Purification and partial characterization of a D-like fragment from human fibrinogen, produced by human leukocyte elastase.

Digestion of human fibrinogen with human leukocyte elastase in the presence of Ca2+ yields a D-like fragment of Mr 93000. This fragment was purified by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200 followed by chromatofocusing. The purified fragment was partially characterized and compared with a fragment termed D-cate, which is produced by plasmin digestion of fibrinogen in the presence of Ca2+. The molecular weights of the constituent chains of the D-like fragment and D-cate were similar. The D-like fragment precipitated with antisera directed against D-cate, but not with antisera against fragment E. The name D-elastase for the fragment is suggested. Differences between the D-elastase and D-cate fragments were found in amino-terminal amino acids, in isoelectric point and in the expression of D antigenic determinants. Two major functional differences were demonstrated: fragment D-elastase had a much stronger anticlotting potency than D-cate and the binding of Ca2+ by D-elastase and D-cate differed qualitatively and quantitatively. Since it has been suggested that the calcium-binding and anticlotting properties of D-cate are related to a carboxyl-terminal 13000 stretch of the gamma-chain, the present findings for D-elastase indicate that the differences in these properties between D-cate and D-elastase are due to differences in this area of the molecule.

Lipid peroxidation in neonatal rat heart cell cultures: effects of cumene hydroperoxide.

In this study neonatal rat heart cell cultures were evaluated on their potential merit for studying the oxidative component in the cardiotoxic action of drugs. Cumene hydroperoxide was used as a model compound. Cumene hydroperoxide induced enzyme release from the myocyte cultures which appeared to be both dose- and substrate(glucose)-dependent. Significant correlations were found between depletion of GSH and increased GSSG formation on the one hand and enzyme release on the other hand. Furthermore the formation of malondialdehyde, one of the products of lipid peroxidation, was measured, which correlated with enzyme release as well. Measurements on the release of the mitochondrial isoenzyme of aspartate aminotransferase imply that the lipid peroxidative process affects primarily the sarcolemmal membrane. The results indicate that myocytes in culture can provide a convenient in vitro system to assess the peroxidative action of cardiotoxic agents.

Anticoagulant properties of purified X-like fragments of human fibrinogen produced by degradation with leukocyte elastase.

The anticoagulant properties of fibrinogen digestion products change with stage of digestion. On digestion with leukocyte elastase, in the presence of calcium ions, the anticoagulant potency of fibrinogen digests first increases, then decreases sharply, and in late stages increases again. This is different from plasmin digestion where only an increase in anticoagulant activity is seen followed by a slow decrease. From SDS-gel electrophoresis it appears that both the early rise and the decrease in anticoagulant activity are associated with the stage of elastase-produced X-like fragments. This is confirmed with pure fragments: X-like fragments (purified from elastase digests of fibrinogen of different stages by ammonium sulphate precipitation and ion-exchange chromatography) give an increase and decrease in anticlotting activity which correlates very well with that of the potency of the digest from which they are purified. As expected, and in contrast with (late) plasmic X-fragments, late elastase X-like fragments have a low anticoagulant potency. The molecular basis for the gain and loss in anticoagulant activity going from early to late X-like fragments is obscure. Immunological tests, calcium-binding experiments and affinity chromatography on immobilized thrombin-activated NDSK suggest that the changes in anticoagulant activity are not due to a proteolytic change in the carboxyl-terminal part of the gamma-chain in the D moiety of the molecule. Our data suggest a correlation with the stage of digestion of the A alpha-chain in the X-like fragments.

Granulocyte enzyme mediated degradation of human fibrinogen in plasma in vitro.

Incubation of plasma with granulocyte enzymes in the presence of kallikrein inhibitor resulted in a prolonged thrombin time of the plasma and in an increased level of fibrinogen fragments, indicating that fibrinogen was digested. In accordance with this, fibrinogen digestion products could be purified by affinity chromatography from plasma after incubation with granulocyte enzymes. The isolated products resembled early X-like fibrinogen fragments, which are produced by limited digestion of purified fibrinogen with elastase. On SDS gel electrophoresis both had no intact A alpha-chains, but apparently intact fibrinogen B beta- and gamma-chains. Also, both fragments isolated from plasma and the X-like fragments produced with purified elastase had a low anticoagulant activity. Although elastase, the main fibrinolytic enzyme of the granulocyte, was rapidly complexed with inhibitors, 10-20% of the elastase activity towards succinyl-trialanyl-paranitroanilide was detectable in plasma no matter if the mixture of granulocyte enzymes or purified elastase had been added. A possible role for the alpha 2-macroglobulin-granulocyte elastase complex in the production of the digestion products in plasma is discussed.

