Mainstream smoke chemistry analysis of samples from the 2009 US cigarette market.

A survey of selected mainstream smoke constituents from commercially marketed US cigarettes was conducted in 2009. The US cigarette market was segmented into thirteen (13) strata based on Cambridge Filter Method (CFM) "tar" category and cigarette design parameters. Menthol and non-menthol cigarettes were included. Sixty-one (61) cigarette brand styles were chosen to represent the market. Another thirty-four (34) brand styles of interest were included in the survey along with a Kentucky 3R4F reference cigarette. Twenty mainstream smoke constituents were evaluated using the Health Canada smoking regimen. By weighting the results of the 61 brand styles using the number of brand styles represented by each stratum, the mainstream smoke constituent means and medians of the US cigarette market were estimated. For nicotine, catechol, hydroquinone, benzo(a)pyrene and formaldehyde the mean yields increased with increasing "tar" yields. Constituent yields for the ultra-low "tar" and low "tar" cigarettes were not significantly different for most other analytes as ventilation blocking defeated any filter air dilution design features. In contrast, normalization per mg nicotine provided an inverse ranking of cigarette yields per CFM "tar" categories. Menthol cigarette mean constituent yields were observed to be within the range of the non-menthol cigarettes of similar "tar" categories.

Assessment of dioxin and dioxin-like compounds in mainstream smoke from selected US cigarette brands and reference cigarettes.

Mainstream cigarette smoke (MSS) from 12 US cigarette brands and two reference cigarettes was evaluated to determine concentrations of dioxins (i.e., polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)). The study included three 'tar' ranges based on Federal Trade Commission (FTC) determination: Low Yield (LY) < or = 5.5, Medium Yield (MY) 9.6-12.2, and High Yield (HY)> or = 14.5 mg/cig. Of the brands studied, the HY cigarettes yielded the greatest mean concentrations of 2005 World Health Organization Toxic Equivalents (WHO-TEQs) on a per cigarette basis. WHO-TEQ levels in LY cigarettes were significantly lower than for HY cigarettes (p=0.039) on a yield per cigarette basis and WHO-TEQ concentrations correlated with 'tar' yield (r=0.73, p=0.007), as did concentration on a WHO-TEQ per body mass per day basis (r=0.73, p=0.007). However, a statistically significant relationship was not observed between 'tar' yield levels and WHO-TEQ concentrations on a per mg Total Particulate Matter (TPM) basis. Concentrations for all brands tested ranged from 0.44 to 3.88 fg WHO-TEQ/mg TPM. Maximum daily exposure estimates calculated from this range (0.004-0.074 pg WHO-TEQ/kg bw/day) are below the current WHO Tolerable Daily Intake range of 1-5 pg/kg bw/day.

Effects of reduction and ligation of heme iron on the thermal stability of heme-hemopexin complexes.

Hemopexin has two homologous domains (N- and C-terminal domains), binds 1 mole of heme per mole with high affinity (Kd < 1 pM) in a low-spin bis-histidyl complex, and acts as a transporter for the heme. Transport is accomplished via endocytosis without degradation of the protein. Factors that affect stability of the heme coordination complex and potentially heme release in vivo were examined. The effects of temperature on hemopexin, its N-terminal domain, and their respective ferri-, ferro-, and CO-ferro-heme complexes were studied using absorbance and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. As monitored with second-derivative absorbance spectra, the higher order structure of apo-hemopexin unfolds with a Tm of 52 degrees C in 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer and is stabilized by 150 mM NaCl (Tm 63 degrees C). Bis-histidyl heme coordination by hemopexin, observed by Soret absorbance, is substantially weakened by reduction of ferri-heme-hemopexin (Tm 55.5 degrees C) to the ferro-heme form (Tm 48 degrees C), and NaCl stabilizes both complexes by 10-15 degrees C. CO binding to ferroheme-hemopexin restores complex stability (Tm 67 degrees C). Upon cooling, unfolded apo- and ferriheme-hemopexin extensively refold and recover substantial heme-binding activity, but the characteristic ellipticity of the native protein (UV region) and heme complex (Soret region) are not regained, indicating that altered refolded forms are produced. Lowering the pH from 7.4 to 6.5 has little effect on the stability of the apo-protein but increases the Tm of heme complexes by 5-12 degrees C. The stability of the apo-N-terminal domain (Tm 53 degrees C) is similar to that of intact hemopexin, and the ferri-, ferro-, and CO-ferro-heme complexes of the N-terminal domain have Tm values of 53 degrees C, 33 degrees C, and 75 degrees C, respectively.

