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PubMed1990

In vitro demonstration of the antidotal efficacy of hydroxocobalamin in cyanide poisoning.

The effects of sodium cyanide (1 mM) and the antidotal action of hydroxocobalamin (1 mM) were studied on rat cardiac papillary muscle. A 10-min period of exposure to cyanide induced a marked decrease in inotropy as shown by a decrease in the maximum unloaded shortening velocity (Vmax: 64 +/- 11% of precyanide values, p <0.01) and active isometric force (AF/s: 35 +/- 13%, p <0.01). The impairment of contraction-relaxation coupling under low load and the nearly complete disappearance of the load sensitivity of relaxation suggested a decrease in sarcoplasmic reticulum function. The proportional acceleration in isometric relaxation suggested a decrease in myofilament calcium sensitivity. There was a nearly complete recovery from cyanide poisoning after 5 min of exposure to hydroxocobalamin, whereas in a control group receiving cyanide alone, the mechanical parameters remained unchanged or were further impaired. The effects of hydroxocobalamin developed very quickly, beat to beat. The main toxic target of cyanide is brain and heart cytochrome oxidase, and brain damage appears only a few minutes after the onset of anoxia. Because hydroxocobalamin is a rapid and powerful antidote, it may be useful in the treatment of acute cyanide poisoning.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1980

Metabolism of hydrogen cyanide by higher plants.

A survey has been made of the occurrence and distribution of three enzymes which metabolize cyanide in a variety of higher plants including both cyanogenic and non-cyanogenic species. The enzymes investigated were beta-cyanoalanine synthase, rhodanese and formamide hydrolyase. beta-Cyanoalanine synthase was found to be present in every higher plant tested whereas rhodanese was found to occur far less commonly in plants. Formamide hydrolyase activity was not detected in any of the higher plants tested.In addition, quantitative analyses have been made of the potential hydrogen cyanide content of each plant investigated. A general trend was apparent between the hydrogen cyanide potential and cyanide metabolizing activity, in that the higher the hydrogen cyanide potential, in general, the higher the cyanide metabolizing activity.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1984

Comparative effects of ethylene and cyanide on respiration, polysome prevalence, and gene expression in carrot roots.

Treatment of carrot roots (Daucus carota L.) with 10 microliters per liter ethylene in O(2) evokes a three- to four-fold increase in polysome prevalence and associated poly(A)(+) RNA. The increase in polysome prevalence is attended by a similar change in CO(2) evolution. The increase in polysomal poly(A)(+) mRNA constitutes primarily a generic increase in constitutive mRNAs as assayed by in vitro translation. However, changes in the relative abundance of several in vitro translatable ethylene specific mRNAs do occur.Cyanide, at concentrations which inhibit cytochrome oxidase, initiates a respiratory rise very similar in kinetics and magnitude to that evoked by ethylene. Moreover, the combined treatment with cyanide and ethylene evokes a respiratory response resembling that caused by ethylene or cyanide alone. Nevertheless, cyanide, in the presence of ethylene, significantly inhibits the increase in polysome prevalence and new gene expression associated with ethylene treatment of carrot roots. Separation of in vitro translation products by one-dimensional and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis shows that several new in vitro translation products appear in cyanide-treated carrots different from those evoked by ethylene. Engagement of the less energy efficient alternative electron transport path by cyanide may be responsible for inhibition of the normal ethylene associated increase in polysome prevalence and new gene expression. The implications of these results on regulation of respiratory metabolism are discussed and compared with the results for similar experiments with avocado fruit (Tucker and Laties 1984 Plant Physiol 74: 307-315) in which cyanide does not inhibit an ethylene educed increase in polysome prevalence and change in gene expression.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1989

Protein synthesis in isolated castor bean mitochondria is stimulated by cyanide.

