Reversible inhibition of ovine ceruloplasmin by thiomolybdates

Dietary starch concentration alters reticular pH, hepatic copper concentration, and performance in lactating Holstein-Friesian dairy cows receiving added dietary sulfur and molybdenum

To test the hypothesis that Cu metabolism in dairy cows is affected by dietary starch concentration and additional sulfur S and Mo, 60 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows that were [mean ± standard error (SE)] 33 ± 2.5 days postcalving and yielding 41 ± 0.9 kg of milk/d were fed 1 of 4 diets in a 2 × 2 factorial design experiment over a 14-wk period. The 4 diets had a Cu concentration of approximately 15 mg/kg of dry matter (DM), a grass silage-to-corn silage ratio of 1:1, a dietary starch concentration of either 150 g/kg of DM (low starch, LS) or 220 g/kg of DM (high starch, HS), and were either unsupplemented (-) or supplemented (+) with an additional 0.8 g of S/kg of DM and 4.4 mg of Mo/kg of DM. We found an effect of dietary starch concentration on mean reticular pH, which was 0.15 pH units lower in cows fed the high starch diets. The addition of S and Mo decreased intake by 1.8 kg of DM/d, an effect that was evident beginning in wk 1 of the study. Mean milk and fat yields were 37.0 and 1.51 kg/d, respectively, and were not affected by dietary treatment. We found an effect of dietary starch concentration on milk protein concentration, protein yield, and urea nitrogen, which were increased by 2.8 g/kg, 0.09 kg/d, and 2.1 mg/dL, respectively, in cows fed the high starch diets. We found no effect of dietary treatment on either cow live weight or body condition. Mean plasma Cu, Fe, and Zn concentrations were 15.3, 42.1, and 14.4 µmol/L, respectively, and were not affected by dietary treatment. In contrast, we found an interaction between dietary starch concentration and Cu antagonists on plasma Mo, where feeding additional S and Mo increased plasma Mo to a greater extent when cows were offered the high versus low starch diet. We also found that increasing dietary starch concentration increased serum ceruloplasmin activity, but serum haptoglobin concentration was not affected by dietary treatment. The addition of S and Mo decreased hepatic Cu concentration, whereas in cows fed the higher dietary starch concentration, hepatic Cu concentration was increased over the period of our study. We concluded that increasing dietary starch concentration decreases rumen pH and increases milk protein yield and hepatic Cu concentration, whereas feeding additional S and Mo decreases intake and hepatic Cu concentration.

The effects of tetrathiomolybdate (TTM, NSC-714598) and copper supplementation on fertility and early embryonic development in rats

Based on its ability to chelate copper, TTM is being studied as an antiangiogenic agent for cancer therapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of TTM and the protection of copper supplementation on the reproductive capability of male and female CD rats. Doses of 0, 1, 4, and 12 mg/kg/day with copper supplementation (110 mg/kg of diet) were given by gavage. There were no effects on the estrous cycle or reproductive indices, or maternal toxicity in any female dose group. Male rats given 12 mg/kg/day showed significant decreases in body weight gains and food consumption, and anemia. Serum ceruloplasmin levels were dose-dependently decreased in all male dose groups. Reduced epididymal weights, sperm counts, and sperm motility, sperm morphologic abnormalities and histopathologic changes in testis and epididymis occurred only at 12 mg/kg/day. Dietary copper supplementation prevented the adverse sperm effects produced by 12 mg/kg/day of TTM.

Tetrathiomolybdate inhibition of the Enterococcus hirae CopB copper ATPase

Tetrathiomolybdate (TTM) avidly interacts with copper and has recently been employed to reduce excess copper in patients with Wilson disease. We found that TTM inhibits the purified Enterococcus hirae CopB copper ATPase with an IC(50) of 34 nM. Dithiomolybdate and trithiomolybdate, which commonly contaminate TTM, inhibited the copper ATPases with similar potency. Inhibition could be reversed by copper or silver, suggesting inhibition by substrate binding. These findings for the first time allowed an estimate of the high affinity of CopB for copper and silver. TTM is a new tool for the study of copper ATPases.

UV/visible spectrophotometric studies of the interactions of thiomolybdates, copper(II) and other ligands

Thiomolybdates (TMs) formed in the rumen are known to be involved in copper deficiency in ruminants. However, which particular TMs are formed has been an issue of contention. In this study, we have measured the relative proportions of the different TMs, formed under conditions simulating those within the rumen fluid of ruminants prone to copper deficiency, using UV/visible spectroscopy. Pure synthesized TMs have also been used to study spectrophotometrically the interactions between the TMs and copper(II) in the presence and absence of some inorganic ligands, low molecular mass complexing agents and bovine serum albumin in aqueous solutions.

