1H-nuclear magnetic resonance study of the oxidation/reduction chemistry of penicillamine in intact human erythrocytes.

The oxidation/reduction chemistry of penicillamine in human erythrocytes was characterized directly in intact erythrocytes by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Spectra were measured by the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill pulse sequence to selectively eliminate interfering resonances from hemoglobin and membrane protons and from the intracellular water. Glucose-free penicillamine-containing erythrocytes were subjected to oxidative stress by titration with t-butyl hydroperoxide. The t-butyl hydroperoxide rapidly crosses the erythrocyte membrane and reacts with glutathione (GSH) and penicillamine (PSH), with the PSH being oxidized to penicillamine-glutathione mixed disulfide (PSSG) as indicated by the appearance of characteristic resonances in the high resolution 1H-NMR spectrum. Extracellular PSH is oxidized to penicillamine disulfide (PSSP) when t-butyl hydroperoxide is added to the cells and thereafter in amounts dependent on the oxygenation state of the sample. Following addition of glucose, both the oxidized glutathione and the PSSG are rapidly reduced at comparable rates. The results of additional experiments using erythrocyte lysate and of kinetic experiments on solutions containing PSSG and/or GSH, NADPH and glutathione reductase suggest that the predominant mechanism for reduction of PSSG is by a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction with GSH to form PSH and GSSG, which in turn undergoes enzyme-catalyzed reduction by NADPH.

Nuclear magnetic resonance study of the thioltransferase-catalyzed glutathione/glutathione disulfide interchange reaction.

The kinetics of the thioltransferase-catalyzed symmetrical glutathione/glutathione disulfide (GSH/GSSG) interchange reaction have been studied by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Kinetic parameters were determined by analysis of exchange-broadened multiplet patterns and by the inversion-magnetization transfer method using concentrations of GSH, GSSG and pig liver thioltransferase similar to intracellular concentrations. The rate constant for the reaction of GSSG with thioltransferase to form a thioltransferase-glutathione mixed disulfide and GSH was estimated to be > or = 7.1(+/- 0.4).10(5) M-1 s-1. This reaction is proposed to be the first step in the mechanism by which the activity of some proteins is modulated by the thioltransferase-catalyzed formation of protein-glutathione mixed disulfides. The rate constant for the reaction of GSSG with thioltransferase is 4-5 orders of magnitude larger than rate constants for the analogous reaction of the thiolate groups of a variety of small molecules with GSSG. The symmetrical gamma-L-glutamyl-L-cysteine/gamma-L-glutamyl-L-cysteine disulfide (GCSH/GCSSCG), L-cysteinyl-glycine/L-cysteinyl-glycine disulfide (CGSH/CGSSGC) and cysteine/cystine (CSH/CSSC) thiol/disulfide interchange reactions were also studied as models for the GSH/GSSG interchange reaction. The GCSH/GCSSCG interchange reaction was found to be catalyzed by thioltransferase, and the rate constant for the reaction of GCSSCG with thioltransferase was estimated to be > or = 5.7(+/- 1.7).10(4) M-1 s-1. In contrast, the CGSH/CGSSGC and CSH/CSSC interchange reactions were found to be slow on the NMR time-scale for the conditions used in this research, both in the absence and presence of thioltransferase. The results suggest that the gamma-L-glutamyl-L-cysteinyl moiety of GSSG and of GSH-containing mixed disulfides is essential for their recognition by thioltransferase.

A proton nuclear magnetic resonance study of the interaction of mercury with intact human erythrocytes.