Cyanide added to isolated castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) mitochondria supplemented with ATP and succinate (or NADH) significantly enhanced the rate and extent of organellar protein synthesis. Cyanide stimulated mitochondrial protein synthesis in a dose-dependent manner with an optimum stimulation of over twofold at 1 millimolar cyanide. At this concentration of cyanide, the mitochondrial respiratory activity, in the presence of succinate (or NADH) and ADP was inhibited by 90%. The stimulatory effect of cyanide on mitochondrial translation was reflected in the increased synthesis of all the proteins synthesized within the organelle. Preliminary evidence indicates a role for the alternative, salicylhydroxamic acid-sensitive, oxidase in the cyanide stimulation of protein synthesis.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Semi-quantitative "spot-test" of cyanide.

A selective, sensitive, rapid and simple-handling analytical method for the determination of cyanide at low detection limits in surface and underground water, soil and industrial waste samples was developed. The method is based on a reaction, proposed by Guilbault and Kramer, where free cyanide reacts with p-nitrobenzaldehyde to form an intermediate cyanohydrin, which reacts with o-dinitrobenzene to give a highly colored purple compound. The original procedure was modified for application in a small device containing a gas-permeable membrane. The cyanide is converted in the volatile hydrogen cyanide, which permeates through a PTFE membrane, reaching colorimetric reagents. In order to obtain semi-quantitative results, printed color scales were built. The method allows rapid, accurate, selective, low-cost and simple-handling determinations of free cyanide, even in complex samples. About 150 real samples were analyzed. Less than 10 ng of free cyanide per ml (10 microg l(-1)) can be easily detected. For more concentrated solutions, the results had been compared to those obtained using differential pulse polarography. The standard addition method was used for more diluted solutions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1981

Involvement of cytochrome b5 and a cyanide-sensitive monooxygenase in the 4-demethylation of 4,4-dimethylzymosterol by yeast microsomes.

According to Ohba et al. (Ohba, M., Sato, R., Yoshida, Y., Nishino, T. and Katsuki, H. (1978) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 85, 21-27), yeast microsomes catalyze the removal of three methyl groups attached to the C-4 and C-14 positions of [1,7,15,22,26,30-14C]lanosterol (4,4,14 alpha-trimethyl-5 alpha-cholesta-8,24-dien-3 beta-ol) in the presence of NADPH, NAD+ and molecular oxygen, concomitant with the liberation of 14CO2 derived from C-30 (one of the two methyl groups at the C-4 position). In this process the methyl group at the C-14 position is first removed in a cyanide-insensitive reaction and then the two methyl groups at the C-4 position are removed by a cyanide-sensitive enzyme system. In this study it was found that the 14CO2 formation from the 14C-labeled lanosterol was inhibited by antibodies to yeast cytochrome b5 and by palmitoyl-CoA, a substrate of the cytochrome b5-containing fatty acyl-CoA desaturase system of yeast microsomes. However, neither the antibodies nor palmitoyl-CoA inhibited the conversion of lanosterol to 4,4-dimethyl zymosterol (4,4-dimethyl-5 alpha-cholesta-8,24-dien-3 beta-ol). It is concluded that cytochrome b5 and a cyanide-sensitive enzyme are involved in the 4-demethylation of 4,4-dimethylzymosterol, but not the 14 alpha-demethylation of lanosterol, by yeast microsomes. It is suggested that a cyanide-sensitive enzyme acts as the terminal 4-demethylase and cytochrome b5 transfers reducing equivalents from NADPH to the terminal enzyme, as in the case of fatty acyl-CoA desaturation. The cyanide sensitivity of the 4-demethylation was, however, much greater than that of the desaturation.

Antimycin A↗
PubMed1987

Application of a hepatocyte-erythrocyte coincubation system to studies of cyanide antidotal mechanisms.

