Interaction of radicals from water radiolysis with melanin.

Melanins are considered to be natural photoprotectors in the melanocytes and keratinocytes of the skin. These pigments have also been suggested to play an important role in protection of melanin-containing cells against ionising radiation. Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain the protective role of melanin which invoke the radical scavenging properties of the polymer. In the present work the reactions of melanins with radicals generated in aqueous media by pulse radiolysis have been studied. Time-resolved changes in absorbance of the melanin or the radical species were recorded at selected wavelengths. Experiments were carried out on synthetic dopa- and 5-S-cysteinyldopa-melanins and a natural melanin in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). Under the conditions employed, melanin reacted predominantly with either oxidising (OH., N3.) or reducing (eaq-, CO2-) species. We were also able to monitor the interaction of melanin with superoxide radical, which was reducing in this case. Detailed analysis of transient changes in melanin absorbance, detected at different wavelengths, was demonstrated to be a convenient method for studying redox processes of this substance, as shown by model experiments using ferricyanide and dithionite as oxidising and reducing agents, respectively. Among the radicals studied, OH. exhibited the strongest reactivity with melanins. Apparent rate constants for the reactions of radicals with autoxidative dopa-melanin (1.5 X 10(9) M-1 X s-1, 2.6 X 10(8) M-1 X s-1, 1.8 X 10(8) M-1 X s-1, 5 X 10(5) M-1 X s-1, 10(6)-10(7) M-1 X s-1 for OH., eaq-, N.3. O2- and CO2-, respectively) are reported. The reactivity of melanins with radicals from water radiolysis and their effect on pigment properties are discussed in terms of the structure and possible biological role of the pigments.

The effect of melanin on iron associated decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.

The effects of melanin on the iron-catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to hydroxyl radicals and hydroxyl ions have been studied using electron spin resonance, spin trapping and visible light spectrophotometry. Melanin altered these reactions by several different mechanisms and consequently, depending on conditions, can significantly increase or decrease the yield of reactive products, including hydroxyl radicals. For low concentrations of ferrous ions, melanin decreased the yield of hydroxyl radicals due to binding of ferrous ions by melanin; ferrous ions bound to melanin did not decompose H2O2 efficiently. Melanins increased the rate of hydroxyl radical production if the predominant form of iron was ferric, due to the ability of melanin to reduce ferric to ferrous iron. Hydroxyl radical production in the presence of a strong chelator (e.g. EDTA) and melanin was greater than in the presence of a weak chelator (e.g. ADP) and melanin. Melanin also increased the rate of destruction of the DMPO-OH adduct.

DNA breaks caused by monochromatic 365 nm ultraviolet-A radiation or hydrogen peroxide and their repair in human epithelioid and xeroderma pigmentosum cells.

The induction and repair of DNA single-strand breaks (SSB) assayed by alkaline filter elution was compared in human epithelioid P3 and xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) cells exposed to monochromatic 365-nm UV-A radiation and H2O2. Initial yields of SSB were measured with the cells held at 0.5 degrees C during exposure. The yield from exposure to 365-nm radiation was slightly greater in XP than in P3 cells, whereas H2O2 produced more than three times as many SSB in P3 compared with XP cells. o-Phenanthroline (50 mM) markedly inhibited the yields of SSB induced in XP cells by H2O2, but had no effect on those produced by 365-nm UV-A. These results are consistent with the fact that P3 cells, unlike XP cells, have undetectable levels of catalase. The measured production of trace amounts of H2O2 by the actual 365-nm UV-A exposures was not sufficient to account for the numbers of breaks that were observed. Single-strand breaks produced by both agents were completely repaired after 50 min in P3 cells, as were H2O2-induced SSB in XP cells. However, 25% of the 365-nm UV-A-induced SSB in XP cells remained refractory to repair after 60 min. The results show that SSB produced by these two agents are different and that 365 nm radiation produces most SSB in cells by mechanisms other than by production of H2O2.

A flow cytometric method for measurement of intracellular chloride concentration in lymphocytes using the halide-specific probe 6-methoxy-N-(3-sulfopropyl) quinolinium (SPQ).

