Development of photo-controllable hydrogen sulfide donor applicable in live cells.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has multiple physiological roles, for example, in vasodilation and inflammation. It is a highly reactive gas under ambient conditions, so controllable H2S donors are required for studying its biological functions. Here, we describe the design, synthesis and application of a H2S donor (SPD-2) that utilizes xanthone photochemistry to control H2S release. H2S generation from SPD-2 was completely dependent on UVA-irradiation (325-385nm), as confirmed by methylene blue assay and by the use of a H2S-selective fluorescent probe. SPD-2 was confirmed to provide controlled H2S delivery in live cells, and should be suitable for various biological applications.

Primary hepatocytes from mice lacking cysteine dioxygenase show increased cysteine concentrations and higher rates of metabolism of cysteine to hydrogen sulfide and thiosulfate.

The oxidation of cysteine in mammalian cells occurs by two routes: a highly regulated direct oxidation pathway in which the first step is catalyzed by cysteine dioxygenase (CDO) and by desulfhydration-oxidation pathways in which the sulfur is released in a reduced oxidation state. To assess the effect of a lack of CDO on production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and thiosulfate (an intermediate in the oxidation of H2S to sulfate) and to explore the roles of both cystathionine γ-lyase (CTH) and cystathionine ß-synthase (CBS) in cysteine desulfhydration by liver, we investigated the metabolism of cysteine in hepatocytes isolated from Cdo1-null and wild-type mice. Hepatocytes from Cdo1-null mice produced more H2S and thiosulfate than did hepatocytes from wild-type mice. The greater flux of cysteine through the cysteine desulfhydration reactions catalyzed by CTH and CBS in hepatocytes from Cdo1-null mice appeared to be the consequence of their higher cysteine levels, which were due to the lack of CDO and hence lack of catabolism of cysteine by the cysteinesulfinate-dependent pathways. Both CBS and CTH appeared to contribute substantially to cysteine desulfhydration, with estimates of 56 % by CBS and 44 % by CTH in hepatocytes from wild-type mice, and 63 % by CBS and 37 % by CTH in hepatocytes from Cdo1-null mice.

Development of a highly selective fluorescence probe for hydrogen sulfide.

Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) has recently been identified as a biological response modifier. Here, we report the design and synthesis of a novel fluorescence probe for H(2)S, HSip-1, utilizing azamacrocyclic copper(II) ion complex chemistry to control the fluorescence. HSip-1 showed high selectivity and high sensitivity for H(2)S, and its potential for biological applications was confirmed by employing it for fluorescence imaging of H(2)S in live cells.

Discovery and Mechanistic Characterization of Selective Inhibitors of H2S-producing Enzyme: 3-Mercaptopyruvate Sulfurtransferase (3MST) Targeting Active-site Cysteine Persulfide.

Very recent studies indicate that sulfur atoms with oxidation state 0 or -1, called sulfane sulfurs, are the actual mediators of some physiological processes previously considered to be regulated by hydrogen sulfide (H2S). 3-Mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3MST), one of three H2S-producing enzymes, was also recently shown to produce sulfane sulfur (H2Sn). Here, we report the discovery of several potent 3MST inhibitors by means of high-throughput screening (HTS) of a large chemical library (174,118 compounds) with our H2S-selective fluorescent probe, HSip-1. Most of the identified inhibitors had similar aromatic ring-carbonyl-S-pyrimidone structures. Among them, compound 3 showed very high selectivity for 3MST over other H2S/sulfane sulfur-producing enzymes and rhodanese. The X-ray crystal structures of 3MST complexes with two of the inhibitors revealed that their target is a persulfurated cysteine residue located in the active site of 3MST. Precise theoretical calculations indicated the presence of a strong long-range electrostatic interaction between the persulfur anion of the persulfurated cysteine residue and the positively charged carbonyl carbon of the pyrimidone moiety of the inhibitor. Our results also provide the experimental support for the idea that the 3MST-catalyzed reaction with 3-mercaptopyruvate proceeds via a ping-pong mechanism.

Synthesis of a photocontrollable hydrogen sulfide donor using ketoprofenate photocages.

We report the design, synthesis and application of a directly photocontrollable hydrogen sulfide (H2S) donor, which releases H2S proportionally to the intensity and duration of photoirradiation. Photocontrolled H2S release from this donor was also demonstrated in bovine serum. This H2S donor should be suitable for use in various biological systems.

Cytoprotective effects of hydrogen sulfide-releasing N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists are mediated by intracellular sulfane sulfur.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) exerts a host of biological effects ranging from cytotoxicity to cytoprotection. Cytotoxicity of H2S in neurodegenerative diseases may be mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activation. To exploit cytoprotective effects of H2S while minimizing its toxicity, we synthesized a series of H2S-releasing NMDAR antagonists and examined their effects against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+)-induced cell death, a cellular model of Parkinson's disease. We observed that cytoprotective effect of H2S-releasing NMDAR antagonists correlated with their ability to increase intracellular sulfane sulfur, but not H2S, levels. These studies suggest that H2S-donor compounds that increase intracellular sulfane sulfur are potentially useful neuroprotective agents against neurodegenerative diseases.

Development of luciferin analogues bearing an amino group and their application as BRET donors.

We systematically synthesized bioluminogenic substrates bearing an amino group on benzothiazole, quinoline, naphthalene, and coumarin scaffolds. They emit bioluminescence in various colors: red, orange, yellow, and green. An amino-substituted coumarylluciferin derivative, coumarylaminoluciferin (CAL), showed the shortest bioluminescence wavelength among substrates reported so far. Further, the fluorescence of CAL did not exhibit solvatochromism, which suggests that its bioluminescence is not susceptible to environmental factors. We applied CAL as an energy-donor substrate for a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) system with click beetle red luciferase (CBRluc), a mutant of firefly luciferase, as the energy-donor enzyme and yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) as the energy-acceptor fluorophore, and obtained a clearly bimodal bioluminescence spectrum. Stable bioluminescence that is not influenced by environmental factors is highly desirable for reliable measurements in biological assays.