Modulation of the reactivity of the thiol of human serum albumin and its sulfenic derivative by fatty acids.

The single cysteine residue of human serum albumin (HSA-SH) is the most abundant plasma thiol. HSA transports fatty acids (FA), a cargo that increases under conditions of diabetes, exercise or adrenergic stimulation. The stearic acid-HSA (5/1) complex reacted sixfold faster than FA-free HSA at pH 7.4 with the disulfide 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) and twofold faster with hydrogen peroxide and peroxynitrite. The apparent pK(a) of HSA-SH decreased from 7.9±0.1 to 7.4±0.1. Exposure to H(2)O(2) (2mM, 5min, 37°C) yielded 0.29±0.04mol of sulfenic acid (HSA-SOH) per mole of FA-bound HSA. The reactivity of HSA-SOH with low molecular weight thiols increased ∼threefold in the presence of FA. The enhanced reactivity of the albumin thiol at neutral pH upon FA binding can be rationalized by considering that the corresponding conformational changes that increase thiol exposure both increase the availability of the thiolate due to a lower apparent pK(a) and also loosen steric constraints for reactions. Since situations that increase circulating FA are associated with oxidative stress, this increased reactivity of HSA-SH could assist in oxidant removal.

Agaric acid induces mitochondrial permeability transition through its interaction with the adenine nucleotide translocase. Its dependence on membrane fluidity.

The effect of agaric acid as inducer of mitochondrial permeability transition was studied. It was found that: (i) agaric acid (AA) promoted efflux of accumulated Ca2+, collapse of transmembrane potential, and mitochondrial swelling; (ii) these effects depend on membrane fluidity; (iii) ADP inhibited the effect of AA on Ca2+ efflux, and (iv) AA blocked binding of the sulfhydryl reagent, eosin-5-maleimide, to the adenine nucleotide translocase. It is proposed that AA induces pore opening through binding of the citrate moiety to the ADP/ATP carrier; this interaction must be stabilized by insertion of the alkyl chain in the lipid milieu of the membrane.

20 S proteasome from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is responsive to redox modifications and is S-glutathionylated.

The 20 S proteasome core purified from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is inhibited by reduced glutathione (GSH), cysteine (Cys), or the GSH precursor gamma-glutamylcysteine. Chymotrypsin-like activity was more affected by GSH than trypsin-like activity, whereas the peptidylglutamyl-hydrolyzing activity (caspase-like) was not inhibited by GSH. Cys-sulfenic acid formation in the 20 S core was demonstrated by spectral characterization of the Cys-S(O)-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole adduct, indicating that 20 S proteasome Cys residues might react with reduced sulfhydryls (GSH, Cys, and gamma-glutamylcysteine) through the oxidized Cys-sulfenic acid form. S-Glutahionylation of the 20 S core was demonstrated in vitro by GSH-biotin incorporation and by decreased alkylation with monobromobimane. Compounds such as N-ethylmaleimide (-S-sulfhydril H alkylating), dimedone (-SO sulfenic acid H reactant), or 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (either -SH or -SOH reactant) highly inhibited proteasomal chymotrypsin-like activity. In vivo experiments revealed that 20 S proteasome extracted from H(2)O(2)-treated cells showed decreased chymotrypsin-like activity accompanied by S-glutathionylation as demonstrated by GSH release from the 20 S core after reduction with NaBH(4). Moreover, cells pretreated with H(2)O(2) showed decreased reductive capacity assessed by determination of the GSH/oxidized glutathione ratio and increased protein carbonyl levels. The present results indicate that at the physiological level the yeast 20 S proteasome is regulated by its sulfhydryl content, thereby coupling intracellular redox signaling to proteasome-mediated proteolysis.

Chemical modification of SH groups of E. coli phosphofructokinase-2 induces subunit dissociation: monomers are inactive but preserve ligand binding properties.

Modification of Escherichia coli phosphofructokinase-2 (Pfk-2) with N-(1-pyrenil)maleimide results in an enzyme form that is inactive. However, the rate of modification is drastically reduced in the presence of the allosteric effector MgATP. The stoichiometry of the label incorporation was found to be 2.03 +/- 0.035 mol of the reagent/mol of subunit, in agreement with the number of titratable SH groups by 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) in the labeled protein. HPLC gel filtration experiments demonstrate that native Pfk-2 is a dimer in the absence of ligands, while in the presence of MgATP a dimer-tetramer transition is promoted. In contrast, the modified enzyme eluted as a monomer and the presence of MgATP was not able to induce aggregation. Although the modified monomers are inactive, the dissociation constants for the substrates and the allosteric effector MgATP, measured by following the fluorescence of the binding probe, are the same as for the native enzyme. Quenching of pyrene fluorescence emission of labeled phosphofructokinase-2 monomers by acrylamide gave downward curved Stern-Volmer plots, with very similar quenching efficiencies for the control and for the fructose-6-P and MgATP-enzyme complexes. These results show the presence of SH groups in the interface of Pfk-2 subunits, critical for subunit interactions, and that conformational changes occurring through the dimers are essential for catalytic activity.