The binding of mercuric ion (Hg(II)) by small molecules in the intracellular region of intact human erythrocytes has been studied by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. HgCl2 added to intact erythrocytes in saline-glucose suspension is found to cross the membrane and reach an equilibrium distribution among the molecules of the erythrocyte within 4 min. In the intracellular region Hg(II) reacts with GSH and hemoglobin to form the ternary mixed-ligand complex GSH-Hg(II)-hemoglobin. The analogous complex with ergothioneine is formed after all the GSH is complexed. 1H-NMR spectra show that the GSH-Hg(II)-hemoglobin complex also forms in simpler solutions containing HgCl2, GSH and hemoglobin, whereas the complex Hg(GSH)2 predominates in solutions of GSH and HgCl2. The lifetime of the GSH in the GSH-Hg(II)-hemoglobin complex is shown to be less than 30 s, which provides direct evidence for the first time that Hg(II) complexes in biological systems are quite labile, even though their thermodynamic stability is large. The effectiveness of eight sulfhydryl-containing ligands, some of which have been used as antidotes for Hg(II) poisoning, for releasing GSH from its Hg(II) complex in hemolyzed erythrocytes was also studied. Dithiol ligands were found to be more effective than monothiols, with dithioerythritol the most effective of the dithiols.

Proton magnetic resonance studies on [methionine]-enkephalin and beta-endorphin in aqueous solution.

Proton magnetic resonance studies of [Met5]-enkephalin (lipotropin 61-65) in aqueous solution indicate a conformational preference for the pentapeptide backbone. The structural differences between [Met5]-enkephalin and other, more flexible peptides have been investigated using paramagnetic probe techniques. An outline structure for beta-endorphin (lipotropin 61-91) in aqueous solution is obtained from binding studies using Gd(III) as a relaxation probe.

A proton nuclear magnetic resonance study of the interaction of cadmium with human erythrocytes.

The binding of Cd2+ by molecules in the intracellular region of human erythrocytes has been studied by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. From changes in spin-echo Fourier transform NMR spectra for both intact and hemolyzed erythrocytes to which CdCl2 was added, direct evidence was obtained for the binding of Cd2+ by intracellular glutathione and hemoglobin. Time-courses were measured by 1H-NMR for the uptake of Cd2+ by intact erythrocytes in saline/glucose solution and in whole blood. In both cases, the uptake, as indicated by changes in the 1H-NMR spectrum for intracellular glutathione, plateaus after about 30 min. The effectiveness of the disodium salt of EDTA and of various thiol-chelating agents for releasing glutathione from its Cd2 + complexes in hemolyzed erythrocytes was also studied. EDTA was found to be more effective than thiols, and dithiols more effective than monothiols.

A proton nuclear magnetic resonance study of the binding of methylmercury in human erythrocytes.

The binding of methylmercury, CH3Hg(II), by small molecules in the intracellular region of human erythrocytes has been studied by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. To suppress or completely eliminate interfering resonances from the much more abundant hemoglobin protons, spectra were measured by a technique based on the transfer of saturation throughout the envelope of hemoglobin resonances following a selective presaturation pulse or by the spin-echo Fourier transform method. With these techniques, 1H-NMR spectra were measured for the more abundant intracellular small molecules, including glycine, alanine, creatine, lactic acid, ergothioneine and glutathione, both intact and hemolyzed erythrocytes to which CH3Hg(II) had been added. The results for intact erythrocytes indicate that part of the CH3Hg(II) is complexed by intracellular glutathione. These results also indicate that exchange of CH3Hg(II) among glutathione molecules is fast, with the average lifetime of a CH3Hg(II)-glutathione complex estimated to be less than 0.01 s. From exchange-averaged chemical shifts of the resonance for the proton on the alpha-carbon of the cysteine residue of glutathione, it is shown that, in hemolyzed erythrocytes, the sulfhydryl group of glutathione binds CH3Hg(II) more strongly than the sulfhydryl groups of hemoglobin.

Characterization of normal, glutathione-deficient and arginase-deficient sheep erythrocytes by 1H-NMR spectroscopy.

