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Biomedical subjects

B A Freeman

Publications and source records attributed to B A Freeman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Reactive species in sickle cell disease.

The red cell is a relatively abundant locus of both free radical generation and reaction. Erythrocytes have a high content of unsaturated membrane lipids, a rich oxygen supply and are densely packed with redox-active hemoglobin residues. In response, red cells have a highly evolved and well-integrated network of oxidant defense mechanisms that lend an ability to withstand oxidative stress. In the case of congenital hemoglobin mutations that underlie sickle cell disease, they become very susceptible to free radical-mediated injury by virtue of enhanced endogenous rates of production of reactive species and impairment of tissue free radical defense mechanisms. In sickle cell disease, a combination of these susceptibility factors are hypothesized to lead to an overall impairment of vascular function, in large part due to loss of "bioactive" nitric oxide via the free radical-mediated consumption of this vasoactive molecule.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗

Hypercapnia induces injury to alveolar epithelial cells via a nitric oxide-dependent pathway.

Ventilator strategies allowing for increases in carbon dioxide (CO(2)) tensions (hypercapnia) are being emphasized to ameliorate the consequences of inflammatory-mediated lung injury. Inflammatory responses lead to the generation of reactive species including superoxide (O(2)(-)), nitric oxide (.NO), and their product peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)). The reaction of CO(2) and ONOO(-) can yield the nitrosoperoxocarbonate adduct ONOOCO(2)(-), a more potent nitrating species than ONOO(-). Based on these premises, monolayers of fetal rat alveolar epithelial cells were utilized to investigate whether hypercapnia would modify pathways of.NO production and reactivity that impact pulmonary metabolism and function. Stimulated cells exposed to 15% CO(2) (hypercapnia) revealed a significant increase in.NO production and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity. Cell 3-nitrotyrosine content as measured by both HPLC and immunofluorescence staining also increased when exposed to these same conditions. Hypercapnia significantly enhanced cell injury as evidenced by impairment of monolayer barrier function and increased induction of apoptosis. These results were attenuated by the NOS inhibitor N-monomethyl-L-arginine. Our studies reveal that hypercapnia modifies.NO-dependent pathways to amplify cell injury. These results affirm the underlying role of.NO in tissue inflammatory reactions and reveal the impact of hypercapnia on inflammatory reactions and its potential detrimental influences.

Animals↗

Nitric oxide regulation of free radical- and enzyme-mediated lipid and lipoprotein oxidation.

The regulation of nonenzymatic and enzymatic lipid oxidation reactions by nitric oxide (.NO) is potent and pervasive and reveals novel non-cGMP-dependent reactivities for this free radical inflammatory and signal transduction mediator.NO and its metabolites stimulate and inhibit lipid peroxidation reactions, modulate enzymatically catalyzed lipid oxidation, complex with lipid-reactive metals, and alter proinflammatory gene expression. Through these mechanisms,.NO can regulate nonenzymatic lipid oxidation and the production of inflammatory and vasoactive eicosanoids by prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase and lipoxygenase. The accumulation of macrophages and oxidized low density lipoprotein within the vascular wall can also be modulated by.NO. A key determinant of the pro-oxidant versus oxidant-protective influences of.NO is the underlying oxidative status of tissue. When.NO is in excess of surrounding oxidants, lipid oxidation and monocyte margination into the vascular wall are attenuated, producing antiatherogenic effects. However, when endogenous tissue rates of oxidant production are accelerated or when tissue oxidant defenses become depleted,.NO gives rise to secondary oxidizing species that can increase membrane and lipoprotein lipid oxidation as well as foam cell formation in the vasculature, thus promoting proatherogenic effects. In summary,.NO is a multifaceted molecule capable of reacting via multiple pathways to modulate lipid oxidation reactions, thereby impacting on tissue inflammatory reactions.

Animals↗

15-Lipoxygenase catalytically consumes nitric oxide and impairs activation of guanylate cyclase.

