metallothionein and 2-2--azobis(2-amidinopropane)

Oxidative stress affects all the structures of the human eye, particularly the retina and its retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The RPE limits oxidative damage by several protective mechanisms, including the non-enzymatic antioxidant system zinc-metallothionein (Zn-MT). This work aimed to investigate the role of Zn-MT in the protection of RPE from the oxidative damage of reactive oxygen intermediates by analytical and biochemical-based techniques. The Zn-MT system was induced in an in vitro model of RPE cells and determined by elemental mass spectrometry with enriched isotopes and mathematical calculations. Induced-oxidative stress was quantified using fluorescent probes. We observed that 25, 50 or 100 μM of zinc induced Zn-MT synthesis (1.6-, 3.6- and 11.9-fold, respectively), while pre-treated cells with zinc (25, 50, and 100 μM) and subsequent 2,2'-Azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AAPH) treatment increased Zn-MT levels in a lesser extent (0.8-, 2.1-, 6.1-fold, respectively), exerting a stoichiometric transition in the Zn-MT complex. Moreover, AAPH treatment decreased MT levels (0.4-fold), while the stoichiometry remained constant or slightly higher when compared to non-treated cells. Convincingly, induction of Zn-MT significantly attenuated oxidative stress produced by free radicals' generators. We conclude that the stoichiometry of Zn-MT plays an important role in oxidative stress response, related with cellular metal homeostasis.

Topics: Adult; Amidines; Antioxidants; Cell Line; Humans; Hydrogen Peroxide; Metallothionein; Oxidants; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidative Stress; Retinal Pigment Epithelium; Zinc

The relationship between the metal-binding properties of metallothionein (MT) and its ability to interact with peroxides and free radicals was explored in vitro. The binding of 109Cd to MT and the thiol density of the protein were determined after incubation of a purified Zn/Cd-metallothionein preparation with either hydrogen peroxide alone, or with a number of free radical generating systems. Exposure of MT to H2O2, whether in the presence or absence of Fe2+, resulted in the progressive loss of the thiol residues of the protein and led to a parallel decrease of its 109Cd-binding capacity. These changes correlated with r values of 0.999 (P = 0.001) and 0.998 (P = 0.001), in the absence and presence of iron, respectively. The effects of H2O2, alone or plus Fe2+, on MT were completely prevented by catalase, but totally unaffected by superoxide dismutase or desferrioxamine. Exposure of MT to xanthine/xanthine oxidase also led to thiol oxidation and to a concomitant loss of the Cd-binding properties. In this system, both changes correlated with an r of 0.993 (P = 0.001) and were completely inhibited by superoxide dismutase. Exposure of MT to the peroxyl radical generator, 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH), resulted in the progressive loss of its the metal-binding properties and its thiol residues, both changes correlating with an r of 0.986 (P = 0.002). The ability of MT to bind 109Cd, lost as a result of its prior exposure to either H2O2 alone, H2O2 plus Fe2+, xanthine/xanthine oxidase, or to AAPH was, in all cases, completely recovered after incubation of the modified protein with dithiothreitol. These results indicate that H2O2 alone, and/or the oxygen-derived species, superoxide anion and peroxyl radicals, can all directly interact in vitro with MT to modify the protein oxidatively, and suggest that, under in vivo conditions, these species may be implicated as modifying factors of the metal-binding capacity of metallothionein.

Topics: Amidines; Cadmium Radioisotopes; Dithiothreitol; Free Radicals; Hydrogen Peroxide; In Vitro Techniques; Metallothionein; Oxidants; Protein Binding; Sulfhydryl Compounds; Xanthine; Xanthine Oxidase; Xanthines