Lactoperoxidase (LPO, FeIII in its resting state in the absence of substrates)—an enzyme secreted from human mammary, salivary, and other mucosal glands—catalyzes the oxidation of thiocyanate (SCN−) by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to produce hypothiocyanite (OSCN−), which functions as an antimicrobial agent. The accepted catalytic mechanism, called the halogen cycle, comprises a two-electron oxidation of LPO by H2O2 to produce oxoiron(IV) radicals, followed by O-atom transfer to SCN−. However, the mechanism does not explain biphasic kinetics and inhibition by H2O2 at low concentration of reducing substrate, conditions that may be biologically relevant. We propose an ordered sequential mechanism in which the order of substrate binding is reversed, first SCN− and then H2O2. The sequence of substrate binding that is described by the halogen cycle mechanism is actually inhibitory.

A panel comprising expert members of the chemistry academy, chemical industry, and the government produced a report in 2012 with 32 recommendations to advance graduate education in the chemical sciences. Until now, the target recipients of the study, students, faculty, and administrators, have not been asked if they agree with the recommendations. A survey of the beneficiaries of the 2012 ACS study reveals areas of consensus but also sharp differences in opinion regarding some of the recommendations. Many of these differences in opinion may be attributed to the natural needs and values of the different stakeholder groups. Some of the divisive issues could represent impediments to improving graduate education. The results of the survey are detailed and interpretation is provided. A path forward to advancing graduate education in the chemical sciences is also outlined.

The regular drumbeat (a mantra) of similar recommendations to advance graduate education by a constant stream of national studies over the past two decades has failed to prompt action. We propose several reasons why the studies have not gained traction, including the fact that the target recipients of the studies—students, faculty, and administrators—have not been asked whether they agree with the studies’ recommendations. A survey we recently conducted of the beneficiaries of the recent national study of graduate education by the American Chemical Society reveals sharp differences in opinion regarding the study’s three dozen recommendations that can be attributed to the pains and values of the various demographic groups that are impacted by the proposed changes. To develop a consensus path forward to reform graduate education, the survey results clearly speak to the need for further conversations that include the entire community of stakeholders, not just those who write the reports.

There are no two main-group elements that exhibit more similar physical and chemical properties than sulfur and selenium. Nonetheless, Nature has deemed both essential for life and has found a way to exploit the subtle unique properties of selenium to include it in biochemistry despite its congener sulfur being 10,000 times more abundant. Selenium is more easily oxidized and it is kinetically more labile, so all selenium compounds could be considered to be “Reactive Selenium Compounds” relative to their sulfur analogues. What is furthermore remarkable is that one of the most reactive forms of selenium, hydrogen selenide (HSe− at physiologic pH), is proposed to be the starting point for the biosynthesis of selenium-containing molecules. This review contrasts the chemical properties of sulfur and selenium and critically assesses the role of hydrogen selenide in biological chemistry.

A number of post-translational oxidative modifications of the enzyme "cell-redox sensor" glyceraldehyde-3phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) have been reported.These modifications affect GAPDH structure, function, and cell fate; however no free-radical mechanisms have been reported in these processes.Herein we used the nitrone 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO)-based spin trapping techniques to examine a novel free radical mechanism that causes GAPDH inactivation and aggregation in RAW264.7 cells primed with lipopolysaccharide (LPS).In these primed cells, GAPDH is oxidized by myeloperoxidase (MPO)-derived hypochlorous acid (HOCl) resulting in loss of enzyme activity and aggregation, accumulation of lactate and cell death.Due to the close spatial and physical proximity between MPO and GAPDH, and the oxidizing potential of HOCl, it may be the main species that triggers radicalization of GAPDH that ultimately results in enzyme aggregation and inactivation in LPS-primed macrophages.Lysine residues are the primary radicalization sites formed upon reaction of HOCl with the enzyme.Our data highlight the important relationship between radicalization of GAPDH and fate of stressed cells, which might help teasing out the cell response to stress at sites of inflammation.