Analysis of purified soybean and rabbit reticulocyte 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX) and PA317 cells transfected with human 15-LOX revealed a rapid rate of linoleate-dependent nitric oxide (.NO) uptake that coincided with reversible inhibition of product ((13S)-hydroperoxyoctadecadienoic acid, or (13S)-HPODE) formation. No reaction of .NO (up to 2 microM) with either native (Ered) or ferric LOXs (0.2 microM) metal centers to form nitrosyl complexes occurred at these .NO concentrations. During HPODE-dependent activation of 15-LOX, there was consumption of 2 mol of .NO/mol of 15-LOX. Stopped flow fluorescence spectroscopy showed that.NO (2.2 microM) did not alter the rate or extent of (13S)-HPODE-induced tryptophan fluorescence quenching associated with 15-LOX activation. Additionally, .NO does not inhibit the anaerobic peroxidase activity of 15-LOX, inferring that the inhibitory actions of .NO are due to reaction with the enzyme-bound lipid peroxyl radical, rather than impairment of (13S)-HPODE-dependent enzyme activation. From this, a mechanism of 15-LOX inhibition by .NO is proposed whereby reaction of .NO with EredLOO. generates Ered and LOONO, which hydrolyzes to (13S)-HPODE and nitrite (NO2-). Reactivation of Ered, considerably slower than dioxygenase activity, is then required to complete the catalytic cycle and leads to a net inhibition of rates of (13S)-HPODE formation. This reaction of .NO with 15-LOX inhibited. NO-dependent activation of soluble guanylate cyclase and consequent cGMP production. Since accelerated .NO production, enhanced 15-LOX gene expression, and 15-LOX product formation occurs in diverse inflammatory conditions, these observations indicate that reactions of .NO with lipoxygenase peroxyl radical intermediates will result in modulation of both .NO bioavailability and rates of production of lipid signaling mediators.

Animals↗

Chemiluminescent detection of oxidants in vascular tissue. Lucigenin but not coelenterazine enhances superoxide formation.

Lucigenin-amplified chemiluminescence has frequently been used to assess the formation of superoxide in vascular tissues. However, the ability of lucigenin to undergo redox cycling in purified enzyme-substrate mixtures has raised questions concerning the use of lucigenin as an appropriate probe for the measurement of superoxide production. Addition of lucigenin to reaction mixtures of xanthine oxidase plus NADH resulted in increased oxygen consumption, as well as superoxide dismutase-inhibitable reduction of cytochrome c, indicative of enhanced rates of superoxide formation. Additionally, it was revealed that lucigenin stimulated oxidant formation by both cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells and isolated rings from rat aorta. Lucigenin treatment resulted in enhanced hydrogen peroxide release from endothelial cells, whereas exposure to lucigenin resulted in inhibition of endothelium-dependent relaxation in isolated aortic rings that was superoxide dismutase inhibitable. In contrast, the chemiluminescent probe coelenterazine had no significant effect on xanthine oxidase-dependent oxygen consumption, endothelial cell hydrogen peroxide release, or endothelium-dependent relaxation. Study of enzyme and vascular systems indicated that coelenterazine chemiluminescence is a sensitive marker for detecting both superoxide and peroxynitrite.

Acetylcholine↗

Microtubule dysfunction by posttranslational nitrotyrosination of alpha-tubulin: a nitric oxide-dependent mechanism of cellular injury.

