A Proteomic Approach to Study the Effect of Thiotaurine on Human Neutrophil Activation

Thiotaurine, a thiosulfonate related to taurine and hypotaurine, is formed by a metabolic process from cystine and generated by a transulfuration reaction between hypotaurine and thiocysteine. Thiotaurine can produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from its sulfane sulfur moiety. H2S is a gaseous signaling molecule which can have regulatory roles in inflammatory process. In addition, sulfane sulfur displays the capacity to reversibly bind to other sulfur atoms. Thiotaurine inhibits PMA-induced activation of human neutrophils, and hinders neutrophil spontaneous apoptosis. Here, we present the results of a proteomic approach to study the possible effects of thiotaurine at protein expression level. Proteome analysis of human neutrophils has been performed comparing protein extracts of resting or PMA-activated neutrophils in presence or in absence of thiotaurine. In particular, PMA-stimulated neutrophils showed high level of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) expression compared to the level of the same glycolytic enzyme in the resting neutrophils. Conversely, decreased expression of GAPDH has been observed when human neutrophils were incubated with 1 mM thiotaurine before activation with PMA. This result, confirmed by Western blot analysis, suggests again that thiotaurine shows a bioactive role in the mechanisms underlying the inflammatory process, influencing the energy metabolism of activated leukocytes and raises the possibility that thiotaurine, acting as a sulfur donor, could modulate neutrophil activation via persulfidation of target proteins, such as GAPDH.

[Ethics in clinical practice and in health care]

The clinical ethics is the identification, analysis and solution of moral problems that can arise during the care of a patient. Given that when dealing with ethical issues in health care some risks will be encountered (talking about ethics in general, or as a problem overlapped with others in this area, or by delegation to legislative determinations) in the text certain important aspects of the topic are examined. First of all ethics as human quality of the relationship between people for the common good, especially in health services where there are serious problems like the life and the health. It is also necessary a "humanizing relationship" between those who work in these services in order to achieve quality and efficiency in this business. It is important a proper training of health professionals, especially doctors, so that they can identify the real needs and means of intervention. It is also important that scientific research must respect fundamental ethical assumptions. In conclusion, ethics in health care is not a simple matter of "cookbook" rules, but involves the responsibility and consciousness of individual operators.