Investigating sources of response variability and neural mediation in human nasal irritation.

A major component of indoor air complaints is nasal irritation (NI), yet there is an extreme paucity of quantitative concentration-response data from normosmics (individuals who report normal odor sensation). Due to an assumption that NI is mediated solely by the activation of the trigeminal (fifth cranial) nerve, much of the small amount of available information has been obtained from anosmic individuals, who lack olfactory (first cranial) nerve input to the brain and, thus, only have nasal trigeminal input remaining. In a repeated measurements design, the NI responses of 31 normosmic and four anosmic individuals were quantified in response to a range of concentrations of propionic acid generated by an automated air-dilution olfactometer. A variance analysis approach was used to apportion different nested sources of variation (within-session, within-individual, inter-individual) in NI responses. In contrast to anosmic NI and normosmic odor performance, NI response by normosmics exhibited considerable variation at all three levels. However, this variation did not obscure the observation that, in agreement with electrocortical measurements by Hummel et al. (1996), NI sensitivity in normosmics clearly exceeded that of anosmics. These observations provide support for enhanced research efforts to better understand the neural basis of NI so that its occurrence in actual environments may be effectively minimized.

Human responses to propionic acid. II. Quantification of breathing responses and their relationship to perception.

In 20 normal and four anosmic participants, instantaneous inhalation and exhalation flow rates were recorded in response to 15 s stimulations with clean air or propionic acid concentrations (0.16, 1.14, 8.22 and 59.15 p.p.m., v/v) that ranged from peri-threshold for normals to clearly supra-threshold for anosmics. Each odorant/irritant delivery to the face-mask began with an exhalation. This allowed concentration to reach full value before stimulus onset, defined as the point where the participant began to bring the stimulus into the nose by inhalation. Two seconds after this stimulus onset, normals exhibited cumulative inhaled volume (CIV) declines of 39 and 14%, and latencies of 500 and 710 ms, with presentations of 59.15 and 8.22 p.p.m., respectively. With anosmics, 59.15 p.p.m. caused a 19% decline in CIV that began at 730 ms. Examination of the first inhalation after stimulus onset shows that the CIV declines in normals were achieved by a progressive decline in volume (InVol), beginning with a slight drop at 1.14 p.p.m., and a marked decline in duration (InDur) with only the highest concentration. Anosmics exhibited declines in InDur and InVol with only the 59.15 p.p.m. stimulus, and these declines were much more modest than the changes seen in normals. Comparison of these breathing results with perceptual responses from this same experiment demonstrates that: (i) in normals, odor perception rises slightly, but breathing does not change, with the lowest concentration; (ii) the higher breathing sensitivity (declines in InVol) of normals is paralleled by both the higher nasal irritation of these individuals and the presence of odor sensation; (iii) InDur declines in normals only with a stimulus concentration sufficient to cause marked nasal irritation in anosmics; and iv) in anosmics, modest but reliable declines in both InDur and InVol mirror the marked elevation in nasal irritation magnitude seen with only the highest concentration. In view of the failure of prior work to provide evidence that olfactory activation alone can cause any of the breathing changes we observed, we conclude that some breathing parameters are quite useful as rapid and sensitive measures of nasal irritation that arises from activation of nasal trigeminal afferents alone or in combination with the olfactory nerve.

Quantitative analysis of potential transfer of continuous glass filament from eclipse prototype 9-014 cigarettes.