NO2Tyr (3-Nitrotyrosine) is a modified amino acid that is formed by nitric oxide-derived species and has been implicated in the pathology of diverse human diseases. Nitration of active-site tyrosine residues is known to compromise protein structure and function. Although free NO2Tyr is produced in abundant concentrations under pathological conditions, its capacity to alter protein structure and function at the translational or posttranslational level is unknown. Here, we report that free NO2Tyr is transported into mammalian cells and selectively incorporated into the extreme carboxyl terminus of alpha-tubulin via a posttranslational mechanism catalyzed by the enzyme tubulin-tyrosine ligase. In contrast to the enzymatically regulated carboxyl-terminal tyrosination/detyrosination cycle of alpha-tubulin, incorporation of NO2Tyr shows apparent irreversibility. Nitrotyrosination of alpha-tubulin induces alterations in cell morphology, changes in microtubule organization, loss of epithelial-barrier function, and intracellular redistribution of the motor protein cytoplasmic dynein. These observations imply that posttranslational nitrotyrosination of alpha-tubulin invokes conformational changes, either directly or via allosteric interactions, in the surface-exposed carboxyl terminus of alpha-tubulin that compromises the function of this critical domain in regulating microtubule organization and binding of motor- and microtubule-associated proteins. Collectively, these observations illustrate a mechanism whereby free NO2Tyr can impact deleteriously on cell function under pathological conditions encompassing reactive nitrogen species production. The data also yield further insight into the role that the alpha-tubulin tyrosination/detyrosination cycle plays in microtubule function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Biological aspects of reactive nitrogen species.

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role as a cell-signalling molecule, anti-infective agent and, as most recently recognised, an antioxidant. The metabolic fate of NO gives rise to a further series of compounds, collectively known as the reactive nitrogen species (RNS), which possess their own unique characteristics. In this review we discuss this emerging aspect of the NO field in the context of the formation of the RNS and what is known about their effects on biological systems. While much of the insight into the RNS has been gained from the extensive chemical characterisation of these species, to reveal biological consequences this approach must be complemented by direct measures of physiological function. Although we do not know the consequences of many of the dominant chemical reactions of RNS an intriguing aspect is now emerging. This review will illustrate how, when specificity and amplification through cell signalling mechanisms are taken into account, the less significant reactions, in terms of yield or rates, can explain many of the biological responses of exposure of cells or physiological systems to RNS.

Animals↗

Binding of xanthine oxidase to vascular endothelium. Kinetic characterization and oxidative impairment of nitric oxide-dependent signaling.

Concentrations of up to 1.5 milliunits/ml xanthine oxidase (XO) (1.1 micrograms/ml) are found circulating in plasma during diverse inflammatory events. The saturable, high affinity binding of extracellular XO to vascular endothelium and the effects of cell binding on both XO catalytic activity and differentiated vascular cell function are reported herein. Xanthine oxidase purified from bovine cream bound specifically and with high affinity (Kd = 6 nM) at 4 degreesC to bovine aortic endothelial cells, increasing cell XO specific activity up to 10-fold. Xanthine oxidase-cell binding was not inhibited by serum or albumin and was partially inhibited by the addition of heparin. Pretreatment of endothelial cells with chondroitinase, but not heparinase or heparitinase, diminished endothelial binding by approximately 50%, suggesting association with chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans. Analysis of rates of superoxide production by soluble and cell-bound XO revealed that endothelial binding did not alter the percentage of univalent reduction of oxygen to superoxide. Comparison of the extent of CuZn-SOD inhibition of native and succinoylated cytochrome c reduction by cell-bound XO indicated that XO-dependent superoxide production was occurring in a cell compartment inaccessible to CuZn-SOD. This was further supported by the observation of a shift of exogenously added XO from extracellular binding sites to intracellular compartments, as indicated by both protease-reversible cell binding and immunocytochemical localization studies. Endothelium-bound XO also inhibited nitric oxide-dependent cGMP production by smooth muscle cell co-cultures in an SOD-resistant manner. This data supports the concept that circulating XO can bind to vascular cells, impairing cell function via oxidative mechanisms, and explains how vascular XO activity diminishes vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine in hypercholesterolemic rabbits and atherosclerotic humans. The ubiquity of cell-XO binding and endocytosis as a fundamental mechanism of oxidative tissue injury is also affirmed by the significant extent of XO binding to human vascular endothelial cells, rat lung type 2 alveolar epthelial cells, and fibroblasts.

Animals↗

Kinetics of peroxynitrite reaction with amino acids and human serum albumin.