A coincubation system composed of hepatocytes in primary monolayer culture and erythrocytes suspended in the culture medium was developed and used as a model for investigations of mechanisms of cyanide antidote action at the cellular level. Hepatocyte ATP was used as the cytotoxicity indicator. Treatment of rat hepatocytes in the coincubation system with KCN (1.0 mM) for 10 min at 37 degrees C selectively reduced hepatocyte ATP levels to 33 +/- 15% of control (no KCN added) levels. 4-dimethylaminophenol (DMAP), cobalt(II) chloride, sodium nitrite, sodium thiosulfate, or a combination of the last two antidotes added to the KCN-containing medium significantly reversed ATP depression and the response was concentration dependent. The relative effectiveness, on a molar basis, was estimated to be DMAP greater than CoCl2 much greater than NaNO2 congruent to Na2S2O3. NaNO2 and DMAP induced methemoglobin formation in the absence of cyanide and cyanmethemoglobin formation in its presence; erythrocytes were required in the medium for effectiveness. CoCl2 produced neither cyanmethemoglobin nor thiocyanate in appreciable quantities nor required erythrocytes for antagonism. Na2S2O3 converted cyanide to thiocyanate and reversed ATP depression without erythrocytes in the medium. The addition of erythrocytes increased these rates significantly and to a greater extent than albumin. The overall results are consistent with previously proposed modes of action for these antidotes. However, the enhancement in cyanide metabolism and ATP recovery with Na2S2O3 and erythrocytes in the system was unexpected and raises the possibility that erythrocytes may contribute to cyanide disposition and antagonism in vivo when this antidote is administered.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1988

Cyanide-induced neurotoxicity: mechanisms of attenuation by chlorpromazine.

Chlorpromazine (CPZ) is an effective cyanide antidote, with its greatest efficacy displayed when combined with the antidotes, sodium nitrite and sodium thiosulfate. Since the central nervous system is a primary target organ in cyanide toxicity, the objective of the present study was to determine the mechanisms by which CPZ prevents cyanide-induced damage in neural systems. KCN (10 mM) increased cytosolic free calcium in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells as indicated by the fluorescent dye quin 2. This was blocked by addition of CPZ (0.1 mM) to the cells 15 min prior to addition of KCN. Incubation of cells with KCN (0.1 mM) increased the levels of lipid conjugated dienes and this was blocked by addition of CPZ (1 microM). Peroxidation of brain lipids in mice administered KCN (7-15 mg/kg, sc) was also attenuated by pretreatment with CPZ. Furthermore, production of lipid peroxidation in fresh mouse brain slices, following incubation with 0.1 mM KCN, was blocked by simultaneous addition of CPZ. These observations indicate CPZ prevents cyanide-induced calcium influx and decreases peroxidation of membrane lipids. Thus the antidotal activity of CPZ in cyanide toxicity appears to be related to maintenance of cellular calcium homeostasis and membrane integrity.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
PubMed1989

Hyperammonemia, increased brain neutral and aromatic amino acid levels, and encephalopathy induced by cyanide in mice.

The correlation among hyperammonemia, brain neutral amino acid, and encephalopathy induced by cyanide was investigated in mice. Subcutaneous injection of 10 mg/kg of potassium cyanide increased the levels of blood ammonia by 2.5-fold as compared to those of the corresponding controls and caused loss of consciousness in 100% of the treated mice. alpha-Ketoglutarate (500 mg/kg, ip) completely blocked the development of loss of consciousness and hyperammonemia induced by cyanide. Furthermore, the same doses of potassium cyanide increased by 50-150% the levels of brain neutral and aromatic amino acids such as leucine, isoleucine, tyrosine, and phenylalanine, while the levels of acidic amino acid such as taurine, glutamate, and aspartate did not change. alpha-Ketoglutarate also significantly inhibited the increase of the neutral and aromatic amino acid levels in brain. These findings suggest that the hyperammonemia and the increase of neutral and aromatic amino acids may play an important role in development of loss of consciousness induced by cyanide.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1984

A kinetic study of the reaction between human myeloperoxidase, hydroperoxides and cyanide. Inhibition by chloride and thiocyanate.