This study was designed to determine if the Eclipse prototype 9-014 cigarettes, which use a special form of continuous glass filament (CGF) as an insulator around the carbon heat source, yield CGFs via mainstream smoke. A previously developed method (Higuchi et al., 2000) that employed electrostatic precipitation-with a greater than 99% collection efficiency of mass-was used to capture CGFs transferred to mainstream smoke. The cigarettes were smoked using an exaggerated puffing condition more than twice the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) standard. Prior to smoking, cigarettes were subjected to handling procedures that simulated commercial shipping conditions. Using a modified standard addition method, and utilizing a mixture of water and glycerol as a mock condensate, CGFs were intentionally added to a series of (mock condensate) samples to develop knowledge of CGF recovery efficiency. The linear regression model of the recovered CGFs demonstrated a recovery efficiency of 86%. This efficiency rate was applied to the number of CGFs recovered from samples of smoke condensate and associated background samples. The number of CGFs in smoke condensate collected from the Eclipse 9-014 prototype was approximately 0.32 +/- 0.17 CGFs per cigarette (+/- standard deviation), including the background counts of CGFs, and 0.16 CGFs per cigarette when corrected for background contributions. The number of CGFs found in the smoke condensates for this prototype was statistically (p =.00031) distinguishable from zero and background in these experiments. The low number of CGFs seen in the transfer data from this prototype studied, the unique physical characteristics of the filaments (e.g., controlled physical dimensions), and the absence of biological activity of similar glass filaments/fibers indicate that biologically significant exposure to the Eclipse smoker does not occur.

Urinary mutagenicity in nonsmokers following exposure to fresh diluted sidestream cigarette smoke.

Ten healthy male and 10 healthy female 'never-smoking' subjects (ages 21-50) participated in a 5-day environmental room study to determine if an acute exposure to a high level of fresh diluted sidestream smoke (FDSS) would alter urinary mutagenicity. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, the 20 subjects sat in environmental rooms for 7.33h and were exposed to filtered and humidified air. On Wednesday, the 20 subjects were exposed in the environmental rooms for 7.33h to an average respirable suspended particle (RSP) concentration of 179 microg/m(3) of FDSS generated by machine smoking 1R4F Kentucky reference cigarettes. This level of FDSS is approximately three times the ETS level seen in the top 5% of US workplaces which allow smoking. A cumulative 7.33h air sample from each environmental room was collected and determined to be mutagenic by Ames Salmonella assay. Subjects' urinary mutagenicity was measured on Wednesday as compared with Tuesday or Thursday by assaying concentrates of 24h urine samples in Ames Salmonella bacterial strains TA98 and YG1024. Diet was strictly controlled on all study days, with broiled and pan-fried meat not served to minimize ingestion of mutagenic protein pyrolysis products. Although all the urinary mutagenicity values were within the range reported for minor changes in diet, the subjects experienced a small but statistically significant increase (p<0.05) in urinary mutagenicity in strain YG1024, but not in the less sensitive strain TA98 on the day of FDSS exposure.

Heme binding by hemopexin: evidence for multiple modes of binding and functional implications.

Hemopexin binds 1 mol of heme per mol with high affinity (Kd < 1 pM) in a low-spin complex and acts as a transport vehicle for the heme. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy was used to examine the heme environment in the ferri-, ferro-, and CO-ferro complexes of four iron tetrapyrroles [meso-, proto-, deutero-, and (2-vinyl, 4-hydroxymethyl)-deutero-heme] with three species (human, rabbit, and rat) of hemopexin. All ferri-heme-hemopexin complexes exhibit a band of positive ellipticity near the Soret maximum, except for the human ferri-protoheme hemopexin complex, which has a bisignate spectrum. The ferro-heme and CO-ferro-heme complexes display a variety of spectra, demonstrating redox- and ligand-linked shifts in conformation that alter the environment of the heme. The rabbit mesoheme-N-domain complexes have absorbance spectra almost indistinguishable from those of intact hemopexin, but present CD spectra that are distinctly different. However, adding the C-domain to mesoheme-N-domain restores most of the CD characteristics of the intact hemopexin complexes.

Analysis of potential transfer of continuous glass filament from Eclipse cigarettes.