A flow cytometry method using the halide-specific fluorescent dye, 6-methoxy-N-(3-sulfopropyl) quinolinium (SPQ), has been developed to measure intracellular chloride concentration in single cells. Collisions with chloride quench the fluorescence of SPQ, making it possible to relate the measured fluorescence intensity to chloride concentration with a Stern-Volmer equation. To demonstrate the method, porcine lymphocytes were loaded in vitro, using a hypotonic method, with 5 mM SPQ. Fluorescence excitation was provided by a UV laser and the fluorescence emission intensity at 485 nm was recorded. Calibration was performed by using 7 microM nigericin (a K/H antiporter) and 10 microM tributyltin (a Cl/OH antiporter) to equilibrate the concentrations of intracellular and extracellular chloride. Calibration measurements were made for chloride concentrations between 0 mM and 140 mM. The calibration produced a Stern-Volmer quenching constant of 16.2 M(-1) which was used to relate measured cell fluorescence to intracellular chloride concentration. The intracellular chloride concentration for fresh porcine lymphocytes was determined to be 56.2 +/- 3.3 mM. Stable loading of cells with 5 mM SPQ was accomplished in 15 minutes, leakage of SPQ from the cells was minimal, and over 95% of the cells remained viable after loading.

Reaction between ortho-semiquinones and oxygen: pulse radiolysis, electron spin resonance, and oxygen uptake studies.

The cytotoxicity to tumor cells or cardiotoxic side effects of certain para-quinone antitumor drugs have been attributed to the corresponding semiquinones and derived superoxide and hydroxyl radicals. It has also been suggested that ortho-semiquinones, including those that arise during melanogenesis, produced via either the one-electron oxidation of catechol(amine)s or the one-electron reduction of the corresponding quinones, react with molecular oxygen to give superoxide and hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore it has been shown that catechol(amine)s which form noncyclizable quinones are more cytotoxic toward melanogenic cells than those forming cyclizable quinones. In order to provide further kinetic information on the interaction of oxygen with ortho-semiquinones, using pulse radiolysis we directly measured the rates of reaction of various ortho-semiquinones with molecular oxygen. The semiquinones of the corresponding catechol(amine)s were also produced by the horseradish peroxidase/hydrogen peroxide system, and detected by electron spin resonance spectroscopy using the spin stabilization method. Oxygen consumption was monitored using a standard Clark oxygen electrode. Our data indicate that while ortho-semiquinones from catechol(amine)s and catechol estrogens do not react with molecular oxygen at a rate equal to or greater than k less than or equal to 10(5) M-1 s-1, semiquinones from hydroxy-substituted catechol(amine)s react with dioxygen with rates in the range k = 10(6)-10(7) M-1 s-1.

Ability of melanins to protect against the radiolysis of thymine and thymidine.

Individuals with black skin rarely get skin cancer, and melanomas, tumors arising from pigmented cells, are generally resistant to radiation therapy. The role of melanin in these two phenomena has not been defined, but oxygen-radical species have been implicated in both effects. These studies were undertaken to determine the ability of various melanins to compete for ionizing radiation-produced radicals which destroy nucleic acid bases. The ability of Sigma eumelanin (S-eumelanin) to protect against the radiolysis of thymidine in buffered solutions was compared to the protective ability of seven amino acids, including melanin precursors; bovine serum albumin, as a model protein; ficoll, as a model polysaccharide; and DNA. Both proteins and polysaccharides are known to scavenge hydroxyl radicals in cells. The concentration of thymidine after exposure to gamma radiation was determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis after removal of insoluble melanin by acid precipitation. S-eumelanin was more effective at competing with thymidine for free radicals than bovine serum albumin, Ficoll, or DNA, but less effective than certain of the small molecules. Several of the above compounds were also examined for ability to protect against thymine radiolysis. In addition, melanins from other sources were compared to S-eumelanin. Of these, enzymatically synthesized phaeomelanin was the most effective. The results indicate that melanins can compete for base- and nucleoside-damaging free radicals more effectively than other cellular macromolecules. Of the small molecules, the phenolic compounds had the greatest scavenging ability. In vivo, melanins are found in melanosomes bound to protein. Therefore, the relevance of these findings to the photo- and radiobiology of melanins in vivo has yet to be determined.