Drugs modulating the biological effects of peroxynitrite and related nitrogen species

Effect of potential therapeutic agents in reducing oxidative stress in pulmonary tissues of recurrent airway obstruction-affected and clinically healthy horses

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY

To determine and compare the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) in pulmonary tissues of horses affected with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) and clinically healthy horses, and to evaluate the effectiveness of potential therapeutic agents in reducing ROS and RNS in the tissues of these horses.

OBJECTIVES

We hypothesised that RAO-affected horses would have high levels of reactive species and that the test agents would reduce them. The objectives were as follows: 1) to determine the level of ROS and RNS in pulmonary tissues (bronchial and arterial rings) of RAO-affected and clinically healthy horses; and 2) to determine the ability of pentoxifylline, pyrrolidine-dithiocarbamate and a combined use of endothelin A and B receptor antagonists (BQ123 and BQ788, respectively) in reducing reactive species.

METHODS

Arterial and bronchial rings were collected from the diaphragmatic lung lobe of each horse immediately after euthanasia. The levels of ROS and RNS were measured in control tissues and those incubated with test agents, using an electron paramagnetic resonance instrument.

RESULTS

The levels of ROS and RNS were significantly greater in arterial and bronchial tissues of RAO-affected than of clinically healthy horses. Pentoxifylline and endothelin antagonists reduced both ROS and RNS in tissues from RAO-affected horses. Basal levels of reactive species in clinically healthy horses were not affected by these agents. No difference in the level of reactive species was observed between arterial and bronchial tissues.

CONCLUSIONS

Horses affected by RAO had higher ROS and RNS than clinically healthy horses. Pentoxifylline and endothelin antagonists effectively reduced ROS and RNS in pulmonary tissues of RAO-affected horses.

POTENTIAL RELEVANCE

The study suggested a potential use for pentoxifylline and endothelin antagonists in treating RAO-affected horses. As endothelin is involved in physiological functions, therapeutic use of its antagonists is cautioned.

Peroxynitrite has potent pulmonary vasodilator activity in the rat

Peroxynitrite (PN) worsens pathological conditions associated with oxidative stress. However, beneficial effects have also been reported. PN has been shown to demonstrate vasodilator as well as vasoconstrictor properties that are dependent upon the experimental conditions and the vascular bed studied. PN-induced vascular smooth muscle relaxation may involve the formation of nitric oxide (NO) donors. The present results show that PN has significant vasodilator activity in the pulmonary and systemic vascular beds, and that responses to PN were not attenuated by L-penicillamine (L-PEN), a PN scavenger, whereas responses to sodium nitroprusside (SNP) were decreased. PN had a small inhibitory effect on decreases in arterial pressure in response to the NO donors diethylammonium (Z)-1-(N,N-diethylamino)diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate (DEA/NO) and S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). PN partially reversed hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. PN responses were attenuated by the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) inhibitor, 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ) and responses to PN and the PN precursor, 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), were different. These data show that PN has potent pulmonary vasodilator activity in the rat, and provide evidence that a PN interaction with S-nitrosothiols is not the major mechanism mediating the response. These data suggest that responses to PN are mediated by the activation of sGC, and that PN has a small inhibitory effect on NO responses.

Redox balance in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common liver disease in the world. It encompasses a histological spectrum, ranging from simple, nonprogressive steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which may progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. While liver-related complications are confined to NASH, emerging evidence suggests both simple steatosis and NASH predispose to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The pathogenesis of NAFLD is currently unknown, but accumulating data suggest that oxidative stress and altered redox balance play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of steatosis, steatohepatitis, and fibrosis. We will examine intracellular mechanisms, including mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired oxidative free fatty acid metabolism, leading to reactive oxygen species generation; additionally, the potential pathogenetic role of extracellular sources of reactive oxygen species in NAFLD, including increased myeloperoxidase activity and oxidized low density lipoprotein accumulation, will be reviewed. We will discuss how these mechanisms converge to determine the whole pathophysiological spectrum of NAFLD, including hepatocyte triglyceride accumulation, hepatocyte apoptosis, hepatic inflammation, hepatic stellate cell activation, and fibrogenesis. Finally, available animal and human data on treatment opportunities with older and newer antioxidant will be presented.

