Oxidation, of proteins

Garrison, W.M., Jayko, M.E. and Bennett, W. (1962). Radiation induced oxidation of protein in aqueous solution Radiat. Res. 16, 483—493. 

Primary and secondary products, and end-products of lipid peroxidation have all been shown to accumulate in senile cataracts (Babizhayev, 1989b Simonelli et al., 1989). Accumulation of these compounds in the lenticular epithelial membranes is a possible cause of damage preceding cataract formation. In senile cataracts there is also extensive oxidation of protein methionine and cysteine in both the membrane and cytosol components (Garner and Spector, 1980), while in aged normal lenses a lesser extent of oxidation was confined to the membrane. The authors therefore suggested that oxidation of membrane components was a precataract state. 

Tirmenstein, M.A. and Nelson, S.D. (1990). Acetaminophen-induced oxidation of protein thiols contribution of impaired thiol metabolizing enzymes and the breakdown of adenine nucleotides. J. Biol. Chem. 2265, 3059-3065. 

The modification of amino acids in proteins and peptides by oxidative processes plays a major role in the development of disease and in aging (Halliwell and Gutteridge, 1989, 1990 Kim et al., 1985 Tabor and Richardson, 1987 Stadtman, 1992). Tissue damage through free radical oxidation is known to cause various cancers, neurological degenerative conditions, pulmonary problems, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and a host of other problems. Oxidation of protein structures can alter activity, inhibit normal protein interactions, modify amino acid side chains, cleave peptide bonds, and even cause crosslinks to form between proteins. 

It is obvious that the oxidation of protein molecules can have detrimental effects on protein structure and function. However, there are some unique methods in bioconjugation wherein controlled and purposeful oxidation is done to study protein-protein interactions (Chapter 28, Section 4). 

Requena, J.S., Chao, C.-C., Levine, R.L., and Stadtman, E.R. (2001) Glutamic and aminoadipic semialdehydes are the main carbonyl products of metal-catalyzed oxidation of proteins. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 98, 69-74. 

Similar to lipids the oxidation of proteins has already been studied for more than 20 years. Before discussing the data on protein oxidation, it should be mentioned that many associated questions were already considered in previous chapters. For example, the oxidation of lipoproteins, which is closely connected with the problems of nonenzymatic lipid peroxidation was discussed in Chapter 25. Many questions on the interaction of superoxide and nitric oxide with enzymes including the inhibition of enzymatic activities of prooxidant and antioxidant enzymes are considered in Chapters 22 and 30. Therefore, the findings reported in those chapters should be taken into account for considering the data presented in this chapter. 

In earlier studies the in vitro transition metal-catalyzed oxidation of proteins and the interaction of proteins with free radicals have been studied. In 1983, Levine [1] showed that the oxidative inactivation of enzymes and the oxidative modification of proteins resulted in the formation of protein carbonyl derivatives. These derivatives easily react with dinitrophenyl-hydrazine (DNPH) to form protein hydrazones, which were used for the detection of protein carbonyl content. Using this method and spin-trapping with PBN, it has been demonstrated [2,3] that protein oxidation and inactivation of glutamine synthetase (a key enzyme in the regulation of amino acid metabolism and the brain L-glutamate and y-aminobutyric acid levels) were sharply enhanced during ischemia- and reperfusion-induced injury in gerbil brain. 

Although metal-catalyzed protein oxidation is undoubtedly a very effective oxidative process, the origin of free metal ions under in vivo conditions is still uncertain (see Chapter 21). However, protein oxidation can probably be initiated by metal-containing enzymes. Mukhopadhyay and Chatterjee [31] have shown that NADPH-stimulated oxidation of microsomal proteins was mediated by cytochrome P-450 and occurred in the absence of free metal ions. It is important that in contrast to metal ion-stimulated oxidation of proteins, ascorbate inhibited and not enhanced P-450-dependent protein oxidation reacting with the oxygenated P-450 complex. The following mechanism of P-450-dependent oxidation of the side chain protein amino acid residues has been proposed ... 

It has been proposed [92] that oxygen radicals may be formed in the stage of glycoxidation during the transition metal oxidation of protein enediol. 

Intracellular and extracellular ROS activate tyrosine and serine-threonine kinases (i.e., the MAPK family members). Following TNF-a, TGF-f5 or EGF stimulation, intracellular ROS are generated which stimulate various signaling pathways [73], Tyrosine kinase receptors (e.g., EGF, PDGF and TGF-a) may be activated by ROS directly via protein sulfhydryl group modifications, or inhibition of phosphotyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) and subsequent receptor activation. The latter is possible as PTPases contain a redox-sensitive cysteine at their active site [78], and oxidation of protein sulfhydryl groups results in the inactivation of PTPases. 

The health impairing and toxic elfects of oxidation of lipids are due to loss of vitamins, polyenoic fatty acids, and other nutritionally essential components formation of radicals, hydroperoxides, aldehydes, epoxides, dimers, and polymers and participation of the secondary products in initiation of oxidation of proteins and in the Maillard reaction. Dilferent oxysterols have been shown in vitro and in vivo to have atherogenic, mutagenic, carcinogenic, angiotoxic, and cytotoxic properties, as well as the ability to inhibit cholesterol synthesis (Tai et ah, 1999 Wpsowicz, 2002). 

There are indications that the rates of degradation depend on the thermostabihty and oxidation of proteins, findings that suggest that the integrity of protein ternary structure may in part determine the overall intracellular... 

A similar pattern of reactivity has been observed by Burrows and coworkers for the reaction between A -acetyllysine methyl ester (Lys) and dG. This reaction was studied in order to gain an understanding of structural aspects of DNA-protein cross-links (DPCs). These cross-links are regarded as a common lesion of oxidative damage to cells, but remain, from a chemical point, a poorly understood DNA lesion. As pointed out by Burrows, oxidation of protein-DNA complexes should occur preferentially at the primary amines since these sites have a lower oxidation potential (1.1 V vs. NHE, pH 10) than G. While protonation of the primary amine inhibits the oxidative process, transient deprotonation of a lysine residue would give rise to a lysine aminyl radical (or aminium radical cation). Using... 

The ability of coordinated NO to react with thiols has led to the suggestion of an alternative mechanism for activating guanylate cyclase. This involves nitroprusside oxidation of protein sulfhydryls to cross-link the protein with a disulfide bridge. For example, papain, which has an essential cysteine (cys-25) and glyceradehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (cys-149) are both inhibited by nitroprusside with formation of [Fe(CN)5(NO)] and [Fe(CN)4NO] [132]. The suggested anaerobic reaction is ... 

More generally, one-electron oxidation of protein-bound phenols to form reactive ary-loxyl radicals is a possible pro-oxidant mechanism since these radicals can propagate H-atom or electron transfers within the protein. In addition to phenol protein covalent coupling, these phenol-mediated oxidative damages to proteins could be detrimental to their function as enzymes, receptors, and membrane transporters. For instance, investigations by capillary electrophoresis have shown that quercetin in concentrations lower than 25 pM potentiates HSA degradation by AAPH-derived peroxyl radicals. 

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