The reaction between myeloperoxidase (donor:hydrogen-peroxide oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.7), hydrogen peroxide and ethyl hydroperoxide was investigated using the stopped-flow technique. Like other peroxidases, myeloperoxidase forms two sequential peroxide compounds. The pH-dependence of the apparent second-order rate constant of compound I formation shows that there is an acid/base group on the enzyme with a pKa of 4.30 +/- 0.15, which - when protonated - prevents the reaction of the enzyme with peroxides. The rate constants for the formation of compound I by hydrogen peroxide and ethyl hydroperoxide are (2.3 +/- 0.1) X 10(7) M-1 X s-1 and (2.8 +/- 0.3) X 10(5) M-1 X s-1, respectively. The binding of cyanide to myeloperoxidase (k1 = (1.30 +/- 0.05) X 10(6) M-1 X s-1) is also regulated by an acid/base group with a pKa of 4.00 +/- 0.05 as is the case with hydrogen peroxide; also, only the protonated uncharged form of cyanide reacts with the enzyme. From their effects on the binding of cyanide to the enzyme it is concluded that chloride and thiocyanate bind to myeloperoxidase only when the acid/base group is protonated. The pH-dependence of the dissociation constant of the myeloperoxidase-chloride complex obtained from the spectral changes induced by chloride is the same as observed in the inhibition by chloride of the binding of cyanide. It is concluded that hydrogen peroxide, cyanide, chloride and thiocyanate bind at the same site on the enzyme.

Chlorides↗
PubMed1986

Liver damage does not increase the sensitivity of mice to cyanide given acutely.

The major detoxification pathway for cyanide (CN) in many species is a biotransformation to the less toxic thiocyanate (SCN). Hepatic thiosulfate: cyanide sulfurtransferase (rhodanese) is the principal enzyme demonstrating in vitro catalytic activity. Despite the assumed importance of the hepatic enzyme for CN detoxification in vivo, the effects of liver damage (surgical or chemical) on cyanide lethality in animals have not been examined previously. Male CD-1 mice were pretreated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4, 1 ml/kg, i.p.) 24 h prior to the administration of sodium cyanide (NaCN). In other experiments CCl4 was given in the same doses at both 48 h and 24 h prior to NaCN. Hepatotoxicity was documented by elevated serum glutamicpyruvic transaminase (SGPT) activity, by histologic evaluation of the extent of cellular necrosis, by electron microscopy of the mitochondrial fraction, and by the increased duration of zoxazolamine-induced paralysis. Lethality was not changed by CCl4 pretreatments when NaCN was given alone in doses of 4 or 6 mg/kg or at a dose of 10.7 mg/kg following sodium thiosulfate (Na2S203, 1 g/kg, i.p.). A small but statistically significant protective effect was exhibited by CCl4 when NaCN was given at a dose of 16 mg/kg following the administration of Na2S203. Rhodanese activity as measured in mitochondrial preparations fractionated from the livers of mice pretreated with CCl4 was not different from that in animals given the corn oil vehicle even though electron micrographs showed extensive mitochondrial damage. No difference in CN lethality was evident between sham-operated mice and partially (2/3) hepatectomized mice at 24 h post-surgery. An intact healthy liver does not appear to be essential for cyanide detoxification in mice whether or not thiosulfate is also given. Because rhodanese activity was slightly but significantly higher in mitochondria lysed by Triton X-100 than in intact mitochondria, the mitochondrial membrane may constitute a barrier to Na2S203.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Validation of an in vitro method for the determination of cyanide release from ferric-hexacyanoferrate: Prussian blue.

Prussian blue (PB), ferric hexacyanoferrate, Fe(4)[Fe(CN)(6)](3) is indicated for the treatment of known or suspected internal contamination with radioactive cesium, radioactive thallium, or non-radioactive thallium. Owing to the molecular properties, cyanide is likely dissociated from PB under physiologically relevant pH conditions, thus raising a concern for the safety of the product. The objective of this study was to calibrate and validate a cyanide assay over a wide pH range (from 0.5 to 12) on the basis of Spectroquant cyanide test method (Merck). Merck's photometric method requires that the measurement solution be within pH 5.5-6.0, hence samples and standards need to be adjusted to this pH range. Since the process of pH adjustment may have significant impact on the determination of cyanide, the analysis method needs to be optimized, calibrated and validated under each pH condition in the study. The validation characteristics included accuracy, precision, quantification limit, linearity, and stability. The intra-day accuracy ranged from 90% to 109% for the deionized water and solutions of pH 0.5-12. The intra-day precision (R.S.D.) ranged from 2.4% to 8.1% for the deionized water and solutions of pH 0.5-12. The analytical range was linear from 0.05 to 0.5 ppm (mg/L). The R(2) ranged from 0.9925 to 0.9998. This validated method was successfully implemented to determine cyanide release from PB under various pH conditions (from 1.0 to 12) at different time-points (from 1 to 24 h).

