Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M J Burkitt

Publications and source records attributed to M J Burkitt.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Calcium indicator dye Quin2 inhibits hydrogen peroxide-induced DNA strand break formation via chelation of iron.

Exposure of HeLa cells to H2O2 at 4 degrees C caused DNA strand breakage which was prevented by the metal chelator 1,10-phenanthroline, but not by neocuproine. This is believed to indicate the participation of iron, rather than copper, in the formation of reactive hydroxyl radicals (.OH) from H2O2. The calcium indicator dye Quin2 also prevented H2O2-induced DNA fragmentation. The inhibition of oxidant-induced DNA fragmentation at 37 degrees C by Quin2 is often presented as evidence for the involvement of Ca(2+)-dependent endonucleases in damage. However, our finding that Quin2 inhibits DNA fragmentation at 4 degrees C led us to investigate the possibility that Quin2 may also inhibit DNA damage via its effects on metal-dependent .OH formation. Using ESR spin trapping techniques and in vitro DNA oxidation measurements, we found that the binding of Fe by Quin2 does not prevent .OH formation, but inhibits DNA damage. This is believed to reflect the prevention of iron ion binding to DNA by Quin2, directing .OH generation to the bulk solution, thereby preventing damage. The Cu-Quin2 complex was found to be a poor catalyst of both .OH formation and in vitro DNA damage. These findings suggest that the frequently reported protective effect of Quin2 toward DNA in cells exposed to oxidants may be due to the chelation of metal ions rather than the prevention of Ca(2+)-dependent endonuclease activation.

Aminoquinolines↗
PubMed1994

Detection of oxygen-derived radicals in biological systems using electron spin resonance.

Oxygen-centered radicals, particularly the hydroxyl and superoxide radicals, have been postulated in many biochemical reactions and have been implicated in many adverse reactions in vivo. This article begins with a review of spin-trapping detection of oxygen-centered radicals in vitro and concludes with a presentation of our approach to the detection of the hydroxyl radicals in models of acute iron and copper poisoning.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1993

Effects of glutathione and chelating agents on copper-mediated DNA oxidation: pro-oxidant and antioxidant properties of glutathione.

The exposure of DNA to H2O2 in the presence of Cu(II) and a reducing agent is known to result in the induction of a variety of oxidative lesions, including DNA strand breaks and base modifications. Since the reducing agent glutathione occurs in cell nuclei at relatively high concentrations, and copper exists in nuclei associated with chromatin, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the ability of GSH to promote copper-mediated free radical damage to DNA. When compared with ascorbate, GSH was found to be inefficient in the promotion of damage to DNA. Parallel ESR spin trapping measurements indicated that GSH inhibits free radical formation by copper ions in the presence of H2O2, ascorbate, and DNA. The protective effect of GSH is attributed to its stabilization of copper in the +1 oxidation state, thereby compromising its ability to participate in free radical generating reactions. Consequently, it is suggested that the GSH in cell nuclei serves to prevent, rather than promote, copper-dependent damage to DNA. In contrast, in the presence of 1,10-phenanthroline, GSH stimulated free radical formation and DNA damage. This is attributed to the failure of GSH to remove copper(I) from 1,10-phenanthroline. Therefore, under these conditions, GSH serves primarily to redox cycle the reactive 1,10-phenanthroline-copper complex.

Ascorbic Acid↗
PubMed1993

ESR spin trapping studies into the nature of the oxidizing species formed in the Fenton reaction: pitfalls associated with the use of 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide in the detection of the hydroxyl radical.

