Systematic in vitro assessment of responses of roGFP2-based probes to physiologically relevant oxidant species.

The genetically encoded probes roGFP2-Orp1 and Grx1-roGFP2 have been designed to be selectively oxidized by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG), respectively. Both probes have demonstrated such selectivity in a broad variety of systems and conditions. In this study, we systematically compared the in vitro response of roGFP2, roGFP2-Orp1 and Grx1-roGFP2 to increasing amounts of various oxidant species that may also occur in biological settings. We conclude that the previously established oxidant selectivity is highly robust and likely to be maintained under most physiological conditions. Yet, we also find that hypochlorous acid, known to be produced in the phagocyte respiratory burst, can lead to non-selective oxidation of roGFP2-based probes at concentrations ≥2µM, in vitro. Further, we confirm that polysulfides trigger direct roGFP2 responses. A side-by-side comparison of all three probes can be used to reveal micromolar amounts of hypochlorous acid or polysulfides.

Simultaneous quantitation of oxidized and reduced glutathione via LC-MS/MS: An insight into the redox state of hematopoietic stem cells.

Cellular redox balance plays a significant role in the regulation of hematopoietic stem-progenitor cell (HSC/MPP) self-renewal and differentiation. Unregulated changes in cellular redox homeostasis are associated with the onset of most hematological disorders. However, accurate measurement of the redox state in stem cells is difficult because of the scarcity of HSC/MPPs. Glutathione (GSH) constitutes the most abundant pool of cellular antioxidants. Thus, GSH metabolism may play a critical role in hematological disease onset and progression. A major limitation to studying GSH metabolism in HSC/MPPs has been the inability to measure quantitatively GSH concentrations in small numbers of HSC/MPPs. Current methods used to measure GSH levels not only rely on large numbers of cells, but also rely on the chemical/structural modification or enzymatic recycling of GSH and therefore are likely to measure only total glutathione content accurately. Here, we describe the validation of a sensitive method used for the direct and simultaneous quantitation of both oxidized and reduced GSH via liquid chromatography followed by tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in HSC/MPPs isolated from bone marrow. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was determined to be 5.0ng/mL for GSH and 1.0ng/mL for GSSG with lower limits of detection at 0.5ng/mL for both glutathione species. Standard addition analysis utilizing mouse bone marrow shows that this method is both sensitive and accurate with reproducible analyte recovery. This method combines a simple extraction with a platform for the high-throughput analysis, allows for efficient determination of GSH/GSSG concentrations within the HSC/MPP populations in mouse, chemotherapeutic treatment conditions within cell culture, and human normal/leukemia patient samples. The data implicate the importance of the modulation of GSH/GSSG redox couple in stem cells related diseases.

Ultrasensitive and selective assay of glutathione species in arsenic trioxide-treated leukemia HL-60 cell line by molecularly imprinted polymer decorated electrochemical sensors.

Herein a pair of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) modified electrochemical sensors were reported to detect glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) in arsenic trioxide-treated HL-60 cells. MIP film was in situ synthesized onto electrode surface via electro-polymerization in a facile way. The characteristics of the obtained sensors were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Both GSH-MIP and GSSG-MIP sensors exhibit the relatively wide linear detection range and low detection limit of 1.33 × 10(-10) M (S/N=3). It is found that N-acetylcysteine and DL-homocysteine, the precursors of GSH, show little influence on the detection of glutathione species, nor did the reactants of arsenite and GSH. Such strategies were successfully applied to discriminate GSH and GSSG in cell samples with acceptable recoveries of 92.0-109.1%, and the results are comparable with classic o-phthalaldehyde fluorospectrophotometry. Moreover, the presented sensors allow for easy disclosure of the reversion of malignant phenotype in leukemia cells via glutathione species analysis.

Capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometric detection for separation of S-nitrosoglutathione and its decomposition products: a deeper insight into the decomposition pathways.

