diol precursor of the free radical.

The incubation of NADPH with primaquine results in the formation of free radicals which were demonstrated by the electron spin resonance (ESR) technique of spin trapping using 5,5-dimethyl-l-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) as the spin trap. The free radicals formed were identified as the superoxide (DMPO-OOH) and hydroxyl (DMPO-OH) spin adducts of DMPO. Copper/zinc superoxide dismutase inhibited the formation of DMPO-OOH while it only partly inhibited the formation of DMPO-OH which could be totally inhibited by catalase. This indicates that the formation of hydroxyl radicals is not totally arising from the Haber-Weiss reaction. However since the formation of hydroxyl radicals is dependent on hydrogen peroxide, a non-metal catalysed reduction of hydrogen peroxide is postulated for their formation. Oxygen consumption during the reaction between primaquine and NADPH was found to be consistent with the spin trapping experiments and the rate of production of DMPO-OH indicates the formation of 1:1 catalytic complex between the two reactants. Quenching of the fluorescence of NADPH at 460 nm in the presence of primaquine indicates the formation of a charge transfer complex. When red blood cells are incubated with primaquine a hydroxyl spin adduct (DMPO-OH) is observed. The formation of this radical is probably the main cause of primaquine mediated toxicity.