Several investigators have challenged the widely held view that the hydroxyl radical is the primary oxidant formed in the reaction between the ferrous ion and hydrogen peroxide. In recent studies, using the ESR spin trapping technique. Yamazaki and Piette found that the stoichiometry of oxidant formation in the reaction between Fe2+ and H2O2 often shows a marked deviation from the expected value of 1:1 (I. Yamazaki and L. H. Piette (1990) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 113, 7588-7593). In order to account for these observations, it was suggested that additional oxidizing species are formed, such as the ferryl ion (FeO2+), particularly when iron is present at high concentration and chelated to EDTA. In this paper it is shown that secondary reactions, involving the redox cycling of iron and the oxidation of the hydroxyl radical adduct of the spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) by iron, operate under the reaction conditions employed by Yamazaki and Piette. Consequently, the stoichiometry of oxidant formation can be rationalized without the need to envisage the formation of oxidizing species other than the hydroxyl radical. It is also demonstrated that the iron(III) complex of DETAPAC can react directly with DMPO to form the DMPO hydroxyl radical adduct (DMPO/OH) in the absence of hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, to avoid the formation of (DMPO/OH) as an artefact, it is suggested that DETAPAC should not be used as a reagent to inactivate containing adventitious iron in experiments using DMPO.

Cyclic N-Oxides↗
PubMed1993

Electron spin resonance spin-trapping investigation into the effects of paraquat and desferrioxamine on hydroxyl radical generation during acute iron poisoning.

We have previously described a secondary radical-trapping technique for the detection of in vivo hydroxyl radical generation during acute iron overload. With this technique, the hydroxyl radical (.OH) reacts with dimethylsulfoxide to form the methyl radical (.CH3), which is then detected by ESR spectroscopy as its adduct with the spin trap phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone in the bile of treated animals. In this study, we report both the individual and combined effects of the futile-cycling agent paraquat (PQ2+) and the iron-chelating agent desferrioxamine (DFO) on iron-dependent .OH generation. Interactions between iron and the partially reduced oxygen species superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, which are generated during the metabolism of PQ2+, might be expected to stimulate .OH generation to a level above that seen in the presence of the metal ion alone. Although PQ2+ was often found to promote further .OH generation when administered to animals also given iron, the large variation observed between individual animals in response to the reagent meant that the effect was not statistically significant (p < 0.05). DFO was found to abolish iron-dependent .OH generation, both in the presence and in the absence of PQ2+. This is believed to result from the chelation of iron by DFO, to form an essentially redox-inert iron(III) complex that is unable to catalyze .OH radical formation. In addition, it was found that the iron(II) complex of DFO can reduce PQ2+ to its radical cation in vitro, indicating, therefore, that the chelation of iron by DFO may not necessarily prevent its participation in free radical reactions.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Calcium ions and oxidative cell injury.

Exposure of mammalian cells to oxidative stress induced by oxidation-reduction-active quinones and other prooxidants results in depletion of intracellular glutathione, followed by modification of protein thiols and loss of cell viability. Protein thiol modification during oxidative stress is normally associated with impairment of various cell functions, including inhibition of agonist-stimulated phosphoinositide metabolism, disruption of intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis, and perturbation of normal cytoskeletal organization. The latter effect appears to be responsible for formation of the numerous plasma membrane blebs typically seen in cells exposed to cytotoxic concentrations of prooxidants. Following disruption of thiol homeostasis in prooxidant-treated cells, there is impairment of Ca2+ transport and subsequent perturbation of intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis, resulting in a sustained increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration. This increase in Ca2+ can cause activation of various Ca(2+)-dependent degradative enzymes (e.g., phospholipases, proteases, endonucleases), which may contribute to cell death. In contrast to the cytotoxic effects of excessive oxidative damage, low levels of oxidative stress can lead to activation of enzymes involved in cell signaling. In particular, the activity of protein kinase C is markedly increased by oxidation-reduction-cycling quinones through a thiol/disulfide exchange mechanism, which may represent a mechanism by which prooxidants can modulate cell growth and differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Direct evidence for in vivo hydroxyl-radical generation in experimental iron overload: an ESR spin-trapping investigation.

