Copper-glutathione Complex Research Articles

Synergistic Effect in Green Extraction of Noble Metals and Its Consequences

Extraction of silver into water occurs from its apparently inert metal surface by the simple carbohydrate glucose. Here we show that there are large synergistic effects in the extraction process, which results in ca. 45 times larger leaching with specific molecules, when used along with glucose. While glucose (1 g) alone can extract ca. 650 ppb of silver from the metal, 60 mg of it extracts ca. 30000 ppb in a combination with 200 mg of glutathione (GSH) under similar experimental conditions of 70 °C and an extraction time of 7 d, in deionized (DI) water (200 mL). This enhancement is similar when glucose is replaced with cyclodextrin (CD). This enhanced concentration of silver in solution enables the formation of the silver clusters protected with glutathione and cyclodextrin, Ag20(SG)15CD3–, in the presence of a reducing agent. A similar extraction for copper leads to excessive leaching, and typical concentrations are even higher than the solubility limit of the copper–glutathione complex. As a result, these complexes are precipitated. This synergistic extraction is observed for zinc and stainless steel as well. Enhanced extraction is a result of the formation of complexes of metals with glutathione and the consequent leaching of the complex into solution as well as the stabilization of the complex by inclusion complexation with cyclodextrin. Enhanced leaching in the presence of glucose is mostly due to simultaneous complexation with glucose as well as glutathione. The science presented may be used for the green extraction of different metals and could be a new potential top‐down approach for metal cluster synthesis. This may also be useful for green and sustained leaching of minerals into water to regulate its quality.

Competitive reactions among glutathione, cisplatin and copper-phenanthroline complexes

A large number of cancers are treated with cisplatin (CDDP). However, its use is limited by drug resistance, which is often related to intracellular levels of thiol-containing molecules such as glutathione (GSH). The role of GSH in cisplatin-resistant cancer cells is still unclear. GSH may form adducts with CDDP which results in the deactivation of the drug, and, actually, a high intracellular level of GSH was observed in some cisplatin-resistant cancers. To overcome drug resistance, CDDP is often administered in combination with one or more drugs to exploit a possible synergistic effect. In previous studies, we observed that the sensitivity to CDDP of leukemic and ovarian cisplatin-resistant cancer cells was restored in the presence of [Cu(phen)2(H2O)](ClO4)2 (C0) (phen is 1,10-phenathroline). In order to clarify the possible interactions between GSH and CDDP, the reactivity and competitive reactions among CDDP, C0 and GSH in binary and ternary mixtures were studied. The investigation was extended also to [Cu(phen)(H2O)2(ClO4)2] (C10) and GSSG, the oxidized form of GSH. It was observed that CDDP was able to react with the studied copper complexes and with GSH or GSSG. However, in mixtures containing CDDP, GSH or GSSG and C0 or C10, only copper-glutathione complexes were detected, while no platinum-glutathione adducts were found.

The Copper(II)-Catalyzed Oxidation of Glutathione.

The kinetics and mechanisms of the copper(II)-catalyzed GSH (glutathione) oxidation are examined in the light of its biological importance and in the use of blood and/or saliva samples for GSH monitoring. The rates of the free thiol consumption were measured spectrophotometrically by reaction with DTNB (5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid)), showing that GSH is not auto-oxidized by oxygen in the absence of a catalyst. In the presence of Cu2+ , reactions with two timescales were observed. The first step (short timescale) involves the fast formation of a copper-glutathione complex by the cysteine thiol. The second step (longer timescale) is the overall oxidation of GSH to GSSG (glutathione disulfide) catalyzed by copper(II). When the initial concentrations of GSH are at least threefold in excess of Cu2+ , the rate law is deduced to be -d[thiol]/dt=k[copper-glutathione complex][O2 ]0.5 [H2 O2 ]-0.5 . The 0.5th reaction order with respect to O2 reveals a pre-equilibrium prior to the rate-determining step of the GSSG formation. In contrast to [Cu2+ ] and [O2 ], the rate of the reactions decreases with increasing concentrations of GSH. This inverse relationship is proposed to be a result of the competing formation of an inactive form of the copper-glutathione complex (binding to glutamic and/or glycine moieties).