Normal sheep erythrocytes as well as glutathione- (GSH-) deficient and arginase-deficient sheep erythrocytes have been characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The GSH deficiency is a result of defective amino acid transport (lesion 1), diminished gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase activity (lesion 2), or both (lesions (1 + 2)). 1H-NMR spectra of normal sheep erythrocytes are similar to those for human erythrocytes, and consist of resonances from a number of small intracellular molecules, including GSH. In contrast, the resonances for GSH in the GSH-deficient erythrocytes are much weaker, and strong resonances are observed for lysine, threonine and ornithine or arginine, depending on the arginase activity, in erythrocytes with lesion 1 and lesions (1 + 2). A comparison of the intensity of GSH resonances in spectra for normal and GSH-deficient erythrocytes with GSH levels determined spectrophotometrically following reaction with the nonspecific thiol reagent 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate) (DTNB) indicates that either not all of the GSH determined with Ellman's reagent is free and observable by 1H-NMR or that not all of the thiol determined by Ellman's reagent is GSH. If the latter is the case, the GSH levels determined with Ellman's reagent for erythrocytes with lesions (1 + 2) are most affected, which might account for their high susceptibility to oxidative stress.

Binding of the growth factor glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine by heparin.

Evidence is presented that the growth factor glycyl-histidyl-lysine (GHK) binds to heparin, and the interaction has been characterized by [1H]NMR spectroscopy. 1H chemical shifts indicate that GHK interacts with both the carboxylic acid and the carboxylate forms of heparin. The chemical shift data are consistent with a weak delocalized binding of the triprotonated (ImH+, GlyNH3+, LysNH3+) form of GHK by the carboxylic acid form of heparin. As the pD is increased and the carboxylic acid groups are titrated, chemical shift data indicate that ammonium groups of GHK are hydrogen bonded to heparin carboxylate groups, while the histidyl imidazolium ring occupies the imidazolium-binding site of heparin. Evidence for site-specific binding includes displacement of chemical shift titration curves for heparin to lower pD, increased shielding of specific heparin protons by the imidazolium ring current and displacement of chemical shift titration curves for GHK to higher pD. Specific binding constants were determined for binding of the (ImH+, GlyNH3+), LysNH3+) forms of GHK by the carboxylate form of heparin from chemical shift vs. pD titration data.

Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of the binding of captopril and penicillamine by serum albumin.

The metabolism of the thiol-containing drugs penicillamine (beta,beta-dimethylcysteine) and captopril (D-3-mercapto-2-methylpropanoyl-L-proline) involves the formation of mixed disulfides, including mixed disulfides with serum albumin. The reactions of penicillamine and captopril with serum albumin in aqueous solution and in intact human blood plasma have been studied by 500 MHz 1H NMR spectroscopy. Penicillamine was found to react rapidly at the albumin-cysteine mixed disulfide bond to form penicillamine-cysteine mixed disulfide and to react more slowly at other albumin disulfide bonds. The amino acid cysteine was found to react with albumin by the same two pathways. In contrast, captopril rapidly associates with albumin to form noncovalent albumin-captopril complexes. Exchange of captopril between its free and noncovalently bound forms takes place on the NMR time scale. On a longer time scale, captopril reacts with albumin by thiol/disulfide interchange reactions. Noncovalently bound captopril displaced lactate from its albumin binding sites, both in aqueous solution and in human plasma. The results demonstrate that 1H NMR is a useful method for characterizing the state of drug molecules in human plasma and for detecting and monitoring perturbations by drugs of delicately balanced binding equilibria involving endogenous small molecules and macromolecules in plasma.

A quantitative study of the complexation of cadmium in hemolyzed human erythrocytes by 1H NMR spectroscopy.

The stability of complexes formed by Cd2+ in hemolyzed human erythrocytes was studied by spin-echo 1H NMR spectroscopy. Changes in resonances for the carbon-bonded protons of glutathione (GSH) upon addition of the ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid complex of Cd2+ (Cd(EDTA)2-) and the appearance of resonances for Mg(EDTA)2- indicate that the Cd(EDTA)2- complex dissociates in hemolyzed erythrocytes with the formation of Cd(GSH)x and Mg(EDTA)2- complexes. A semiquantitative estimate of the overall stability constant for the complexation of Cd2+ in hemolyzed erythrocytes was obtained from spin-echo 1H NMR data. The stability constant is consistent with the majority of the Cd2+ in erythrocytes present as Cd(SG)2(2-). A conditional equilibrium constant was also determined for the complexation of Mg2+ by ligands in hemolyzed human erythrocytes.

Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of the solution chemistry of metal complexes. 26. Mixed ligand complexes of cadmium, nitrilotriacetic acid, glutathione, and related ligands.

The complexation of glutathione and related ligands by the nitrilotriacetic acid complex of Cd2+ (Cd(NTA)-) has been investigated by 1H NMR as a model for the coordination chemistry of Cd2+ and GSH in biological systems. Related ligands included glycine, glutamic acid, cysteine, N-acetylcysteine, penicillamine, N-acetylpenicillamine, mercaptosuccinic acid, and the S-methyl derivative of glutathione. The nature of the complexes formed was deduced from 1H NMR spectra of Cd(NTA)- and the ligands. Mixed ligand complexes (Cd(NTA)L) and single ligand complexes (CdLx) are formed with the thiol ligands, whereas only mixed ligand complexes form with glycine, glutamic acid and S-methylglutathione. Formation constants of the mixed and the single ligand complexes were determined from NMR data. The results indicate that formation constants for binding of a thiolate donor group by Cd2+, either as the free ion or in a coordinately unsaturated complex, are in the range 10(5)-10(6).

1H-NMR study of the removal of methylmercury from intact erythrocytes by sulfhydryl compounds.

The effectiveness of penicillamine, N-acetylpenicillamine, meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid, 2,3-dimercaptopropanesulfonic acid, and dithioerythritol for removing methylmercury (CH3Hg(II) from intact human erythrocytes has been studied by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The removal of CH3Hg(II) was monitored by measuring the chemical shift of the resonance for the proton on the alpha-carbon of the cysteinyl residue of intracellular glutathione in 1H-NMR spectra of intact, CH3Hg(II)-containing erythrocytes in suspensions to which the sulfhydryl ligands were added. Because exchange of intracellular glutathione between its free and CH3Hg(II) complexed forms is fast, the chemical shift of the cysteinyl resonance provides a direct, noninvasive measure of the fraction of intracellular glutathione that is complexed. The sulfhydryl ligands were found to remove CH3Hg(II) from intact erythrocytes in the order 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid greater than 2,3-dimercaptopropane sulfonic acid greater than dithioerythritol greater than penicillamine approximately N-acetylpenicillamine, which also is the order of the conditional formation constants of the CH3Hg(II) complexes at pH 7.4. All five ligands removed CH3Hg(II) from intact erythrocytes much more rapidly than can be accounted for by a mechanism in which the ligand crosses the membrane, combines with the CH3Hg(II), and then transports it out of the cell. An alternative mechanism is proposed in which the ligand reacts with CH3Hg(II) which is complexed by sulfhydryl groups of the membrane, which in turn react with the intracellular CH3Hg(II) to bring more CH3Hg(II) into the membrane, where it can react with the added sulfhydryl ligand.

H nmr study of the effectiveness of various thiols for removal of methylmercury from hemolyzed erythrocytes.

The effectiveness of eight thiol ligands for removing methylmercury (CH3Hg(II)) from its glutathione and hemoglobin complexes in hemolyzed erythrocytes has been studied by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. These complexes are the predominant methylmercury species in human erythrocytes. The effectiveness was determined from the exchange-averaged chemical shift of the resonance for the proton on the alpha-carbon of the cysteinyl residue and from the intensity of the resonance for the methylene protons of the glycine residue of reduced glutathione (GSH), both of which provide a measure of the amount of glutathione in the CH3Hg(II)-complexed form. The thiol ligands were found to release GSH from its CH3Hg(II) complex in the order 2, 3-dimercaptosuccinic acid greater than mercaptosuccinic acid greater than cysteine greater than mercaptoacetic acid greater than D-penicillamine greater than 2,3-dimercaptopropanesulfonic acid greater than N-acetyl-D,L-penicillamine greater than D,L-homocysteine.

