tocopherylquinone and 2-2--azobis(2-amidinopropane)

Recent reports indicate that both orally administered and topically applied alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E, TH) prevent UVB-induced skin carcinogenesis in mice. Because UVB exposure causes the formation of oxidants associated with tumor promotion, epidermal TH status may be an important determinant of susceptibility to photocarcinogenesis. To test this hypothesis, we studied the status of epidermal TH in C3H mice following exposure to single and repeated UVB exposures at doses typical of chronic photocarcinogenesis protocols. Exposure of mice to a single 13 kJ/m(2) dose over 60 min resulted in no acute depletion of epidermal TH and a modest increase in TH within 6-12 h. Daily exposure to 6.5 kJ/m(2) over 30 min resulted in a gradual increase in epidermal TH, which reached 5-fold after five daily exposures. The increase in epidermal TH was accompanied by an increase in the TH oxidation products alpha-tocopherolquinone (TQ) and alpha-tocopherolhydroquinone (THQ). We also studied the effect of the prooxidant chemical tumor promoter benzoyl peroxide and the prooxidant azo initiators azobis(amidinopropane HCl) and azobis(2, 4-dimethylvaleronitrile). Topical application of these prooxidant chemicals acutely oxidized epidermal TH to TQ and THQ. Topical treatments with the phorbol ester tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) increased epidermal TH levels without producing a significant accumulation of TH oxidation products. The results indicate that UVB and tumor promoting chemicals all exert qualitatively different effects on epidermal TH status and that UVB and TPA trigger an adaptive response involving epidermal TH accumulation.

Topics: alpha-Tocopherol; Amidines; Animals; Antioxidants; Azo Compounds; Benzoyl Peroxide; Carcinogens; Cocarcinogenesis; Epidermis; Female; Hydroquinones; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Nitriles; Oxidative Stress; Photochemistry; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate; Ultraviolet Rays; Vitamin E

alpha-Tocopherol was reacted with the phosphatidylcholines (PCs), 1-palmitoyl-2-linoleoyl-3-sn-PC (PLPC), 1-palmitoyl-2-linolenoyl-3-sn-PC, 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl-3-sn-PC (PAPC) and 1-stearoyl-2-arachidonoyl-3-sn-PC, in the presence of the free radical initiator, 2,2'-azobis (2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile), at 37 degrees C. The addition products of alpha-tocopherol with the PC peroxyl radicals were isolated and identified as 8a-(PC-dioxy)-alpha-tocopherones, in which the peroxyl radicals derived from each PC molecule attacked the 8a-position of the alpha-tocopheroxyl radical. The antioxidative efficiency of alpha-tocopherol against the peroxidation of PLPC and PAPC in liposomes was assessed by the formation of the reaction products of alpha-tocopherol. When alpha-tocopherol was oxidized in the presence of the water-soluble free radical initiator, 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride, epoxy-alpha-tocopherylquinones were mainly produced together with 8a-(PC-dioxy)-alpha-tocopherones and alpha-tocopherylquinone. The yield of alpha-tocopherylquinone was increased by treating each sample with dilute acid which indicates the presence of tocopherone precursors other than the 8a-(PC-dioxy)-alpha-tocopherones. The same products were also detected from iron-dependent peroxidation, although the yields were very low.

Topics: Amidines; Free Radicals; Lipid Peroxidation; Liposomes; Oxidants; Phosphatidylcholines; Phospholipid Ethers; Vitamin E

The in vitro oxidation of vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) in rat brain synaptosomes and mitochondria by 2,2'-azo-bis-(2'-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (ABAPH), a free radical generator, was studied. Subcellular fractions (300 micrograms total protein) were suspended in different buffers at pH 7.4 and incubated at 37 degrees C. In the presence of 0.5 mM ABAPH the mitochondrial alpha tocopherol began to get oxidized after a lag time or induction time of 15 min compared with a lag time of 30 min for the synaptosomal fraction. Thus the reserve of reducing compounds that are responsible for delaying tocopherol oxidation is less in mitochondria than in synaptosomes. More tocopherolquinone was produced during incubations without ABAPH compared with incubations in the presence of ABAPH suggesting that the mechanism of oxidation of tocopherol differs under these two conditions. When mitochondria were incubated in buffer without oxidants the production of tocopherolquinone preceded that of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, an indicator of peroxidation of fatty acids. Therefore, alpha tocopherol is active as an anti-oxidant in mitochondrial membranes and the production of alpha tocopherolquinone could be a monitor of mild membrane oxidation under in vitro conditions. The ease of oxidation of mitochondrial tocopherol suggests a general vulnerability of the mitochondrial membranes to oxidation. Adding vitamin E or its water soluble analogs during in vitro experiments may improve the stability and viability of mitochondria. Furthermore, antioxidant protection by vitamin E may be crucial for the maintenance of tissues, such as brain, whose function is critically dependent upon the availability of high energy phosphates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Amidines; Animals; Brain; Free Radicals; Kinetics; Male; Mitochondria; Oxidation-Reduction; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Synaptosomes; Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; Vitamin E

The turnover rate of vitamin E is slow in nerve tissue. Therefore, we have developed in vitro techniques to study the biochemical reactions of this nutrient in brain. Subcellular fractions were isolated from the cerebral hemispheres of 4-month-old, male, Fisher 344 rats. Aliquots of fractions (500 micrograms protein) were suspended in 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 and incubated at room temperature (20-22 degrees) or 37 degrees for 2 hr in the presence or absence of the following oxidizing agents: 1 mM tertiary butyl hydroperoxide, 10 microM linoleic acid hydroperoxide, 0.5 to 50 mM 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (ABAPH) or 0.1 to 2 mM 2,2'-azobis (2,4-dimethyl) valeronitrile (ABDVN). The latter two compounds generate free radicals upon heating. After oxidation, the subcellular fractions were sedimented, saponified and assayed for tocopherol by liquid chromatography. Linoleic acid hydroperoxide was the most potent oxidizing agent, suggesting that endogenous fatty acid peroxides (e.g. eicosanoid intermediates) are very powerful oxidizing agents. Vitamin E may play an important role in providing antioxidant protection for membranes against excessive oxidation induced by these peroxides. Tocopherol in mitochondria and microsomes was much more susceptible to oxidation than synaptosomal tocopherol. The possible reasons for this observation are: (a) mitochondria and microsomes may contain less of the other reducing agents such as sulfhydryl compounds than synaptosomes, and/or (b) the electron transport structures in the former two subcellular fractions may be facilitating oxidation of tocopherol induced by free radicals. A portion of tocopherol remained unoxidized in all subcellular fractions even at high concentrations of ABAPH, suggesting that tocopherol exists in labile and nonlabile biochemical compartments or complexes.

Topics: Amidines; Animals; Brain Chemistry; Cell Membrane; Linoleic Acids; Lipid Peroxides; Male; Oxidation-Reduction; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Subcellular Fractions; Vitamin E