Reactions of Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins with Oxidized Metabolites of Tris(p-carboxyltetrathiaaryl)methyl Radical EPR Probes

Abstract

Oxidation of the tris(p-carboxyltetrathiaaryl)methyl (TAM) EPR radical probe, TAMa(•), by rat liver microsomes (RLM) + NADPH, or horseradish peroxidase (HRP) + H2O2, or K2IrCl6, led to an intermediate cation, TAMa(+), which was treated with glutathione (GSH), with formation of an adduct, TAMa-SG(•), resulting from the substitution of a TAMa(•) carboxylate group with the SG group. L-α-Amino acids containing a strong nucleophilic residue (NuH), such as L-cysteine or L-histidine, also reacted with TAMa(+), with formation of radical adducts TAMa-Nu(•) in which a carboxylate group of TAMa(•) was replaced with Nu. Other less nucleophilic L-α-amino acids, such as L-arginine, L-serine, L-threonine, L-tyrosine, or L-aspartate, as well as the tetrapeptide H-(Gly)4-OH, reacted with TAMa(+) via their α-NH2 group, with formation of an iminoquinone methide, IQMa, deriving from an oxidative decarboxylation and amination of TAMa(•). Upon reaction of TAMa(+) with L-proline and L-lysine, N-substituted iminoquinone methide adducts, IQMa-Pro and IQMa-Lys, were formed. Finally, preliminary results showed that oxidation of TAMa(•) in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA), led to the covalent binding of TAMa-derived metabolites to BSA. Oxidation of another frequently used TAM probe, TAMb(•) (Oxo63), in the presence of GSH, N-acetyl-cysteine methyl ester, or histidine also led to TAMb-Nu(•) adducts equivalent to the corresponding TAMa-Nu(•) adducts, suggesting that the oxidative metabolism of such TAM(•) probes could lead to protein covalent binding. Moreover, the above data describe an easy access to new TAM radical EPR probes coupled to amino acids, peptides or proteins that could be useful for addressing various biological targets.