A 1H nmr study of the interaction of aurothiomalate ("Myocrisin") with human red blood cells in vitro.

The results of 1H spin-echo Fourier transform (SEFT) nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) experiments suggest that some aurothiomalate binds intracellular glutathione (GSH) when added to suspensions of red cells in vitro. When added to red cell lysates, a specific binding of gold to cysteine of GSH is observed together with release of thiomalate. Gold binding to GSH can be reversed by addition of dimercaptopropanol sulfonate. Spectra are compared to those of an aurothiomalate-GSH model system. The relationship of these findings to the mechanism of action of Myocrisin is discussed.

1H NMR methods for the noninvasive study of metabolism and other processes involving small molecules in intact erythrocytes.

1H NMR methods are described with which resolved resonances can be obtained for many of the small molecules in intact erythrocytes. In one method, the more intense hemoglobin resonances are suppressed by transfer of saturation throughout the hemoglobin spin system by cross relaxation following a selective saturation pulse. In a second method, the hemoglobin resonances are eliminated with the spin-echo pulse sequence by using a between-pulse delay time long enough for complete elimination of the hemoglobin resonances by spin-spin relaxation. Selected examples of the study of erythrocyte biochemistry by 1H NMR are discussed.

Multinuclear magnetic resonance studies of the interaction of inorganic cations with heparin.

The interaction of Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+ and La3+ with heparin, a highly negatively charged glycosaminoglycan, was studied by 1H and 23Na nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. 1H chemical shift and nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) data indicate that the counter ions Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ interact with the low pH, carboxylic acid form of heparin by delocalized, long-range electrostatic interactions. At higher pH, 1H chemical shift and NOE data indicate that Na+ and Mg2+ continue to interact with heparin in the same manner, even upon deprotonation of the carboxylic acid group; however, there is a site-specific contribution to the binding of Ca2+, Zn2+ and La3+ under these conditions. Acid dissociation constants for heparin carboxylic acid groups and heparin-metal binding constants were determined from the pH dependence of 1H chemical shifts and 23Na spin-lattice (T1) relaxation times. Equilibrium constants for exchange of M2+ for heparin-bound Na+ were obtained from 23Na T1 data. The acid dissociation constants show a strong dependence on Na+ concentration due to the polyelectrolyte character of heparin.

Indirect detection of mercury-199 nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of methylmercury complexes.

Measurement of 199Hg NMR spectra of methylmercury species by the heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMQC) indirect proton detection method and its application to the study of the solution chemistry of CH3HgII-thiol ligand complexes are described. A sensitivity enhancement factor of 16 is obtained for measurement of the 199Hg NMR spectrum of a 4 mM solution of the CH3HgII-glutathione complex by the indirect detection method, as compared to a theoretical enhancement of 74. The less-than-theoretical enhancement is attributed to loss of signal by relaxation during the HMQC pulse sequence. Longitudinal relaxation of the 199Hg in CH3HgII-thiolate complexes is fast at the field strength used in this research (11.7 T) due to efficient relaxation by the chemical shift anisotropy mechanism. This in turn causes the transverse relaxation rate for the 199Hg spin-coupled methyl protons to be fast due to efficient relaxation by another mechanism, scalar relaxation of the second kind. Depending on the rate of exchange of CH3HgII among its complexed forms, the 199Hg line width can also include a large contribution from exchange broadening. In such cases, it is shown that extremely broad 199Hg resonances, which would be difficult to detect by direction observation, can be observed by the indirect detection method. For example, 199Hg resonances with exchange-broadened line widths up to 8000 Hz are observed by the indirect detection method for CH3HgII in mixtures of CH3HgOD and the CH3HgII-mercaptoethanol or CH3HgII-glutathione complex. The chemical shift of 199Hg in CH3HgII-thiolate ligand complexes is found to be extremely sensitive to the nature of the thiolate ligand.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)