Human defensive peroxidases, including lactoperoxidase (LPO) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), are capable of catalyzing the oxidation of halides (X-) by H2O2 to give hypohalous acids (HOX) for the purpose of cellular defense. Substrate selectivity depends upon the relative abundance of the halides, but the pseudohalide thiocyanate (SCN-) is a major substrate, and sometimes the exclusive substrate, of all defensive peroxidases in most physiologic fluids. The resulting hypothiocyanous acid (HOSCN) has been implicated in cellular damage via thiol oxidation. While thiols are believed to be the primary target of HOSCN in vivo, Trp residues have also been implicated as targets for HOSCN. However, the mechanism involved in HOSCN-mediated Trp oxidation was not established. Trp residues in proteins appeared to be susceptible to oxidation by HOSCN, whereas free Trp and Trp residues in small peptides were found to be unreactive. We show that HOSCN-induced Trp oxidation is dependent on pH, with oxidation of free Trp, and Trp-containing peptides observed when the pH is below 2. These conditions mimic those employed previously to precipitate proteins after treatment with HOSCN, which accounts for the discrepancy in the results reported for proteins versus free Trp and small peptides. The reactant in these cases may be thiocyanogen ((SCN)(2)), which is produced by comproportionation of HOSCN and SCN- at low pH. Reaction of thiocyanate-derived oxidants with protein Trp residues at low pH results in the formation of a number of oxidation products, including mono- and di-oxygenated derivatives, which are also formed with other hypohalous acids. Our data suggest that significant modification of Trp by HOSCN in vivo is likely to have limited biological relevance. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The free-radical-operated mechanism of death of activated macrophages at sites of inflammation is unclear, but it is important to define it in order to find targets to prevent further tissue dysfunction. A well-defined model of macrophage activation at sites of inflammation is the treatment of RAW 264.7 cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), with the resulting production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS and other free radicals can be trapped with the nitrone spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO), a cell-permeable probe with antioxidant properties, which thus interferes with free-radical-operated oxidation processes. Here we have used immuno-spin trapping to investigate the role of free-radical-operated protein oxidation in LPS-induced cytotoxicity in macrophages. Treatment of RAW 264.7 cells with LPS resulted in increased ROS production, oxidation of proteins, cell morphological changes and cytotoxicity. DMPO was found to trap protein radicals to form protein–DMPO nitrone adducts, to reduce protein carbonyls, and to block LPS-induced cell death. N-Acetylcysteine (a source of reduced glutathione), diphenyleneiodonium (an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase), and 2,2′-dipyridyl (a chelator of Fe2+) prevented LPS-induced oxidative stress and cell death and reduced DMPO–nitrone adduct formation, suggesting a critical role of ROS, metals, and protein-radical formation in LPS-induced cell cytotoxicity. We also determined the subcellular localization of protein–DMPO nitrone adducts and identified some candidate proteins for DMPO attachment by LC-MS/MS. The LC-MS/MS data are consistent with glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, one of the most abundant, sensitive, and ubiquitous proteins in the cell, becoming labeled with DMPO when the cell is primed with LPS. This information will help find strategies to treat inflammation-associated tissue dysfunction by focusing on preventing free radical-operated proteotoxic stress and death of macrophages.

Host-guest complexation between the dicationic viologen 1-tri(ethylene glycol)-1'-methyl-m-xylyl-4,4'-bipyridinium and cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) was studied at pH = 4.5 in water. The stability constants of the mono- and bis-CB7 adducts were determined at 25 °C by UV-vis spectroscopy. Stopped-flow kinetic experiments were performed to measure the formation and dissociation rate constants of the monoadduct: k(1) = (6.01 ± 0.03) × 10(6) M(-1)s(-1) and k(-1) = 52.7 ± 0.4 s(-1), respectively. Possible mechanisms of complexation are discussed in view of the kinetic results.