Evidence for lipid peroxidation during the calcium paradox in vitamin E-deficient rat heart.

Vitamin E is known to play an important role in the protective capacity of tissues as a free radical scavenger. Rats were made deficient in vitamin E, in order to demonstrate more clearly the formation of free radicals after exposing the rat heart to sudden changes in calcium homeostasis. The formation of malondialdehyde was taken as measure for lipid peroxidation. Malondialdehyde was detected in appreciable amounts both in heart tissue and coronary perfusate of vitamin E-deficient rat hearts after exposing them to the sudden changes in calcium concentration as seen during the calcium paradox. These findings emphasize a the hearts of normally fed rats no malondialdehyde could be detected in tissue or coronary perfusate after the calcium paradox. Therefore an essential role for vitamin E against oxidative stress in heart tissue is also indicated.

Decreased defence against free radicals in rat heart during normal reperfusion after hypoxic, ischemic and calcium-free perfusion.

Excessive formation of free radicals possibly plays an important role in the origin of irreversible damage of the heart after hypoxic, ischemic or Ca2+-free treatment. The effect of these treatments on the activity of superoxide dismutase and the glutathione system was studied on isolated rat heart. These activities reflect the protective capacity of the heart against reactive substances. In addition the peroxidation of lipids is determined in the treated hearts using malondialdehyde formation as an indicator. All experiments were performed using a Langendorff-apparatus with recirculating perfusion. The observed changes in the components of the glutathione system and superoxide dismutase activity both after hypoxic, ischemic and Ca2+-free perfusion, as measured upon reperfusion, indicate a decrease in cellular defense mechanisms in the heart against free radicals. The effect was most pronounced upon Ca2+-repletion after a period of Ca2+-free perfusion. No malondialdehyde could however be detected either in the tissue of the treated hearts or in the perfusate. Our data give reason to expect beneficial effects of an adequate pharmacological treatment, which replenishes the cellular defence systems.

Adriamycin stimulates NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation in liver microsomes not only by enhancing the production of O2 and H2O2, but also by potentiating the catalytic activity of ferrous ions.

The antitumor drug, adriamycin, enhances NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation in liver microsomes via the formation of superoxide anion radicals (O2) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In the presence of metal ions additional reactive species are generated, causing stimulation of lipid peroxidation. However, in this study it was found that the stimulation of NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation by adriamycin was not only affected by the production of O2 and H2O2. Adriamycin also enhances the catalysis by metal ions of the formation of those reactive oxygen species which initiate peroxidation. This was inferred from the fact that adriamycin stimulated malondialdehyde production at low ferrous ion concentrations, whereas at high ferrous ion concentrations no stimulation was found. Additional evidence was found in experiments in which the enzymic redox cycle of adriamycin in microsomes was abolished by heat-inactivation of the microsomes, and O2 and H2O2 were only produced with xanthine and xanthine oxidase. In this case in the presence of ferrous ions, adriamycin stimulated lipid peroxidation.

Effect of vitamin E on the balance between pro- and antioxidant activity of ascorbic acid in microsomes from rat heart, kidney and liver.

The effect of the vitamin E status of membranes on the balance between pro- and antioxidant activity of ascorbic acid was studied in microsomes from rat heart, kidney and liver. Lipid peroxidation was initiated by 5 microM ferrous ions, in combination with amounts of ascorbic acid ranging from 0-4 mM. Lipid peroxidation was assessed after 1 h of incubation as production of thiobarbituric acid reactive material. It was found that the vitamin E status of the microsomal membranes had little effect on the balance between pro- and antioxidant activity of vitamin C. The sensitivity of the membranes to ferrous ions/ascorbic acid-induced lipid peroxidation, however, was highly dependent on the vitamin E content of the membranes. Vitamin E depletion, in combination with different ascorbic acid concentrations, showed that vitamin E deficiency is not an incontestable model system for enhanced sensitivity to lipid peroxidation in all organs.

The role of lipid peroxidation in acute doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity as studied in rat isolated heart.