Importance of phenols structure on their activity as antinitrosating agents: A kinetic study

Objective:

Nitrosative deamination of DNA bases induced by reaction with reactive nitrogen species (RNS) has been pointed out as a probable cause of mutagenesis. (Poly)phenols, present in many food items from the Mediterranean diet, are believed to possess antinitrosating properties due to their RNS scavenging ability, which seems to be related to their structure. It has been suggested that phenolic compounds will react with the above-mentioned species more rapidly than most amino compounds, thus preventing direct nitrosation of the DNA bases and their transnitrosation from endogenous N-nitroso compounds, or most likely from the transient N-nitrosocompounds formed in vivo.

Materials and Methods:

In order to prove that assumption, a kinetic study of the nitroso group transfer from a N-methyl-N-nitrosobenzenesulfonamide (N-methyl-N-nitroso-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide, MeNMBS) to the DNA bases bearing an amine group and to a series of phenols was carried out. In the transnitrosation of phenols, the formation of nitrosophenol was monitored by Ultraviolet (UV) / Visible spectroscopy, and in the reactions of the DNA bases, the consumption of MeNMBS was followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Results:

The results obtained point to the transnitrosation of DNA bases being negligible, as well as that of phenols bearing electron-withdrawing groups. Phenols with methoxy substituents in positions 2, 4, and / or 6, although they seemed to react, did not afford the expected product. Phenols with electron-releasing substituents, unless these blocked the oxygen atom, reacted with our model compound at an appreciable rate. O-nitrosation of the phenolate ion followed by rearrangement of the C-nitrosophenol seemed to be involved.

Conclusion:

This study provided evidence that the above compounds might actually act as antinitrosating agents in vivo.

Peroxynitrite and nitrosoperoxycarbonate, a tightly connected oxidizing-nitrating couple in the reactive nitrogen-oxygen species family: new perspectives for protection from radical-promoted injury by flavonoids

Peroxynitrite is the product of the reaction of nitric oxide with superoxide radical and is implicated in the pathogenesis of a wide variety of human diseases, being responsible for in-vivo oxidation/nitration events. Nitrosoperoxycarbonate anion, formed by the interaction of peroxynitrite with CO2/bicarbonate at physiological concentrations, provides a new interpretation of oxidative/nitrative processes formerly attributed to peroxynitrite. The aim of this review is to summarize the chemistry and biology of peroxynitrite and radical species related to nitrosoperoxycarbonate anion, as well as the information available regarding the molecular mechanisms that determine and regulate radical-promoted injury by the two tightly connected species at physiological concentrations. Interception of carbonate and nitro radicals produced by interaction of peroxynitrite with CO2/bicarbonate, as in-vivo prevention of pathological events, creates new perspectives for the evaluation of safe scavengers of oxidative/nitrative stress at the physiological level. In this respect, natural products such as flavonoids hold a preeminent position among the vast array of compounds endowed with such properties.

Metallocorroles as cytoprotective agents against oxidative and nitrative stress in cellular models of neurodegeneration

Water-soluble iron, and manganese(III) complexes of corroles and porphyrins were examined with regard to their neuroprotective/neurorescue activities by using various neuronal cytotoxic models of oxidative and nitrative stress. The present study demonstrates that the metallocorroles significantly protect human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y and mouse motor neuron-neuroblastoma fusion NSC-34 cell lines against neurotoxicity induced by either the peroxynitrite donor 3-morpholinosydnonimine or the parkinsonism-related neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine. The neuronal survival effect is further reflected by the prevention of 3-morpholinosydnonimine-induced protein nitration, inhibition of caspase 3 activation, as well as attenuation of 6-hydroxydopamine-mediated decrease in growth associated protein-43 levels. The iron(III) corrole, but not manganese (III) corrole, also significantly promotes neuronal survival of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-impaired SH-SY5Y and NSC-34 cells. A substantial superiority of the metallocorroles relative to the corresponding porphyrin complexes is revealed in all examined aspects. These results highlight the large potential of corrole complexes as novel agents for therapeutic approaches in degenerative disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems, where oxidative and nitrative stresses are involved.