An initial rate approach was used to study the reaction of peroxynitrite with human serum albumin (HSA) through stopped-flow spectrophotometry. At pH 7.4 and 37 degreesC, the second order rate constant for peroxynitrite reaction with HSA was 9.7 +/- 1.1 x 10(3) M-1 s-1. The rate constants for sulfhydryl-blocked HSA and for the single sulfhydryl were 5.9 +/- 0.3 and 3.8 +/- 0.8 x 10(3) M-1 s-1, respectively. The corresponding values for bovine serum albumin were also determined. The reactivity of sulfhydryl-blocked HSA increased at acidic pH, whereas plots of the rate constant with the sulfhydryl versus pH were bell-shaped. The kinetics of peroxynitrite reaction with all free L-amino acids were determined under pseudo-first order conditions. The most reactive amino acids were cysteine, methionine, and tryptophan. Histidine, leucine, and phenylalanine (and by extension tyrosine) did not affect peroxynitrite decay rate, whereas for the remaining amino acids plots of kobs versus concentration were hyperbolic. The sum of the contributions of the constituent amino acids of the protein to HSA reactivity was comparable to the experimentally determined rate constant, where cysteine and methionine (seven residues in 585) accounted for an estimated 65% of the reactivity. Nitration of aromatic amino acids occurred in HSA following peroxynitrite reaction, with nitration of sulfhydryl-blocked HSA 2-fold higher than native HSA. Carbon dioxide accelerated peroxynitrite decomposition, enhanced aromatic amino acid nitration, and partially inhibited sulfhydryl oxidation of HSA. Nitration in the presence of carbon dioxide increased when the sulfhydryl was blocked. Thus, cysteine 34 was a preferential target of peroxynitrite both in the presence and in the absence of carbon dioxide.

Amino Acids↗

Nitration of unsaturated fatty acids by nitric oxide-derived reactive species.

Reactions of linoleate (and presumably other unsaturated fatty acids) with reactive nitrogen species that form in biological systems from secondary reactions of .NO yield two main nitration product groups, LNO2 (formed by ONOO-, .NO2, or NO2+ reaction with linoleate), and LONO2 (formed by HONO reaction with 13(S)-HPODE, or .NO termination with LOO.). Comparison of HPLC retention times and m/z for lipid nitration products indicate that the mechanisms of nitrated product formation converge at several points: (i) The initial product of HONO attack on LOOH will be LOONO, which is identical to the initial termination product of LOO. reaction with .NO. (ii) Dissociation of LOONO to give LO. and .NO2 via caged radicals, which recombine to give LONO2 (m/z 340) will occur, regardless of how LOONO is formed (Fig. 7). (iii) In some experiments, the reaction of O2- (where oxidation is initiated by xanthine oxidase-derived O2- production and metal-dependent decomposition of H2O2) with .NO will result in generation of ONOO-. Nitration of unsaturated lipid by this species will yield a species demonstrated herein to be LNO2. Lipid oxidation leads to formation of bioactive products, including hydroxides, hydroperoxides, and isoprostanes. In vivo, nitrated lipids (LNO2, LONO2) may also possess bioactivity, for example through eicosanoid receptor binding activity, or by acting as antagonists/competitive inhibitors of eicosanoid receptor-ligand interactions. In addition, nitrated lipids could mediate signal transduction via direct .NO donation, transnitrosation, or following reductive metabolism. Similar bioactive products are formed following ONOO- reaction with glucose, glycerol, and other biomolecules.

Animals↗

H2O2 mediates O2 toxicity in cultured fetal rat distal lung epithelial cells.