Although the hydroxyl radical is often implicated as the species responsible for the initiation of oxidative damage in iron-overload conditions, no ESR evidence for the formation of the radical in vivo has been reported. We have employed a secondary radical-trapping technique in which the hydroxyl radical reacts with dimethyl sulfoxide to form the methyl radical, which is then detected as its adduct of the spin trap N-t-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone in the bile of animals given an intragastric dose of ferrous sulfate. The identity of this adduct was verified by isotope-substitution techniques. We show that unless measures are taken to inactivate the iron excreted in the bile of treated animals, reactions between iron, oxygen, dimethyl sulfoxide, N-t-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone, and bile components lead to the formation of artifacts during sample collection.

2,2'-Dipyridyl↗
PubMed1991

The autoxidation of iron(II) in aqueous systems: the effects of iron chelation by physiological, non-physiological and therapeutic chelators on the generation of reactive oxygen species and the inducement of biomolecular damage.

The ability of various iron(II)-complexes of biological, clinical and chemical interest to reduce molecular oxygen to reactive oxy-radicals has been investigated using complementary oxygen-uptake studies and e.s.r. techniques. It is demonstrated that although the rate of oxygen reduction by a given iron complex is directly related to its redox potential [thus complexes with low values of E0 for the Fe(III)/Fe(II) couple are the most effective reductants of oxygen], the overall ability of an iron(II) complex to induce oxidative biomolecular damage is also determined by its ability to undergo redox-cycling reactions with reducing radicals formed following the reaction of hydroxyl radicals with organic substrates present in the system (e.g. metal-ion chelators and organic buffers). Evidence is presented to suggest that the "Good" buffer MOPS forms a reducing radical following attack by .OH, and hence encourages the autoxidation of iron with the generation of oxy-radicals (as also observed for some of the chelates studied); this may have important implications for the use of such buffers in free-radical studies.

Cyclic N-Oxides↗
PubMed1990

Model studies of the iron-catalysed Haber-Weiss cycle and the ascorbate-driven Fenton reaction.

Complementary hydroxylation assays and stopped-flow e.s.r. techniques have been employed in the investigation of the effect of various iron chelators (of chemical, biological and clinical importance) on hydroxyl-radical generation via the Haber-Weiss cycle and the ascorbate-driven Fenton reaction. Chelators have been identified which selectively promote or inhibit various reactions involved in hydroxyl-radical generation (for example, NTA and EDTA promote all the reactions of both the Haber-Weiss cycle and the ascorbate-driven Fenton reaction, whereas DTPA and phytate inhibit the recycling of iron in these reactions). The biological chelators succinate and citrate are shown to be relatively poor catalysts of the Haber-Weiss cycle, whereas they are found to be effective catalysts of .OH generation in the ascorbate-driven Fenton reaction. It is also suggested that continuous redox-cycling reactions between iron, oxygen and ascorbate may represent an important mechanism of cell death in biological systems.

Ascorbic Acid↗
PubMed1989

The control of iron-induced oxidative damage in isolated rat-liver mitochondria by respiration state and ascorbate.

The reaction of iron (II) with H2O2 is believed to generate highly reactive species (e.g. .OH) capable of initiating biological damage. This study investigates the possibility that the severity of oxidative damage induced by iron in hepatic mitochondria is determined by the level of mitochondrial-H2O2 generation, which is believed to be particularly prominent in state-4 respiration. Iron-induced damage is found to be greater in state-4 than in state-3 respiration. Experiments using uncoupling agents and Ca++ to mimic state-3 conditions indicate that this effect reflects differences in the steady-state oxidation-level of the electron carriers of the respiratory chain (and hence the level of H2O2-generation), rather than changes in redox potential or transportation of the metal-ion. Evidence is also presented for a mechanism in which Fe(II) and H2O2 react inside the mitochondrial matrix. Ascorbate (vitamin C) is shown to be pro-oxidant in this system, except when present at very high concentration when it becomes antioxidant in nature.

Adenine Nucleotides↗