This study was designed to determine if a prototype of the Eclipse cigarettes, which uses a special form of continuous glass filament (CGF) as an insulator around the carbon heat source, yielded CGFs via mainstream smoke. A method was developed that used electrostatic precipitation with a greater than 99% collection efficiency of mass to capture CGFs transferred to mainstream smoke. The cigarettes were smoked using an exaggerated puffing condition that was more than twice the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) standard. The cigarettes were subjected to handling procedures that simulated commercial shipping conditions prior to smoking. CGFs were intentionally added to a series of smoke condensate samples to determine CGF recovery efficiency. The recovery efficiency was determined for a series of four internal standards added to smoke condensate. The recovery efficiency was 86% for the Eclipse 5-014 prototype. The number of CGFs in smoke condensate collected from the Eclipse 5-014 prototype was approximately 0.06 +/- 0.02 CGFs per cigarette (+/- standard deviation), including the background counts of CGFs and 0.03 CGFs per cigarette, when corrected for background contributions. The number of CGFs found in smoke condensates for this prototype was not statistically distinguishable from zero or background in these experiments, which were capable of detecting transfer rates of greater than 0.2 CGFs per cigarette.

Unravelling the biochemical basis of blood group ABO and Lewis antigenic specificity.

The ABO blood-group polymorphism is still the most clinically important system in blood transfusion practice. The groups were discovered in 1900 and the genes at the ABO locus were cloned nearly a century later in 1990. To enable this goal to be reached intensive studies were carried out in the intervening years on the serology, genetics, inheritance and biochemistry of the antigens belonging to this system. This article describes biochemical genetic investigations on ABO and the related Lewis antigens starting from the time in the 1940s when serological and classical genetical studies had established the immunological basis and mode of inheritance of the antigens but practically nothing was known about their chemical structure. Essential steps were the definition of H as the product of a genetic system Hh independent of ABO, and the establishment of the precursor-product relationship of H to A and B antigens. Indirect methods gave first indications that the specificity of antigens resided in carbohydrate and revealed the immunodominant sugars in the antigenic structures. Subsequently chemical fragmentation procedures enabled the complete determinant structures to be established. Degradation experiments with glycosidases revealed how loss of one specificity by the removal of a single sugar unit exposed a new specificity and suggested that biosynthesis proceeded by a reversal of this process whereby the oligosaccharide structures were built up by the sequential addition of sugar units. Hence, the primary blood-group gene products were predicted to be glycosyltransferase enzymes that added the last sugar to complete the determinant structures. Identification of these enzymes gave new genetic markers and eventually purification of the blood-group A-gene encoded N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase gave a probe for cloning the ABO locus. Blood-group ABO genotyping by DNA methods has now become a practical possibility.

Crystal structure of hemopexin reveals a novel high-affinity heme site formed between two beta-propeller domains.

The ubiquitous use of heme in animals poses severe biological and chemical challenges. Free heme is toxic to cells and is a potential source of iron for pathogens. For protection, especially in conditions of trauma, inflammation and hemolysis, and to maintain iron homeostasis, a high-affinity binding protein, hemopexin, is required. Hemopexin binds heme with the highest affinity of any known protein, but releases it into cells via specific receptors. The crystal structure of the heme-hemopexin complex reveals a novel heme binding site, formed between two similar four-bladed beta-propeller domains and bounded by the interdomain linker. The ligand is bound to two histidine residues in a pocket dominated by aromatic and basic groups. Further stabilization is achieved by the association of the two beta-propeller domains, which form an extensive polar interface that includes a cushion of ordered water molecules. We propose mechanisms by which these structural features provide the dual function of heme binding and release.

Chemical and biological studies of a new cigarette that primarily heats tobacco. Part 2. In vitro toxicology of mainstream smoke condensate.

The genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of mainstream cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) from a new cigarette that primarily heats tobacco (TOB-HT) was compared with that of CSC from a Kentucky reference low "tar" cigarette (1R4F) representative of the current US cigarette market, and Kentucky Reference 1R5F, representative of ultra-low "tar" cigarettes on the US market. TOB-HT was evaluated at concentrations which induced concentration-dependent positive responses with 1R4F and 1R5F in an in vitro toxicology test battery which included sister chromatid exchange, chromosome aberration, and neutral red cytotoxicity assays in CHO cells, and the Ames bacterial mutagenicity assay. CSC from 1R4F and 1R5F was positive in the Ames assay with Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA100, TA1538 and TA1537, and negative with TA1535, while CSC from TOB-HT was negative in all five strains. CSC from 1R4F and 1R5F cigarettes was positive in sister chromatid exchange (SCE), chromosome aberration (CA) and neutral red cytotoxicity assays, while CSC from the TOB-HT cigarette yielded negative results in all the above endpoints. These data indicate that in these assays the genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of CSC from the new cigarette that primarily heats tobacco is significantly less than CSC from Kentucky reference 1R4F and 1R5F cigarettes, which are representative of cigarettes currently sold in the US.