It is unknown which of the reactive oxygen species is primarily responsible for the cytotoxicity of 95% O2 for rat distal fetal lung epithelial cells in vitro. Incubation of cells with 25 U/ml polyethylene glycol (PEG)-conjugated SOD and 50 U/ml PEG-catalase, but not PEG-SOD or SOD mimics alone, significantly reduced 95% O2-mediated cytotoxicity. Liposome-entrapped catalase, without SOD, also significantly reduced 95% O2-mediated cytotoxicity. Increased formation of lipid hydroperoxides, as assessed by the formation of 8-isoprostane and aldehydes, was attenuated by both 100 microM Trolox, a vitamin E analogue, and by 5 microM U74389G, an amino steroid. Trolox, but not U74389G, prevented an increase in cell-derived H2O2, hydroxyl radical and 95% O2-mediated cytotoxicity. An increase in hydroxyl radical formation, but not cell death, observed in 95% O2, was prevented by 0.1 microM phenanthrolene, a cell permeant iron chelator. DNA extracts of rat distal fetal lung epithelial cells maintained under serum-free conditions had an electrophoretic pattern consistent with some degree of apoptosis. However, no increase in laddering was seen with exposure to 95% O2. These data are consistent with hydrogen peroxide, but not lipid hydroperoxides or hydroxyl radical, being a critical effector of O2-mediated necrotic cell death in distal lung epithelial cells.

Analysis of Variance↗

Nitration of unsaturated fatty acids by nitric oxide-derived reactive nitrogen species peroxynitrite, nitrous acid, nitrogen dioxide, and nitronium ion.

Reactive nitrogen species derived from nitric oxide are potent oxidants formed during inflammation that can oxidize membrane and lipoprotein lipids in vivo. Herein, it is demonstrated that several of these species react with unsaturated fatty acid to yield nitrated oxidation products. Using HPLC coupled with both UV detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, products of reaction of ONOO- with linoleic acid displayed mass/charge (m/z) characteristics of LNO2 (at least three products at m/z 324, negative ion mode). Further analysis by MS/MS gave a major fragment at m/z 46. Addition of a NO2 group was confirmed using [15N]ONOO- which gave a product at m/z 325, fragmenting to form a daughter ion at m/z 47. Formation of nitrated lipids was inhibited by bicarbonate, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and Fe3+-EDTA, while the yield of oxidation products was decreased by bicarbonate and SOD, but not by Fe3+-EDTA. Reaction of linoleic acid with both nitrogen dioxide (*NO2) or nitronium tetrafluoroborate (NO2BF4) also yielded nitrated lipid products (m/z 324), with HPLC retention times and MS/MS fragmentation patterns identical to the m/z 324 species formed by reaction of ONOO- with linoleic acid. Finally, reaction of HPODE, but not linoleate, with nitrous acid (HONO) or isobutyl nitrite (BuiONO) yielded a product at m/z 340, or 341 upon reacting with [15N]HONO. MS/MS analysis gave an NO2- fragment, and 15N NMR indicated that the product contained a nitro (RNO2) functional group, suggesting that the product was nitroepoxylinoleic acid [L(O)NO2]. This species could form via homolytic dissociation of LOONO to LO* and *NO2 and rearrangement of LO* to an epoxyallylic radical L(O)* followed by recombination of L(O)* with *NO2. Since unsaturated lipids of membranes and lipoproteins are critical targets of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, these pathways lend insight into mechanisms for the formation of novel nitrogen-containing lipid products in vivo and provide synthetic strategies for further structural and functional studies.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

Xanthine oxidase reaction with nitric oxide and peroxynitrite.