S-Nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) is a very important biomolecule that has crucial functions in many physiological and physiopathological processes. GSNO acts as NO donor and is a candidate for future medicines. This work describes, for the first time, the separation and the detection of GSNO and its decomposition products using capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE-MS). The separation was performed in slightly alkaline medium (pH 8.5) under positive-ionization MS detection. The identification of three byproducts of GSNO was formally performed for the first time: oxidized glutathione (GSSG), glutathione sulfinic acid (GSO2H), and glutathione sulfonic acid (GSO3H). GSO2H and GSO3H are known to have important biological activity, including inhibition of the glutathione transferase family of enzymes which are responsible for the elimination of many mutagenic, carcinogenic, and pharmacologically active molecules. We observed, after the ageing of GSNO in the solid state, that the proportion of both GSSG and GSO3H increases whereas that of GSO2H decreases. These results enabled us to propose an oxidation scheme explaining the formation of such products.

Accurate quantification of the redox-sensitive GSH/GSSG ratios in the yeast Pichia pastoris by HILIC-MS/MS.

A novel method for the simultaneous quantification of both glutathione (GSH) and its oxidized form glutathione disulfide (GSSG) by hydrophilic interaction chromatography-MS/MS has been developed and is critically discussed. Internal standardization based on isotopically labeled standards for both analytes is an absolute prerequisite for accurate quantification of this redox pair. Hence, a highly efficient and selective miniaturized procedure for the synthesis of isotopically labeled GSSG from commercially available glutathione-(glycine-(13)C(2),(15)N) was established using H(2)O(2) as oxidant and NaI as catalyst. Moreover, a tool is presented to monitor and hence uncover artifactual GSSG formation due to oxidation of GSH during sample preparation, which is the main source of systematic error in GSSG analysis. For this purpose, we propose to monitor the oxidation product formed by reaction of naturally occurring GSH with the isotopically labeled GSH used as internal standard. For the determination of GSH/GSSG ratios in yeast, different extraction methods based on (1) hot extraction with aqueous, acidic, or organic solvents, (2) mechanical cell lysis, and (3) extraction at subambient temperature were investigated in terms of recovery, extraction efficiency, and artifactual formation of GSSG. Total combined uncertainties of as low as 25-30 % (coverage factor=2) for the determination of GSH/GSSG ratios without derivatization were made possible by the addition of the internal standards early in the analytical procedure (before extraction) and immediate analysis of the analytes.

Methods for the determination of plasma or tissue glutathione levels.

We present two different methods for determining levels of glutathione in complex biological samples and plasma. The DTNB/GR enzyme recycling method is sensitive and requires no specialized equipment. The HPLC method is particularly useful for situations in which sample amounts are limited. Detailed instructions for performing each method as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed in this chapter.

Simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid, aminothiols, and methionine in biological matrices using ion-pairing RP-HPLC coupled with electrochemical detector.

A novel highly sensitive ion-pairing reversed-phase high performance liquid-chromatography/electrochemical detection method for simultaneous determination of l-ascorbic acid, aminothiols, and methionine in biological matrices was developed, optimized, and validated. Reduced forms of the analytes were extracted from the sample matrices with 10% meta-phosphoric acid solution((aqueous)). To determine the total vitamin C, the total aminothiols, and the total methionine, samples were treated with tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine solution in 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid solution((aqueous)) subsequent to deproteination to reduce the oxidized forms of these compounds. Various analytes were separated on a C(18) (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) analytical column using methanol-0.05% trifluoroacetic acid solution((aqueous)) (05/95, v/v), containing 0.1mM 1-octane sulphonic acid as the ion-pairing agent) as the isocratic mobile phase pumped at a flow rate of 1.5 mL min(-1) at room temperature. The column eluents were monitored at a voltage of 0.85 V. These analytes were efficiently resolved in less than 20 min using n-acetyl cysteine as the internal standard. The present method was specific for the analysis of these analytes and demonstrated acceptable values for linearity (r(2)>0.999 in the range of 0.2-10,000 ng mL(-1) for all the analytes), recovery (>96%), precision (%RSD ≤ 2.0), and sensitivity (on column limit of detection: 250-400 fg and limit of quantification: 0.8-1.25 pg), indicating that the proposed method could be efficiently used for determination of these analytes in the context of clinical research.