Histidine-proline-rich glycoprotein as a plasma pH sensor. Modulation of its interaction with glycosaminoglycans by ph and metals.

The middle domain of plasma histidine-proline-rich glycoprotein (HPRG) contains unusual tandem pentapeptide repeats (consensus G(H/P)(H/P)PH) and binds heparin and transition metals. Unlike other proteins that interact with heparin via lysine or arginine residues, HPRG relies exclusively on histidine residues for this interaction. To assess the consequences of this unusual requirement, we have studied the interaction between human plasma HPRG and immobilized glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) using resonant mirror biosensor techniques. HPRG binding to immobilized heparin was strikingly pH-sensitive, producing a titration curve with a midpoint at pH 6.8. There was little binding of HPRG to heparin at physiological pH in the absence of metals, but the interaction was promoted by nanomolar concentrations of free zinc and copper, and its pH dependence was shifted toward alkaline pH by zinc. The affinity of HPRG for various GAGs measured in a competition assay decreased in the following order: heparin > dermatan sulfate > heparan sulfate > chondroitin sulfate A. Binding of HPRG to immobilized dermatan sulfate had a midpoint at pH 6.5, was less influenced by zinc, and exhibited cooperativity. Importantly, plasminogen interacted specifically with GAG-bound HPRG. We propose that HPRG is a physiological pH sensor, interacting with negatively charged GAGs on cell surfaces only when it acquires a net positive charge by protonation and/or metal binding. This provides a mechanism to regulate the function of HPRG (the local pH) and rationalizes the role of its unique, conserved histidine-proline-rich domain. Thus, under conditions of local acidosis (e.g. ischemia or hypoxia), HPRG can co-immobilize plasminogen at the cell surface as well as compete for heparin with other proteins such as antithrombin.

Human responses to propionic acid. I. Quantification of within- and between-participant variation in perception by normosmics and anosmics.

The objective of this study was to fully characterize normosmic perception of stimuli expected to cause widely varying degrees of olfactory and nasal trigeminal stimulation and to directly evaluate the possible role of olfactory nerve stimulation in nasal irritation sensitivity. During each of four identical test sessions, four anosmic and 31 normosmic participants were presented with a range of concentrations extending from peri-threshold for normosmics to supra-threshold for anosmics. For each session, odor (O) and nasal irritation (NI) sensitivities were summarized in terms of the concentrations required to produce four sensation levels ('iso-response' concentrations). Within-participant variation in these iso-response concentrations was < 10-fold for 95% of normosmics, for both O and NI. For O but not NI, these apparent fluctuations in sensitivity were largely accounted for by the uncertainty surrounding the iso-response concentrations calculated for each session. Anosmics exhibited minimal within- and between-participant variation in NI and required, for all but the highest perceptual level, a higher concentration than almost all normosmics. Between-participant variation, expressed in terms of 90% confidence interval widths, was approximately 0.5 log units for both O and NI for the highest perceptual level, but increased to approximately 0.8 and 1.8 log units, respectively, for the lowest (peri-threshold) level. Our findings suggest that: (i) most apparent variation over time in O sensitivity is actually a reflection of the uncertainty surrounding estimates of sensitivity obtained for each session; (ii) within- and between-participant variation in O sensitivity is far less than is commonly reported; and (iii) low to moderate levels of NI in normosmics are the result of relatively weak trigeminal stimulation combined with much greater olfactory activation.

National incidence of smoking and misclassification among the U.S. married female population.