Nitric oxide (.NO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO-) inhibit enzymes that depend on metal cofactors or oxidizable amino acids for activity. Since xanthine oxidase (XO) is a 2(2Fe2S) enzyme having essential sulfhydryl groups linked with Mo-pterin cofactor function, the influence of .NO and ONOO- on purified bovine XO was determined. Physiological (</=1 microM) and supraphysiological (</=100 microM) concentrations of dissolved .NO gas did not inhibit the catalytic activity or alter the spectral characteristics of XO at 25 degreesC and pH 7.0, differing from reports showing XO inhibition by .NO. The apparent decrease in XO activity observed previously was the result of depressed rates of uric acid accumulation in XO assay systems, due to ONOO--mediated oxidation of uric acid upon reaction of residual .NO with XO-derived superoxide (O*-2). Nitric oxide derived from S-nitrosoglutathione also did not inhibit cultured vascular endothelial cell XO activity. In contrast, purified and vascular endothelial cell catalase, a heme enzyme reversibly inhibited by .NO, was inhibited by similar concentrations and rates of production of . NO. In contrast to .NO, ONOO- inhibited XO (0.2 microM, 50 mU/ml) with an IC50 of 57 microM (for 3 microM/min infusion of ONOO-) or 120 microM (for bolus addition of ONOO-). Addition of 1% bovine serum albumin, 50 microM xanthine, or 10 microM uric acid protected XO from inactivation by ONOO-. Thus, in the presence of purine substrates and other more readily oxidized components of the biological milieu, XO should not be inhibited by either .NO or ONOO-. These observations reveal that .NO will not serve as an indirect antioxidant by inhibiting XO-derived production of reactive species and that the XO-derived products O*-2 and uric acid readily modify the reactivities of .NO and ONOO-.

Animals↗

Xanthine oxidase-mediated decomposition of S-nitrosothiols.

S-Nitrosothiols (RSNO) occur in vivo and have been proposed as nitric oxide (.NO) storage and transport biomolecules. Still, the biochemical mechanisms by which RSNO release .NO in biological systems are not well defined, and in particular, the interactions between reactive oxygen species and RSNO have not been studied. In this work, we show that xanthine oxidase (XO), in the presence of purine (hypoxanthine, xanthine) or pteridine (lumazine) substrates, induces S-nitrosocysteine (CysNO) and S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) decomposition under aerobic conditions. The decomposition of RSNO by XO was inhibitable by copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, in agreement with the participation of superoxide anion (O-2) in the process. However, while superoxide dismutase could totally inhibit aerobic decomposition of GSNO, it was only partially inhibitory for CysNO. Competition experiments indicated that O-2 reacted with GSNO with a rate constant of 1 x 10(4) M-1.s-1 at pH 7.4 and 25 degreesC. The decomposition of RSNO was accompanied by peroxynitrite formation as assessed by the oxidation of dihydrorhodamine and of cytochrome c2+. The proposed mechanism involves the O-2-dependent reduction of RSNO to yield .NO, which in turn reacts fast with a second O-2 molecule to yield peroxynitrite. Under anaerobic conditions, CysNO incubated with xanthine plus XO resulted in CysNO decomposition, .NO detection, and cysteine and uric acid formation. We found that CysNO is an electron acceptor substrate for XO with a Km of 0.7 mM. In agreement with this concept, the enzymatic reduction of CysNO by XO was inhibitable by oxypurinol and diphenyliodonium, inhibitors that interfere with the catalytic cycle at the molybdenum and flavin sites, respectively. In conclusion, XO decomposes RSNO by O-2-dependent and -independent pathways, and in the presence of oxygen it leads to peroxynitrite formation.

Animals↗

Formation of nitric oxide-derived inflammatory oxidants by myeloperoxidase in neutrophils.

Nitric oxide (.NO) plays a central role in the pathogenesis of diverse inflammatory and infectious disorders. The toxicity of .NO is thought to be engendered, in part, by its reaction with superoxide (O2.-), yielding the potent oxidant peroxynitrite (ONOO-). However, evidence for a role of ONOO- in vivo is based largely upon detection of 3-nitrotyrosine in injured tissues. We have recently demonstrated that nitrite (NO2-), a major end-product of .NO metabolism, readily promotes tyrosine nitration through formation of nitryl chloride (NO2Cl) and nitrogen dioxide (.NO2) by reaction with the inflammatory mediators hypochlorous acid (HOCl) or myeloperoxidase. We now show that activated human polymorphonuclear neutrophils convert NO2- into NO2Cl and .NO2 through myeloperoxidase-dependent pathways. Polymorphonuclear neutrophil-mediated nitration and chlorination of tyrosine residues or 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid is enhanced by addition of NO2- or by fluxes of .NO. Addition of 15NO2- led to 15N enrichment of nitrated phenolic substrates, confirming its role in polymorphonuclear neutrophil-mediated nitration reactions. Polymorphonuclear neutrophil-mediated inactivation of endothelial cell angiotensin-converting enzyme was exacerbated by NO2-, illustrating the physiological significance of these reaction pathways to cellular dysfunction. Our data reveal that NO2- may regulate inflammatory processes through oxidative mechanisms, perhaps by contributing to the tyrosine nitration and chlorination observed in vivo.