Relatively little is known about the reaction chemistry of the human defense factor hypothiocyanite (OSCN(-)) and its conjugate acid hypothiocyanous acid (HOSCN), in part because of their instability in aqueous solutions. Herein we report that HOSCN/OSCN(-) can engage in a cascade of pH- and concentration-dependent comproportionation, disproportionation, and hydrolysis reactions that control its stability in water. On the basis of reaction kinetic, spectroscopic, and chromatographic methods, a detailed mechanism is proposed for the decomposition of HOSCN/OSCN(-) in the range of pH 4-7 to eventually give simple inorganic anions including CN(-), OCN(-), SCN(-), SO(3)(2-), and SO(4)(2-). Thiocyanogen ((SCN)(2)) is proposed to be a key intermediate in the hydrolysis; and the facile reaction of (SCN)(2) with OSCN(-) to give NCS(═O)SCN, a previously unknown reactive sulfur species, has been independently investigated. The mechanism of the aqueous decomposition of (SCN)(2) around pH 4 is also reported. The resulting mechanistic models for the decomposition of HOSCN and (SCN)(2) address previous empirical observations, including the facts that the presence of SCN(-) and/or (SCN)(2) decreases the stability of HOSCN/OSCN(-), that radioisotopic labeling provided evidence that under physiological conditions decomposing OSCN(-) is not in equilibrium with (SCN)(2) and SCN(-), and that the hydrolysis of (SCN)(2) near neutral pH does not produce OSCN(-). Accordingly, we demonstrate that, during the human peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of SCN(-), (SCN)(2) cannot be the precursor of the OSCN(-) that is produced.

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) released by activated neutrophils can initiate and promote carcinogenesis. MPO produces hypochlorous acid (HOCl) that oxidizes the genomic DNA in inflammatory cells as well as in surrounding epithelial cells. DNA-centered radicals are early intermediates formed during DNA oxidation. Once formed, DNA-centered radicals decay by mechanisms that are not completely understood, producing a number of oxidation products that are studied as markers of DNA oxidation. In this study we employed the 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide-based immuno-spin trapping technique to investigate the MPO-triggered formation of DNA-centered radicals in inflammatory and epithelial cells and to test whether resveratrol blocks HOCl-induced DNA-centered radical formation in these cells. We found that HOCl added exogenously or generated intracellularly by MPO that has been taken up by the cell or by MPO newly synthesized produces DNA-centered radicals inside cells. We also found that resveratrol passed across cell membranes and scavenged HOCl before it reacted with the genomic DNA, thus blocking DNA-centered radical formation. Taken together our results indicate that the formation of DNA-centered radicals by intracellular MPO may be a useful point of therapeutic intervention in inflammation-induced carcinogenesis.

Thiocyanate reacts noncatalytically with myeloperoxidase-derived HOCl to produce hypothiocyanite (OSCN-), thereby potentially limiting the propensity of HOCl to inflict host issue damage that can lead to inflammatory disease. However, the efficiency with which SCN- captures HOCl in vivo depends on the concentration of SCN- relative to other chemical targets. In blood plasma, where the concentration of SCN- is relatively low, proteins may be the principal initial targets of HOCl, and chloramines are a significant product. Chloramines eventually decompose to irreversibly damage proteins. In the present study, we demonstrate that SCN- reacts efficiently with chloramines in small molecules, in proteins, and in Escherichia coli cells to give OSCN- and the parent amine. Remarkably, OSCN- reacts faster than SCN- with chloramines. These reactions of SCN- and OSCN- with chloramines may repair some of the damage that is inflicted on protein amines by HOCl. Our observations are further evidence for the importance of secondary reactions during the redox cascades that are associated with oxidative stress by hypohalous acids.