Because of a lack of representative data on smoking status misclassification among U.S. married females, a two-part study was conducted. Part I was conducted to obtain nationally representative estimates of the percentage of U.S. women who report themselves to be current, former, and never smokers, to determine the concordance of smoking habits among spouse pairs, and to establish field quotas and probability weightings for Part II. Part II was conducted to determine smoker misclassification rates using salivary cotinine as an indication of active smoking. Part I, conducted in January 25-29, 1992, utilized random-digit dialing telephone interviewing throughout the 48 contiguous United States. Part II, conducted from February 19, 1992 to March 7, 1992, was a mall-intercept study in nine geographically disperse U.S. cities and it involved interviewing and saliva collection. Among married U.S. women, 25% reported they were current smokers, 22% reported they were former smokers, and 53% reported they were never smokers. Using a cotinine concentration of either > 35 ng/ml or > 106 ng/ml to indicate regular smoking, 3.61% and 2.55% of regular smokers, respectively, reported themselves to be never smokers. The concordance ratio, an important parameter in correcting for non-differential misclassification bias, was found to be 5.52. In addition, an indication of substantial differential misclassification was found between exposed and unexposed populations. This type of misclassification bias has previously not been accounted for in the adjustment of epidemiology-based risk assessments of tobacco smoke exposure and lung cancer. Taken together, these data suggest that misclassification bias alone is likely to explain any lung cancer risk elevation observed in the U.S. epidemiology of environmental tobacco smoke exposure among nonsmoking women.

Correlation between hydrophobicity of short-chain aliphatic alcohols and their ability to alter plasma membrane integrity.

The quantitative relationship between chemical structure and biological activity has received considerable attention in the fields of pharmacology and drug development. More recently, quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) have been used for predicting chemical toxicity. It has been proposed that alcohols may elicit their toxic effects through hydrophobic interactions with the cellular membrane. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of hydrophobicity in the loss of membrane integrity following acute exposure to short-chain aliphatic alcohols in rat liver epithelial cells in vitro. The series of alcohols studied included methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol, 1-heptanol, 1-octanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, and 2-methyl-2-propanol. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay was used to quantify membrane integrity. The logarithm of the octanol/water partition coefficient (log P) was used to quantify hydrophobicity. LDH50 values, representing alcohol concentrations yielding a 50% increase in LDH release relative to untreated controls (i.e., mild disruption of membrane integrity), and EC50 values, representing alcohol concentrations yielding 50% of the maximal release of LDH (i.e., moderate disruption of LDH release), were experimentally determined for each alcohol. The LDH50 and EC50 values were then used to derive the QSAR relationship. The aqueous alcohol concentrations yielding LDH50 or EC50 values ranged from 8.9 x 10(-4) m (LDH50 for octanol) to 3.5 m (EC50 for methanol), and the log P of the alcohols ranged from -0.77 (methanol) to 3.00 (octanol). From these data, we have derived two QSAR equations describing the role of hydrophobicity in the release of LDH from rat liver epithelial cells following a 1-hr alcohol exposure. The QSAR equation for LDH50 values, log (1/LDH50) = 0.896 log P + 0.117 (n = 11, SD = 0.131), was nearly identical to the QSAR equation for EC50 values, log (1/EC50) = 0.893 log P + 0.101 (n = 11, SD = 0.133], suggesting that similar structure-activity relationships exist at both mild and moderate levels of membrane disruption. Our data indicate that an increase in LDH release was positively and linearly correlated with the hydrophobicity (r = 0.993). These data may help predict the potential biological effects of other, as yet untested, aliphatic alcohols and aliphatic alcohol-like compounds (e.g., anesthetics) on the plasma membrane.

Acceleration of plasminogen activation by tissue plasminogen activator on surface-bound histidine-proline-rich glycoprotein.

Histidine-proline-rich glycoprotein (HPRG), also known as histidine-rich glycoprotein, is a major plasminogen-binding protein. In this work we characterized extensively the circumstances under which HPRG accelerates plasminogen activation and the specificity of this effect. Soluble HPRG did not significantly influence plasminogen activation. In contrast, native HPRG bound to hydrazide or nickel chelate surfaces strongly stimulated the activation of plasminogen by tissue plasminogen activator, but not by urokinase or streptokinase. The efficiency of activation on surface-bound HPRG was increased for Glu-plasminogen (41-fold), Lys-plasminogen (17-fold), and cross-linked Glu-plasminogen (11-fold) but not for mini-plasminogen, and was mainly due to a decrease in the apparent Km. A reduced susceptibility to inhibition by chloride ions contributed to the higher activation rate of Glu-plasminogen on an HPRG surface. The immobilized N- and C-terminal domains, but not the histidine-proline-rich domain of HPRG, also bound plasminogen and stimulated its activation. HPRG-enhanced plasminogen activation was proportional to the quantity of HPRG immobilized and was abolished by anti-HPRG antiserum, by low concentrations of epsilon-aminocaproic acid, by methylation of lysine residues in HPRG, and by treatment of HPRG with carboxypeptidase B. Soluble HPRG and a plasminogen fragment, kringle 1-2-3, acted as competitive inhibitors by binding to plasminogen and immobilized HPRG, respectively. The interaction of the conserved C-terminal lysine of HPRG with the high affinity lysine binding site of plasminogen is necessary and sufficient to accelerate plasminogen activation. Unlike other stimulators of plasminogen activation, the effect of HPRG on fibrinolysis is modulated by factors that influence the equilibrium between solution and surface-bound HPRG.