Peroxynitrite scavenging by ferryl sperm whale myoglobin and human hemoglobin

Globins protect from the oxidative and nitrosative cell damage. Here, kinetics of peroxynitrite scavenging by ferryl sperm whale myoglobin (MbFe(IV)O) and human hemoglobin (HbFe(IV)O), between pH 5.8 and 8.3 at 20.0 degrees C, are reported. In the absence of CO(2), values of the second-order rate constant for peroxynitrite scavenging by MbFe(IV)O and HbFe(IV)O (i.e., for MbFe(III) and HbFe(III) formation; k(on)) are 4.6 x 10(4)M(-1)s(-1) and 3.3 x 10(4)M(-1)s(-1), respectively, at pH 7.1. Values of k(on) increase on decreasing pH with pK(a) values of 6.9 and 6.7, this suggests that the ONOOH species reacts preferentially with MbFe(IV)O and HbFe(IV)O. In the presence of CO(2) (=1.2 x 10(-3)M), values of k(on) for peroxynitrite scavenging by MbFe(IV)O and HbFe(IV)O are essentially pH-independent, the average k(on) values are 7.1 x 10(4)M(-1)s(-1) and 1.2 x 10(5)M(-1)s(-1), respectively. As a whole, MbFe(IV)O and HbFe(IV)O, obtained by treatment with H(2)O(2), undertake within the same cycle H(2)O(2) and peroxynitrite detoxification.

Oxidative stress and excitotoxicity: a therapeutic issue in multiple sclerosis?

There is increasing evidence that multiple sclerosis (MS) is not only characterized by immune mediated inflammatory reactions but also by neurodegenerative processes. In neurodegenerative diseases, neuronal and axonal loss is mediated by oxidative stress and excitotoxicity which constitute a final common toxic pathway. Importantly, peroxynitrite is the key mediator of those two intertwined pathomechanisms. In MS, peroxynitrite is consistently associated with active lesions and produces highly toxic nitrating and oxidizing radical species that alter lipid, protein, DNA and mitochondrial structures and functions. During the remitting phase, peroxynitrite participates to neuron and oligodendrocyte damage in association with inflammatory processes. During the chronic phase, peroxynitrite contributes to self-perpetuating mechanisms responsible for disease progression. Neutralization of oxidative stress and excitotoxicity, and in particular of peroxynitrite derived free radicals, might represent a therapeutic approach to provide neuroprotection in MS.

Lung ischemia-reperfusion injury: implications of oxidative stress and platelet-arteriolar wall interactions

Pulmonary ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury may result from trauma, atherosclerosis, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary thrombosis and surgical procedures such as cardiopulmonary bypass and lung transplantation. IR injury induces oxidative stress characterized by formation of reactive oxygen (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Nitric oxide (NO) overproduction via inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is an important component in the pathogenesis of IR. Reaction of NO with ROS forms RNS as secondary reactive products, which cause platelet activation and upregulation of adhesion molecules. This mechanism of injury is particularly important during pulmonary IR with increased iNOS activity in the presence of oxidative stress. Platelet-endothelial interactions may play an important role in causing pulmonary arteriolar vasoconstriction and post-ischemic alveolar hypoperfusion. This review discusses the relationship between ROS, RNS, P-selectin, and platelet-arteriolar wall interactions and proposes a hypothesis for their role in microvascular responses during pulmonary IR.

Peroxynitrite diminishes myogenic tone in cerebral arteries: role of nitrotyrosine and F-actin

This study investigated the effect of peroxynitrite (OONO(-))-induced nitrosylation of filamentous (F)-actin on myogenic tone in isolated and pressurized posterior cerebral arteries (PCAs). Immunohistochemical staining was used to determine 3-nitrotyrosine (NT) and F-actin content in vascular smooth muscle after exposure to 10(-7) M or 10(-4) M OONO(-) for 5 or 60 min in isolated third-order PCAs (n = 37) from male Wistar rats pressurized to 75 mmHg in an arteriograph chamber, quantified with confocal microscopy. Additionally, the role of K(+) channels in OONO(-)-induced dilation was investigated with 3 microM glibenclamide or 10 mM tetraethylammonium chloride before OONO(-) exposure. OONO(-) (10(-4) M) induced a 40% dilation of tone (P < 0.05) while diminishing F-actin content by half (P < 0.05) and causing a 60-fold increase in NT (P < 0.05) in the vascular smooth muscle of PCAs. Additionally, F-actin was inversely correlated with both diameter and NT content (P < 0.05) and was significantly colocalized in the vascular smooth muscle with NT (overlap coefficient = 0.8). The dilation to ONOO(-) was independent of K(+) channel activity and thiol oxidation as glibenclamide, tetraethylammonium chloride, and dithiothreitol had no effect on OONO(-)-induced dilation or F-actin or NT content in PCAs. Because NT was colocalized with F-actin, we hypothesize that OONO(-) induces nitrosylation of F-actin in vascular smooth muscle leading to depolymerization and the subsequent loss of myogenic tone, which may promote vascular damage during oxidative stress such as in ischemia and reperfusion injury.