Endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated inhibition of NSMase2 elevates plasma membrane cholesterol and attenuates NO production in endothelial cells.

Chronic exposure of blood vessels to cardiovascular risk factors such as free fatty acids, LDL-cholesterol, homocysteine and hyperglycemia can give rise to endothelial dysfunction, partially due to decreased synthesis and bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO). Many of these same risk factors have been shown to induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in endothelial cells. The objective of this study was to examine the mechanisms responsible for endothelial dysfunction mediated by ER stress. ER stress elevated both intracellular and plasma membrane (PM) cholesterols in BAEC by ~3-fold, indicated by epifluorescence and cholesterol oxidase methods. Increases in cholesterol levels inversely correlated with neutral sphingomyelinase 2 (NSMase2) activity, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phospho-activation and NO-production. To confirm that ER stress-induced effects on PM cholesterol were a direct consequence of decreased NSMase2 activity, enzyme expression was either enhanced or knocked down in BAEC. NSMase2 over-expression did not significantly affect cholesterol levels or NO-production, but increased eNOS phosphorylation by ~1.7-fold. Molecular knock down of NSMase2 decreased eNOS phosphorylation and NO-production by 50% and 40%, respectively while increasing PM cholesterol by 1.7-fold and intracellular cholesterol by 2.7-fold. Furthermore, over-expression of NSMase2 in ER-stressed BAEC lowered cholesterol levels to within control levels as well as nearly doubled the NO production, restoring it to ~74% and 68% of controls using tunicamycin and palmitate, respectively. This study establishes NSMase2 as a pivotal enzyme in the onset of endothelial ER stress-mediated vascular dysfunction as its inactivation leads to the attenuation of NO production and the elevation of cellular cholesterol.

Sinapinic acid can replace ascorbate in the biotin switch assay.

BACKGROUND: Protein S-nitrosation is an important post-translational modification altering protein function. Interaction of nitric oxide with thiols is an active area of research, and is one of the mechanisms by which NO exerts its biological effects. Biotin switch assay is the method, which has been developed to identify S-nitrosated proteins. The major concern with biotin switch assay includes reducing disulfide which may lead to false positives. We report a modification of the biotin switch assay where sinapinic acid is utilized instead of ascorbate to eliminate potential artifacts in the detection of S-nitrosated proteins. METHODS: The denitrosation ability of sinapinic acid was assessed by monitoring either the NO or NO(2)(-) released by chemiluminescent NO detection or by the griess assay, respectively. DTNB assay was used to compare disulfide reduction by ascorbate and sinapinic acid. Sinapinic acid and ascorbate were compared in the biotin switch detection of S-nitrosoproteins in RAW 264.7 cells+/-S-nitrosocysteine (CysNO) exposure. RESULTS: We show that sinapinic acid has the ability to denitrosate S-nitrosothiols at pH 7.0 and denitrate plus denitrosate at pHs 8 and 8.5. Unlike ascorbate, sinapinic acid degrades S-nitrosothiols, but it does not reduce disulfide bridges. CONCLUSIONS: Sinapinic acid denitrosate RSNO and does not reduce disulfides. Thus can readily replace ascorbate in detection of S-nitrosated proteins in biotin switch assay. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: The work described is important in view of protein S-nitrosation. In this study we provide an important modification that eliminates artifacts in widely used technique for detecting the S-nitrosoproteome, the biotin switch assay.

Protein disulfide isomerase may facilitate the efflux of nitrite derived S-nitrosothiols from red blood cells.

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) is an abundant protein primarily found in the endoplasmic reticulum and also secreted into the blood by a variety of vascular cells. The evidence obtained here, suggests that PDI could directly participate in the efflux of NO(+) from red blood cells (RBC). PDI was detected both in RBC membranes and in the cytosol. PDI was S-nitrosylated when RBCs were exposed to nitrite under ∼50% oxygen saturation but not under ∼100% oxygen saturation. Furthermore, it was observed that hemoglobin (Hb) could promote PDI S-nitrosylation in the presence of ∼600 nM nitrite. In addition, three lines of evidence were obtained for PDI-Hb interactions: (1) Hb co-immunoprecipitated with PDI; (2) Hb quenched the intrinsic PDI fluorescence in a saturable manner; and (3) Hb-Fe(II)-NO absorption spectrum decreased in a [PDI]-dependent manner. Finally, PDI was detected on the surface RBC under ∼100% oxygen saturation and released as soluble under ∼50% oxygen saturation. The soluble PDI detected under ∼50% oxygen saturation was S-nitrosylated. Based on these data it is proposed that PDI is taken up by RBC and forms a complex with Hb. Hb-Fe(II)-NO that is formed from nitrite reduction under ∼50% O2, then transfers NO(+) to either Hb-Cys ß93 or directly to PDI resulting in S-nitroso-PDI which transverses the RBC membrane and attaches to the RBC surface. When RBCs enter tissues the S-nitroso-PDI is released from the RBC-surface into the blood where its NO(+) is transferred into the endothelium thereby inducing vasodilation, suggesting local oxygen-dependent dynamic interplays between nitrite, NO and S-nitrosylation.