Role of hemopexin in protection of low-density lipoprotein against hemoglobin-induced oxidation.

Globin-free hemin and certain hemoproteins, predominantly hemoglobin, are active triggers of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) peroxidation, a contributing cause of atherosclerosis. The role of the plasma heme-binding protein, hemopexin, in protecting apolipoprotein B and LDL lipids from oxidation triggered by either hemin or hemoglobin in the presence of low amounts of H2O2, was investigated at physiological pH and temperature. Significantly, hemopexin prevented not only hemin-mediated modification of LDL but also LDL peroxidation induced by hemoglobin, both by met and oxy forms. Analysis of the data revealed that the rate of heme transfer from methemoglobin to hemopexin was highly dependent upon temperature: only minimal heme transfer occurred at 20 degrees C, whereas at the physiological temperature of 37 degrees C, heme transfer was rapid, within the lag phase of LDL oxidation, regardless of the presence or absence of H2O2. Heme did transfer to hemopexin from oxyhemoglobin as well, but only in the presence of H2O2. The proposed mechanism of the inhibition of oxyhemoglobin oxidative reactivity by hemopexin involves peroxidation of oxyhemoglobin (Fe(II)) to ferrylhemoglobin (FeIV), followed by a comproportionation reaction (FeIV+FeII-->2FeIII), yielding methemoglobin (FeIII) from which heme is readily transferred to hemopexin. Taken together, the data demonstrate that hemopexin can act as an extracellular antioxidant against hemoglobin-mediated damage in inflammatory states, which is especially important when haptoglobin is depleted or absent.

Human urine mutagenicity study comparing cigarettes which burn or primarily heat tobacco.

Cigarette smokers have been reported to void urine which is more mutagenic, as measured in the Ames assay, than urine voided by non-smokers. Condensate from the mainstream smoke of a cigarette which primarily heats tobacco (test cigarette) has shown significantly reduced mutagenicity in a battery of in vitro genotoxicity assays compared with tobacco-burning cigarettes. The objective of this study was to determine whether the reduction in mutagenic activity observed in the in vitro assays would be reflected in the urine of smokers of the test cigarette. Twenty smokers were enrolled in a 4-week crossover study, with each smoker consuming test cigarettes ad libitum for a week and their usual brand of tobacco-burning cigarettes the other 3 weeks. Diet was strictly controlled throughout the study, and broiled and pan-fried meat was not served to minimize ingestion of mutagenic protein pyrolysis products. There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.06) in consumption of tobacco-heating and tobacco-burning cigarettes. There were no statistically significant differences (p = 0.22) in salivary cotinine concentrations for smokers when smoking either tobacco-burning or tobacco-heating cigarettes. Urinary nicotine (ng/mg creatinine) was not different (p = 0.31) for smokers when smoking either tobacco-burning or tobacco-heating cigarettes. Urinary cotinine (ng/mg creatinine) was 32% lower (p = 0.0004) when smoking tobacco-heating cigarettes as compared with smoking tobacco-burning cigarettes. Twenty-four-hour urine samples were collected twice weekly, concentrated using XAD-2 resin and tested in Ames strains TA98 and YG1024 with metabolic activation. Tobacco-burning cigarette smokers experienced a 79% reduction in urinary mutagenicity as measured in strain YG1024 and a 72% reduction as measured in strain TA98 during the week that they smoked the tobacco-heating cigarette while maintaining a fixed dietary regimen. The results of this study indicate that smokers of tobacco-heating cigarettes void urine which is significantly less mutagenic than urine voided by smokers of tobacco-burning cigarettes.