Animals↗

Endothelial injury from a circulating mediator following rat liver ischemia.

Ischemia-reperfusion to the liver results in increased microvascular permeability in a nonischemic lung. We hypothesized that a circulatory mediator released from ischemic liver contributed to endothelial cell (EC) damage. Isolated rat livers, made ischemic for 2 h, were reperfused for 10 min. Bovine ECs were incubated for 5 h with pooled liver effluent collected before ischemia (Baseline) or after 10 min of reperfusion (Reperfusion). In the Reperfusion group, there was increased endothelial cell injury, as determined by release of 8-[14C]adenine, (39 +/- 2%) compared to the Baseline group (22 +/- 2%). Permeability of ECs to rhodamine B-labeled dextran (70,000 Mr) was also increased in the Reperfusion group by 54 +/- 9%. There was no significant attenuation in EC injury following incubation with reperfusion effluent stored for 24 h, supplementation with antioxidants (superoxide dismutase + catalase), or inhibition of xanthine oxidase with allopurinol or tungstate. We conclude that the reperfused liver releases a long-lived circulatory mediator of EC injury, which may produce the clinical microvascular injury observed following hepatic ischemia. The mechanism of injury in our model is independent of oxidants or oxidants generated from the circulating xanthine oxidase released from reperfused ischemic liver.

Adenine↗

Desflurane increases pulmonary alveolar-capillary membrane permeability after aortic occlusion-reperfusion in rabbits: evidence of oxidant-mediated lung injury.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary injury occurs after vascular surgery, with xanthine oxidase (an oxidant generator) released from reperfusing liver and intestines mediating a significant component of this injury. Because halogenated anesthetics have been observed to enhance oxidant-mediated injury in vitro, the authors hypothesized that desflurane would increase alveolar-capillary membrane permeability mediated by circulating xanthine oxidase after thoracic occlusion and reperfusion. METHODS: Rabbits were assigned to one of five groups: aorta occlusion groups administered desflurane (n=14), desflurane and tungstate (xanthine oxidase inactivator, n=12), fentanyl plus droperidol (n=13), and two sham-operated groups (desflurane, n=7 and fentanyl plus droperidol, n=7). Aortic occlusion was maintained for 45 min with a balloon catheter, followed by 3 h of reperfusion. Alveolar-capillary membrane permeability was assessed by measurement of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid protein. Xanthine oxidase activity was determined in plasma and lung tissue. Ascorbic acid content (an antioxidant) was determined in lung tissue. RESULTS: Desflurane was associated with significantly increased alveolar-capillary membrane permeability after aortic occlusion-reperfusion when compared with the fentanyl plus droperidol anesthesia or sham-operated groups (P < 0.05). Inactivation of xanthine oxidase abrogated the alveolar-capillary membrane compromise associated with desflurane. Although significantly greater than for sham-operated animals, plasma xanthine oxidase activities released after aortic occlusion-reperfusion were not different between the two anesthetics. There were no anesthetic-associated differences in lung tissue xanthine oxidase activity. However, desflurane anesthesia resulted in a significant reduction in lung ascorbic acid after aortic occlusion-reperfusion compared with the sham-operated animals. CONCLUSIONS: Desflurane anesthesia increased xanthine oxidase-dependent alveolar-capillary membrane compromise after aortic occlusion-reperfusion in concert with depletion of a key tissue antioxidant.

Anesthetics, Inhalation↗