Determination of total glutathione in yeasts by high-performance liquid chromatography with dansylation.

A method to determine the content of total glutathione (GSHt) was introduced based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with dansylation. The minimum detection concentration of GSHt was 0.5 microg/mL and the measurable range 1.0-300 microg/mL. GSHt in yeasts was obtained by hot-water extraction, GSH complete autoxidation to oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in alkaline solution and purification by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The quantitative determination of GSSG was derived by dansyl chloride at pH 9.5, 60 degrees C for 60 min and assayed by HPLC. GSHt in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is higher than in Candida rugosa and Candida utilis. S. cerevisiae can be chosen as the better target for mutagenesis and industrial scale.

On-column preconcentration of glutathione and glutathione disulfide using pH-mediated base stacking for the analysis of microdialysis samples by capillary electrophoresis.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has become a useful analytical tool for the analysis of microdialysis samples. However, CE with UV detection (CE-UV) does not provide detection limits sufficient to quantify glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) in biological samples such as liver microdialysates, because of the small optical path length in the capillary. To overcome this limitation, an on-column preconcentration technique, pH-mediated base stacking, was used in this study to improve the sensitivity of CE-UV. This stacking technique allowed large volumes of high ionic strength sample injection without deterioration of the separation efficiency and resolution. A 26-fold increase in sensitivity was achieved for both GSH and GSSG using the pH-mediated base stacking, relative to normal injection without stacking. The limit of detection for GSH and GSSG was found to be 0.75 microM (S/N=6) and 0.25 microM (S/N=6), respectively. The developed method was used to analyze GSH and GSSG in liver microdialysates of anesthetized Sprague Dawley male rats. The basal concentrations of GSH and GSSG in the liver microdialysates of male rats were found to be 4.73+/-2.08 microM (n=7) and 5.52+/-3.66 microM (n=7), respectively.

Capillary electrophoresis of glutathione to monitor oxidative stress and response to antioxidant treatments in an animal model.

Glutathione plays a central role in metabolism and antioxidant defence. Several factors can influence the analytical efficiency and rapidity of the quantitative determination of glutathione. Procedures in sample pre-treatment have been compared in order to minimize analytical errors. Capillary electrophoresis has been chosen as a more adequate technique for obtaining a rapid and simple method for glutathione and glutathione disulfide determination in the blood and liver of the rat. The methods, once optimised, have been validated and applied for monitoring the oxidative stress in an animal model, such as the rat made diabetic by streptozotocin injection, when the animals are treated with antioxidants and compared with the corresponding controls.

Ultrarapid capillary electrophoresis method for the determination of reduced and oxidized glutathione in red blood cells.

We describe a very rapid high-performance capillary electrophoresis method for the separation and quantification of reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione in red blood cells. Two procedures for sample preparation have been compared, Microcon-10 membrane filtration and acid precipitation. The separation is obtained in an uncoated capillary using a high ionic strength borate buffer at pH 7.8. The intra-assay coefficients of variation (CVs%) are 1.53 and 1.66 for GSH and GSSG, respectively. The run is shorter than 90 s and the migration time is highly reproducible both for GSH (CV% 0.22) and GSSG (CV% 0.17). When the filtration step is used only GSH is found, whereas both GSH and GSSG are detectable after acid precipitation, suggesting that GSSG revealed after acid treatment may be an artefact due to GSH oxidation. Because of its good analytical performance this method could be used for routine red blood cell glutathione measurement in healthy or pathological conditions.