Cyanides↗
PubMed2003

Cytotoxic mechanisms of hydrosulfide anion and cyanide anion in primary rat hepatocyte cultures.

Hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen cyanide are known to compromise mitochondrial respiration through inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase and this is generally considered to be their primary mechanism of toxicity. Experimental studies and the efficiency of current treatment protocols suggest that H(2)S may exert adverse physiological effects through additional mechanisms. To evaluate the role of alternative mechanisms in H(2)S toxicity, the relative contributions of electron transport inhibition, uncoupling of mitochondrial respiration, and opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) to hydrosulfide and cyanide anion cytotoxicity in primary hepatocyte cultures were examined. Supplementation of hepatocytes with the glycolytic substrate, fructose, rescued hepatocytes from cyanide anion induced toxicity, whereas fructose supplementation increased hydrosulfide anion toxicity suggesting that hydrosulfide anion may compromise glycolysis in hepatocytes. Although inhibitors of the MPTP opening were protective for hydrosulfide anion, they had no effect on cyanide anion toxicity, consistent with an involvement of the permeability transition pore in hydrosulfide anion toxicity but not cyanide anion toxicity. Exposure of isolated rat liver mitochondria to hydrosulfide did not result in large amplitude swelling suggesting that if H(2)S induces the permeability transition it does so indirectly through a mechanism requiring other cellular components. Hydrosulfide anion did not appear to be an uncoupler of mitochondrial respiration in hepatocytes based upon the inability of oligomycin and fructose to protect hepatocytes from hydrosulfide anion toxicity. These findings support mechanisms additional to inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase in hydrogen sulfide toxicity. Further investigations are required to assess the role of the permeability transition in H(2)S toxicity, determine whether similar affects occur in other cell types or in vivo and evaluate whether this may provide a basis for the design of more effective therapeutic measures for hydrogen sulfide intoxication.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Measurements of reducing end groups on bovine vitreous-humour hyaluronic acid by reaction with [14C]cyanide.

Bovine vitreous-humour sodium hyaluronate was purified by precipitation with cetylpyridinium chloride, CsCl-density-gradient sedimentation and gel-permeation chromatography. The number of reducing end groups in two similarly prepared hyaluronate samples was determined by reaction with K14CN, and measurements of intrinsic viscosity were performed to determine whether this reaction caused degradation of the hyaluronate. The intrinsic viscosity of one hyaluronate sample was 192ml/g, compared with a value of 187ml/g after reaction with [14C]cyanide, which indicates that the labelling reaction did not cause depolymerization of the hyaluronate. The Mr calculated from these viscosity values is approx. 60000. Fractionation of the [14C]cyanide-labelled hyaluronate by gel chromatography showed that it was composed of a polydisperse population of molecules with calculated chain lengths, based on the ratio of [14C]cyanide to uronic acid, ranging in molecular weight from 9000 to 264000, with an average Mr of 63200. On the basis of these measurements it is concluded that reaction with [14C]cyanide does not cause degradation of bovine vitreous-humour hyaluronate polysaccharide chains and that reaction with [14C]cyanide can be used to determine the molecular weight of this hyaluronate.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cyanide assay: statistical comparison of a new gas chromatographic calibration method versus the classical spectrophotometric method.