Doxorubicin induces an acute cardiotoxicity that becomes manifest in isolated hearts as a deterioration in mechanical function. The oxidative component in this myocardial damage has been investigated. The effects of doxorubicin on the activity of superoxide dismutase and the capacity of the glutathione system, factors of the cellular protective mechanism against free radicals, were examined in rat isolated heart. Doxorubicin was found to reduce the capacity of the protective mechanisms. Whether oxidative membrane damage due to excessive free radical formation plays a role in the pathogenesis of the acute cardiotoxic action of doxorubicin was also examined. Its acute effect on myocardial contraction amplitude, frequency of beating, coronary flow and on the above mentioned biochemical parameters was compared in rat hearts sufficient or deficient in vitamin E. Peroxidation of lipids was measured as the formation of malondialdehyde, one of the final products of this process. Vitamin E deficiency neither aggravated the decrease in the capacity of the cellular protective factors nor worsened the reduction in myocardial function. Nor did induction of lipid peroxidation by doxorubicin occur in vitamin E-deficient hearts. It was concluded that lipid peroxidative damage most probably is not decisive in the development of the acute cardiomyopathy in rats.

Non-enzymic lipid peroxidation in microsomes and microsomal phospholipids induced by anthracyclines.

The stimulation of non-enzymic lipid peroxidation by doxorubicin, daunorubicin and 7 derivatives was investigated in extracted microsomal phospholipids and in intact microsomes. Evidence was obtained for the necessity of a free amino-sugar moiety for a stimulative effect on lipid peroxidation. Binding of anthracyclines to RNA (which is present in microsomes) was inhibitory towards stimulation. Drugs that stimulated lipid peroxidation in a non-enzymic system with extracted phospholipids also were stimulative in an enzymic, NADPH-dependent, microsomal system. They were not always effective in intact microsomes without the enzymic system. The role of the enzymic system in the stimulation of anthracycline induced lipid peroxidation is thought to be the reduction of iron ions rather than the stimulation of oxygen radical production via the anthracyclines.

The effect of vitamin E-deficiency in isolated rat heart on the cellular defence system against free radicals during normal reperfusion after hypoxic, ischemic and Ca(2+)-free perfusion.

We investigated whether vitamin E plays a role in the protection against potential free radical formation and related biochemical changes in hypoxic, ischemic and Ca(2+)-depleted rat heart upon normal reperfusion. In the heart of normally fed rats a decrease in the activity of superoxide dismutase and the capacity of the glutathione system, factors of the cellular protective mechanisms against free radicals, occurred upon exposure to the above mentioned treatments. This decrease was not further enhanced if vitamin E-deficient rat hearts were treated. Vitamin E-deficiency, however, led to detectable peroxidation of lipids if Ca(2+)-depleted or hypoxic hearts were reperfused. Lipid peroxidation was measured as the formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive material, which is readily formed during this process. Reflow after ischemia did not induce lipid peroxidation either in normal or in vitamin E-deficient rat heart. Since changes in Ca(2+)-homeostasis are thought to be primarily responsible for the Ca(2+)-reperfusion injury, a role for Ca(2+)-ions in lipid peroxidative processes, either directly or indirectly, seems indicated. Furthermore the results imply that even a sharp and extensive decrease of reduced glutathione, as seen upon Ca(2+)-repletion after a period of Ca(2+)-depletion, does not necessarily induce peroxidation of lipids in heart tissue. Obviously, vitamin E is very important in the protection of cardiac membranes. Replenishment of the water-soluble protective factors in the heart seems, however, more important during above mentioned treatments, especially since repair of the vitamin E-free radical is dependent on water-soluble factors.

Evidence of fibrinogen breakdown by leukocyte enzymes in a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

On daunomycin treatment of a patient with promyelocytic leukemia, leukocyte elastase appeared in large amounts in the patient's blood. Also, the plasma fibrinogen was found to be partially degraded to early, X-like, fibrinogen degradation products. These early fibrinogen fragments were isolated and showed a low anticoagulant activity in a thrombin time test. Early fibrinogen degradation products, produced with leukocyte elastase in vitro, have a similar low anticoagulant activity. In contrast, plasmic degradation products inhibit clotting of fibrinogen to a large extent. Although alpha 2-antiplasmin and plasminogen levels were low, antithrombin III levels were not decreased. The low anticoagulant activity of the isolated fibrinogen fragments, the presence of elastase activity in the plasma--both immunological and amidolytic--and the normal levels of antithrombin III suggest that granulocytic enzymes, whose release was enhanced by the cytostatic treatment, were responsible for degradation of fibrinogen in this patient.

The effect of chronic adriamycin treatment on heart kidney and liver tissue of male and female rat.