Streptococcus sanguinis is a commensal oral bacterium producing hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) that is dependent on pyruvate oxidase (Spx) activity. In addition to its well-known role in bacterial antagonism during interspecies competition, H₂O₂ causes cell death in about 10% of the S. sanguinis population. As a consequence of H₂O₂-induced cell death, largely intact chromosomal DNA is released into the environment. This extracellular DNA (eDNA) contributes to the self-aggregation phenotype under aerobic conditions. To further investigate the regulation of spx gene expression, we assessed the role of catabolite control protein A (CcpA) in spx expression control. We report here that CcpA represses spx expression. An isogenic ΔccpA mutant showed elevated spx expression, increased Spx abundance, and H₂O₂ production, whereas the wild type did not respond with altered spx expression in the presence of glucose and other carbohydrates. Since H₂O₂ is directly involved in the release of eDNA and bacterial cell death, the presented data suggest that CcpA is a central control element in this important developmental process in S. sanguinis.

The mechanism of oxidation of ArSO(2)(-) (PhSO(2)(-) and 5-sulfinato-2-nitrobenzoic acid = TNBO(2)(1-/2-)) with HOCl/OCl(-) has been investigated using the kinetic method. In contrast to previous reports for PhSO(2)(-) (for which it was suggested that OCl(-) and not HOCl was the reactant), the reaction proceeds through a conventional pathway: nucleophilic attack by ArSO(2)(-) on HOCl with concomitant Cl(+) transfer to give a sulfonyl chloride intermediate (ArSO(2)Cl), which we have identified spectrophotometrically. Remarkably, the rate constant for the reaction of HOCl with ArSO(2)(-) is on the order of 10(9) M(-1) s(-1), larger than the rate constants for corresponding thiolates, and is nearly diffusion-controlled. In contrast, the rate constant for the reaction of OCl(-) with ArSO(2)(-) is approximately 7 orders of magnitude smaller.

An efficient method for synthesizing the sulfenic acid derivative of 5-mercapto-2-nitrobenzoic acid in aqueous medium is described. The electronic spectrum is reported (lambda(max) = 490 nm, epsilon = 11, 600 M-1 cm(-1)).

Electrophilic halogenating agents, including hypohalous acids and haloamines, oxidize free methionine and the N-terminal methionines of peptides and proteins (e.g., Met-1 of anti-inflammatory peptide 1 and ubiquitin) to produce dehydromethionine (a five-membered isothiazolidinium heterocycle). Amide derivatives of methionine are oxidized to the corresponding sulfoxide derivatives under the same reaction conditions (e.g., Met-3 of anti-inflammatory peptide 1). Other biological oxidants, including hydrogen peroxide and peroxynitrite, also produce only the corresponding sulfoxides. Hypothiocyanite does not react with methionine residues. We suggest that dehydromethionine may be a useful biomarker for the myeloperoxidase-induced oxidative stress associated with many inflammatory diseases.

The chief sources of cyanide (CN(-)) in humans are tobacco and occupationally derived smoke, inflammation [vis-a-vis myeloperoxidase (MPO)-induced chlorination of glycine], and microbial cyanogenesis (including Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection of the cystic fibrosis lung). The human mucosae of healthy individuals are usually protected from infection by innate defense mechanisms that include the defensive peroxidase systems. In the oral cavity, salivary peroxidase and MPO catalyze the oxidation of the pseudohalide thiocyanate (SCN(-)) by hydrogen peroxide to produce the antimicrobial hypothiocyanite (OSCN(-)). Lactoperoxidase carries out the same reaction in the human lung (as does MPO during inflammatory response). In the present study, we show that OSCN(-) and CN(-) react with pH-dependent kinetics to produce SCN(-) and cyanate (OCN(-)) via dicyanosulfide (NCSCN), with the maximum rate occurring near neutral, physiological pH. In addition to presenting a detailed chemical mechanism, we discuss unresolved issues, including the possible biological relevance of the NCSCN intermediate.