This work compares two different methods for assaying hydrogen cyanide, a spectrophotometric method and a headspace gas chromatographic method, each with its own reference standard generation. In the first method, the reference standards are cyanide solutions. In the second method, the reference standards are based upon the in situ reduction of ethyl thiocyanate by dithiothreitol to produce hydrogen cyanide. Furthermore, hydrogen cyanide concentration in the blood of patients who were poisoned by smoke inhalation or who committed suicide by cyanide ingestion is determined using both methods. Results are discussed using statistical comparison.

Calibration↗
PubMed1984

Effects of cyanide on selenium metabolism in rats.

Adult male rats were given drinking water containing either 0 or 150 ppm cyanide for 2 weeks. They were then injected with 5 microCi 75Se-selenite, and excretion of radioactivity in urine and feces was determined. No difference in excretion of 75Se occurred during the rapid phase, but the cyanide-treated rats (T1/2 28 days) excreted significantly more 75Se in urine than control (T1/2 38 days) rats. Cyanide had no effect on excretion of 75Se in feces or on the distribution of 75Se in cytosolic proteins in liver, kidney, muscle or testes. In a second experiment weanling male rats were given water with either 0 or 150 ppm cyanide and were killed for glutathione peroxidase assay and selenium analysis in blood, kidney, liver, muscle and testes after 3, 6 or 9 weeks of treatment. Glutathione peroxidase activity and selenium concentrations were significantly reduced by cyanide in all tissues except testes.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

The inhibitory effect of salt, cyanide and chloramphenicol on the uptake of streptomycin by Escherichia coli K 12.

The uptake of tritium-labelled streptomycin by cells of Eschericia coli K 12 was shown to be only partly and transiently inhibited by the reported antagonists cyanide and chloramphenicol. After a lag, uptake of streptomycin took place in the presence of cyanide, although at a decreased rate. The lag was absent when cells were treated with cyanide some time before streptomycin. The cyanide-resistant transport system showed the same sensitivity to salt as the normal system. By increasing the salt content of the complex medium used, the uptake rate was decreased and several different phases in the uptake became detectable, including an early saturation phase of unknown nature. Uptake in a mineral salt medium was compared with that in complex medium, and differences in uptake were found explainable by differences in salt content. Chloramphenicol, in a concentration of 50 microgram/ml, was shown to permit an uptake rate (after a lag) of about one-fifth of the normal uptake rate in the complex medium. When the last rapid uptake phase, coincident with killing, was delayed by salt or cyanide, chloramphenicol had little or no effect on uptake. At higher concentrations, it enhanced the uptake and caused lysis of the bacteria. Based on the inhibition pattern produced by the inhibitors mentioned above, both alone and in combination, a hypothesis for the uptake of streptomycin by Escherichia coli is submitted.

Chloramphenicol↗
PubMed1989

The visual pigment cyanide effect.

The visual pigment of the Tokay gecko (Gekko gekko) with its in situ absorption maximum at 521 nm has its spectral position at 500 to 505 nm when chloride-deficient digitonin is used for the extraction. In this case the addition of chloride or bromide to the extract restores the maximum to 521 nm. This property, characteristic of gecko pigments in general, does not occur with any of the rhodopsins that have been tested. Simple salts of cyanide, a pseudohalogenoid with an ionic radius close to those of chloride and bromide and/or its hydrolysis product attacks both this gecko pigment and rhodopsins in the dark. This is seen as a slow thermal loss of photopigment if (sodium) cyanide is present at concentrations above 40 mM for the gecko pigment and 150 mM for the rhodopsins of the midshipman (Porichthys notatus) and of the frog (Rana pipiens). In all cases the loss of the photopigment is accompanied by the appearance of a spectral product with maximum absorption at about 340 nm. Cyanide addition has no effect on the photosensitivity of the native pigments and neither does it alter, as do chloride, bromide and other anions, the spectral absorbance curve. The spectral product at 340 nm also appears when the visual pigments are photolyzed in the presence of cyanide salts below the threshold concentrations given above. Incubation of digitonin-solubilized all-trans-retinal with (sodium) cyanide leads to a reaction product with absorption spectrum similar to that obtained with visual pigments under comparable conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