The influence of chronic adriamycin treatment on cellular defence mechanisms against free radicals has been determined in rats. To that end, the changes in vitamin E content, activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and factors of the glutathione system were measured in heart, kidneys and liver after 24 and 52 days of treatment. Moreover, damage was assessed by measuring the activity of NADPH- and NADH-cytochrome c reductase. The results concerning the components of the oxidative defence systems in male rats showed reductions in the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase in renal tissue and in factors of the glutathione system in liver tissue. In cardiac tissue an increased activity of catalase and elevated content of total glutathione were found. Vitamin E content was increased in liver and to a lesser extent, in kidneys. The activity of Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase sharply decreased only in liver. Major differences between male and female rats were not observed in renal and cardiac tissue, as far as protective factors were concerned. However, a decrease in catalase activity was detectable earlier in male kidneys. The protective factors in liver of female rats were far less susceptible to in vivo treatment with adriamycin, as compared to liver of male rats. Decreased activity of the cytochrome reductases was found in liver of male rats. In male renal tissue only cytochrome c reductase activity was significantly reduced. Male cardiac tissue showed no signs of biochemical damage, although from histological examination in a parallel study [J Natl Cancer Inst 76: 299-307 (1986)] lesions were evident. In female rats no damage was found in liver, kidneys and heart.

Sex differences in the cellular defence system against free radicals from oxygen or drug metabolites in rat.

In this study, it was investigated whether sex-related differences in the protective mechanisms against oxygen radicals and free radical metabolites from drugs were present in rat liver, heart, and kidney. To that end, superoxide dismutase, catalase, the factors of the glutathione system and vitamin E were measured. In addition, NADPH-dependent cytochrome c-reductase activity was established, as this enzyme is involved in the formation of free radicals in the presence of many xenobiotics. The total capacity of the cellular systems that detoxify reactive oxygen species or free radical-drug metabolites seems to be higher in female liver as compared to male. No differences were found for heart and kidney tissue. It is hypothesized that female rats probably are less vulnerable for those drugs whose hepatotoxic action is induced by excessive formation of free radical species.

Anthracycline-induced oxygen consumption and oxidative damage in rat liver microsomes are not necessarily coupled. A study with 8 structurally related anthracyclines.

The stimulative effect of 8 anthracyclines (the parent compounds daunorubicin and doxorubicin and 6 structurally closely related anthracyclines) on the production of thiobarbituric acid (TBA)-reactive material was investigated in liver microsomes. Except for daunorubicinone and doxorubicinone, all derivatives stimulated NADPH-dependent production of TBA-reactive material. Doxorubicinone had no effect, daunorubicinone inhibited TBA-reactivity at concentrations up to 50 microM. However, the latter two compounds stimulated oxygen consumption in the presence of EDTA to a degree comparable to that induced by the parent compounds. Since the oxygen uptake under these circumstances represents redox cycling of the drugs, apparently redox cycling and production of TBA-reactive material were not coupled for these compounds. Spectral measurements showed no decisive role for interaction with free iron (Fe3+) ions in the non-coupling of redox cycling and production of TBA reactive material. Evidence for a role of bound iron ions was not obtained. It is discussed that for the aglycones oxygen consumption and production of TBA reactive material might be non-coupled through their different interaction with microsomal RNA.

The involvement of an oxidative mechanism in the adriamycin induced toxicity in neonatal rat heart cell cultures.

In order to investigate the oxidative component of adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity in the rat, we used neonatal cardiac myocytes in culture. All incubations, with or without adriamycin (ADM), were performed under normoxic circumstances and additionally under circumstances which make cells more vulnerable towards oxidative challenges: hyperoxia or treatment with 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU). ADM (100 microM) produced a decrease in the beating rate and enzyme release of the cultures. These effects were potentiated by hyperoxia and by BCNU treatment. Cellular GSH was depleted due to ADM. However, no significant increase in GSSG could be detected, even if the O2-concentration was increased. Lipid peroxidation, measured as thiobarbituric acid reactive material, could be detected only in case ADM plus additional stress were given to the cells. It is concluded that redox-cycling of ADM occurs in rat cardiac myocytes. Formation of ADM-glutathione conjugates or mixed disulfides is strongly indicated. From this it can be inferred that ADM-toxicity in cardiac cells may involve an oxidative mechanism. An important role for the glutathione system is indicated in the detoxification of reactive intermediates. In addition the results implicate that neonatal rat heart cell cultures provide a good screening system for the evaluation of oxidative challenges in the cardiotoxic action of anthracycline analogs.