Bovine serum amine oxidase: some differences between chromatographically defined forms including sensitivity to inhibition by dithiomolybdate

1. Bovine serum amine oxidase (BSAO) forms, defined by DEAE-cellulose and hydroxyapatite chromatography, were shown to have different kinetic characteristics with p-dimethylaminobenzylamine as a substrate; there was also some variation in heat sensitivity. 2. The forms showed similar sensitivity to inhibition by aminoguanidine but there were differences with respect to dithiomolybdate. 3. The results also provided some support for the view that both subunits were active catalytically. 4. It is concluded that while the forms were interconvertible, the practice of pooling different chromatographic fractions may not be acceptable in all circumstances. 5. While inhibition by dithiomolybdate is of biochemical interest it is concluded that inhibition of BSAO by thiomolybdates is unlikely to play a role in the clinical syndromes which are common in cattle exposed to Mo in the herbage.

Quantitation of Cu-containing metallothionein by a Cd-saturation method

A rapid and sensitive method for determining Cu-containing metallothionein (MT) is described. The main features of this Cd-saturation assay are: high-molecular-weight Cd-binding compounds are denatured with acetonitrile (50% final concentration), Cu bound to MT is removed with ammonium tetrathiomolybdate, excessive tetrathiomolybdate and its Cu complexes are removed with DEAE-Sephacel, apothionein is saturated with Cd, and excessive Cd is bound to Chelex 100. The thiomolybdate assay is capable of reliably detecting 14 ng MT and thus is particularly suitable for measuring MT in small tissue samples (e.g., biopsies), in extrahepatic tissues, and in cultured cells. Moreover, the combination of the thiomolybdate assay with the recently developed Cd-Chelex assay also makes it possible to determine the portion of MT which binds Cu (Cu load of MT), provided that the amount of non-Cu-thionein exceeds 100 ng, the detection limit of the Cd-Chelex assay.

Behavior of [185W]thiotungstates injected into sheep and the influence of copper: their fate and the effect of the compounds upon plasma copper

[185W]trithio- and tetrathiotungstates (0.5 mg W) were injected intravenously into sheep. The compounds circulated in plasma bound reversibly to plasma proteins, particularly to albumin. After the first few minutes, levels declined exponentially with a T 1/2 of 12-14 hr. The initial movement of [185W]trithiotungstate from the plasma compartment was delayed transiently by the immediate injection of copper (2-6 mg); the longer-term metabolism was unaffected. The final fate of the compounds appeared to be hydrolysis and excretion in urine as [185W]tungstate. 185W from [185W]trithiotungstate appeared more rapidly than from [185W]tetrathiotungstate, but in both the rate was unaffected by copper injections. Since the appearance in urine did not correspond to the disappearance from plasma, it was suggested that the hydrolysis occurred in extravascular tissues and that the liver might be the site. A control experiment showed that [185W]tungstate in plasma was very rapidly cleared (and appeared in urine). At higher W levels (25-50 mg W per sheep per day), systematic copper metabolism was perturbed since plasma copper levels rose. The experiments demonstrated that in sheep the behavior and the effects of thiotungstates and thiomolybdates are sufficiently similar for 185W to be used as a more convenient alternative to 99Mo for longer-term studies on the interaction of the compounds with copper metabolism in animals.

The use of [185W] thiotungstates for tracer studies in secondary hypocuprosis in cattle

[185W] thiotungstates were synthesized in-vitro and purified by techniques developed for thiomolybdates. [185W] trithiotungstate (15 mg W) injected intravenously into cattle was mainly associated with albumin albumin. The presence of the compound in plasma when injected in larger amounts (0.2 to 1 gW) caused an increase in albumin-bound copper and transiently depressed ceruloplasmin diamine oxidase activity. It is suggested that the long-lived, less costly 185W could prove a convenient alternative to 99Mo for tracer studies with labelled thio-compounds in animals.

Studies of the changes in systemic copper metabolism and excretion produced by the intravenous administration of trithiomolybdate in sheep

1. The effects of intravenous trithiomolybdate administration on the fate of 64Cu and on stable Cu metabolism were examined in sheep held in metabolism cages and fed on a low-Cu diet supplying 2.95 mg Cu/animal per d. 2. In Expt 1 the injection of trithiomolybdate, 30 mg molybdenum/sheep per d for 5 d, greatly increased plasma Cu levels and more than doubled the faecal Cu excretion. Urinary Cu excretion was unaffected. The disappearance from plasma of 64Cu injected during the trithiomolybdate administration was slowed although faecal 64Cu excretion was increased more than threefold. 3. In Expt 2 trithiomolybdate, 10 and 30 mg Mo/sheep per d for 3 d, was administered 22 h after the injection of 64Cu. Radioactivity reappeared immediately in plasma and faecal 64Cu excretion was increased. 4. In both experiments the 64Cu and the increased stable Cu in plasma were associated with albumin. 5. The experiments explain the effectiveness of thiomolybdates as 'decoppering' agents and provide a model for some of the systemic effects seen in ruminants exposed to increased dietary Mo. The experiments support the view that the thiomolybdates, by causing the appearance of new ligands, alter the distribution of Cu in tissues and cause an overall depletion.