Xanthine oxidase studies with

Further support for an Mo=0 group in the reduced states of xanthine oxidase was provided by Mo K-edge EXAFS studies of the Mo(V) state of xanthine oxidase inhibited with pyridine-3-carboxaldehyde and of the Mo(IV) state of alloxanthine-inhibited enzyme (102). Both of these inhibited species showed clear evidence for an Mo=0 group (1.70 A), but neither exhibited an Mo=S distance of 2.15 A, as is observed for the oxidized state of functional xanthine oxidase (8,68,100-102). Comparison of the EPR parameters for model compounds containing the [Mo =0] and [Mo =S] groups also favors the presence of an Mo=0 group in the Mo(V) states of xanthine oxidase (Section IV.C.2) (110). Section VI presents a molecular mechanism for xanthine oxidase that combines the wealth of EPR and EXAFS data available for the various forms of the enzyme (17,64,107-109) with recent developments in model molybdenum chemistry (107-109, 111-113). 

In view of the interest in models for molybdenum enzyme systems such as xanthine-oxidase, complexes with amino acids, cysteine and organic sulfur compounds have been particularly intensively studied for Mov and MoV1,46 Complexes with two sulfur bridges similar to the bridged dioxo species are known and can be prepared from solutions ofthiomolybdates or by passing H2S through solutions of oxo-species. 

Most in vitro studies of xanthines have centered around the enzyme xanthine oxidase. Bergmann and co-workers 40-4)) have examined the main oxidative pathways in the xanthine oxidase catalyzed oxidation of purines. The mechanism proposed by these workers 41 > is that the enzyme binds a specific tautomeric form of the substrate, regardless of whether or not that form represents the major structure present in solution. It is then proposed that the purine, e.g., xanthine, undergoes hydration at the N7=C8 double bond either prior to or simultaneously with dehydrogenation of the same position. Accordingly, the process would involve either pathway a or b. Fig. 15. Route a would give a lactim form of the oxidized purine, while b would give the cor-... 

The initial electrochemical and biological oxidation with xanthine oxidase are essentially identical. However, electrochemically 2,8-dioxyadenine the final product in the presence of xanthine oxidase is much more readily oxidizable than adenine 59) so that considerable further oxidation occurs. To the authors knowledge, 2,8-dioxyadenine is not a major metabolite of adenine in man or other higher organisms. Accordingly, it is likely that other enzymes accomplish further degradation of 2,8-dioxyadenine. The relationship between the products so formed and the mechanism of the reaction to the related electrochemical processes has yet to be studied. 

The mechanism of iron-initiated superoxide-dependent lipid peroxidation has been extensively studied by Aust and his coworkers [15-18]. It was found that superoxide produced by xanthine oxidase initiated lipid peroxidation, but this reaction was not inhibited by hydroxyl radical scavengers and, therefore the formation of hydroxyl radicals was unimportant. Lipid peroxidation depended on the Fe3+/Fe2+ ratio, with 50 50 as the optimal value [19]. Superoxide supposedly stimulated peroxidation both by reducing ferric ions and oxidizing ferrous ions. As superoxide is able to release iron from ferritin, superoxide-promoted lipid peroxidation can probably proceed under in vivo conditions [16,20]. 

The ability of flavonoids (quercetin and rutin) to react with superoxide has been shown in both aqueous and aprotic media [59,94]. Then, the inhibitory activity of flavonoids in various enzymatic and nonenzymatic superoxide-producing systems has been studied. It was found that flavonoids may inhibit superoxide production by xanthine oxidase by both the scavenging of superoxide and the inhibition of enzyme activity, with the ratio of these two mechanisms depending on the structures of flavonoids (Table 29.4). As seen from Table 29.4, the data obtained by different authors may significantly differ. For example, in recent work [107] it was found that rutin was ineffective in the inhibition of xanthine oxidase that contradicts the previous results [108,109], The origins of such big differences are unknown. 

Neither Suzuki et al. [206] nor Scott et al. [207] found any effect of LA on superoxide production by xanthine oxidase. Scott et al. also concluded that DHLA is incapable of reacting with superoxide. The last conclusion seems highly improbable. The ability of superoxide to react with thiols with the rate constants equal to 105 to 106lmol 1s 1 has been shown in chemical studies [208]. Dikalov et al. [209] estimated the rate constant for the reaction of DHLA with superoxide as (4.8 + 2)x 105 lmol-1 s-1 using the competition experiments with spin trap DMPO, which is very close to the previous value of (7.3+ 0.24) x 105 1 mol 1 s 1 reported for this reaction [210]. Negative results obtained by Scott et al. [207] are probably explained by the use of unreliable NBT assay for superoxide detection [211]. 

Later on, the importance of xanthine oxidase as the producer of reoxygenation injury was questioned at least in the cells with low or no xanthine oxidase activity. Thus, it has been shown that human and rabbit hearts, which possess extremely low xanthine oxidase activity, nonetheless, develop myocardial infractions and ischemia-reperfusion injury [9], However, recent studies supported the importance of the xanthine oxidase-catalyzed oxygen radical generation. It has been showed that xanthine oxidase is partly responsible for reoxygenation injury in bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells [10], human umbilical vein and lymphoblastic leukemia cells [11], and cerebral endothelial cells [12], Zwang et al. [11] concluded that xanthine dehydrogenase may catalyze superoxide formation without conversion to xanthine oxidase using NADH instead of xanthine as a substrate. 

Spin trapping has been widely used for superoxide detection in various in vitro systems [16] this method was applied for the study of microsomal reduction of nitro compounds [17], microsomal lipid peroxidation [18], xanthine-xanthine oxidase system [19], etc. As DMPO-OOH adduct quickly decomposes yielding DMPO-OH, the latter is frequently used for the measurement of superoxide formation. (Discrimination between spin trapping of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals by DMPO can be performed by the application of hydroxyl radical scavengers, see below.) For example, Mansbach et al. [20] showed that the incubation of cultured enterocytes with menadione or nitrazepam in the presence of DMPO resulted in the formation of DMPO OH signal, which supposedly originated from the reduction of DMPO OOH adduct by glutathione peroxidase. 

Westerfield, W. W., Richert, D. A., Higgins, E. S., Further studies with xanthine oxidase inhibitors. J. Biol. Chem. 234 (1959), p. 1897-1900... 

Xanthine oxidase (XO) was the first enzyme studied from the family of enzymes now known as the molybdenum hydroxylases (HiUe 1999). XO, which catalyzes the hydroxylation of xanthine to uric acid is abundant in cow s milk and contains several cofactors, including FAD, two Fe-S centers, and a molybdenum cofactor, all of which are required for activity (Massey and Harris 1997). Purified XO has been shown to use xanthine, hypoxan-thine, and several aldehydes as substrates in the reduction of methylene blue (Booth 1938), used as an electron acceptor. Early studies also noted that cyanide was inhibitory but could only inactivate XO during preincubation, not during the reaction with xanthine (Dixon 1927). The target of cyanide inactivation was identified to be a labile sulfur atom, termed the cyanolyzable sulfur (Wahl and Rajagopalan 1982), which is also required for enzyme activity. 

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