Letter: Mass Spectrometric Approach of High pH- and Copper-Induced Glutathione Oxidation

The interaction between copper ions and gamma-L-glutamyl-L-cysteinyl-glycine [glutathione (GSH)] molecules may lead to the formation of the physiologically occurring Cu[I)-[GSH]2 and Cu(II)-GSSG complexes. Since glutathione depletion in neurons and aberrant copper metabolism have been implicated in several neurodegenerative disorders, we studied here the interaction of GSH with copper ions (Cu2+) by electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (ESI-IT-MS). Besides, we extended this approach to pH in excess of 10 by adding ethanolamine to the solution being investigated. As a result, the ESI-IT-MS spectra revealed novel aspects regarding the speciation of copper-glutathione complex.

Role of Superoxide Anions in the Redox Changes Affecting the Physiologically Occurring Cu(I)-Glutathione Complex

The physiologically occurring copper-glutathione complex, [Cu(I)-[GSH]2], has the ability to react continually with oxygen, generating superoxide anions (O2 ∙−). We addressed here the effects that superoxide removal has on the redox state of Cu(I) and GSH present in such complex and assessed the formation of Cu(II)-GSSG as a final oxidation product. In addition, we investigated the potential of a source of O2 ∙− external to the Cu(I)-[GSH]2 complex to prevent its oxidation. Removal of O2 ∙− from a Cu(I)-[GSH]2-containing solution, whether spontaneous or Tempol-induced, led to time-dependent losses in GSH that were greater than those affecting the metal. The losses in GSH were not accompanied by increments in GSSG but were largely accounted for by the cumulative formation of Cu(II)-GSSG molecules. Notably, the redox changes in Cu(I) and GSH were totally prevented when Cu(I)-[GSH]2 was coincubated with hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase. Data suggest that the generation of O2 ∙− by Cu(I)-[GSH]2 implies the obliged formation of an intermediate whose subsequent oxidation into Cu(II)-GSSG or back reduction into Cu(I)-[GSH]2 is favoured by either the removal or the addition of O2 ∙−, respectively.

Isoelectric focusing of small non‐covalent metal species from plants

IEF is known as a powerful electrophoretic separation technique for amphoteric molecules, in particular for proteins. The objective of the present work is to prove the suitability of IEF also for the separation of small, non-covalent metal species. Investigations are performed with copper-glutathione complexes, with the synthetic ligand ethylenediamine-N,N'-bis(o-hydroxyphenyl)acetic acid (EDDHA) and respective metal complexes (Fe, Ga, Al, Ni, Zn), and with the phytosiderophore 2'-deoxymugineic acid (DMA) and its ferric complex. It is shown that ethylenediamine-N,N'-bis(o-hydroxyphenyl)acetic acid and DMA species are stable during preparative scale IEF, whereas copper-glutathione dissociates considerably. It is also shown that preparative scale IEF can be applied successfully to isolate ferric DMA from real plant samples, and that multidimensional separations are possible by combining preparative scale IEF with subsequent HPLC-MS analysis. Focusing of free ligands and respective metal complexes with di- and trivalent metals results in different pIs, but CIEF is usually needed for a reliable estimation of pI values. Limitations of the proposed methods (preparative IEF and CIEF) and consequences of the results with respect to metal speciation in plants are discussed.

Generation of superoxide radicals by copper–glutathione complexes: Redox-consequences associated with their interaction with reduced glutathione

The interaction between Cu 2+ ions and GSH molecules leads to the swift formation of the physiologically occurring Cu(I)–[GSH] 2 complex. Recently, we reported that this complex is able to reduce molecular oxygen into superoxide in a reversible reaction. In the present study, by means of fluorescence, luminescence, EPR and NMR techniques, we investigated the superoxide-generating capacity of the Cu(I)–[GSH] 2 complex, demonstrated the occurrence and characterized the chemical nature of the oxidized complex which is formed upon removing of superoxide radicals from the former reaction, and addressed some of the redox consequences associated with the interaction between the Cu(I)–[GSH] 2 complex, its oxidized complex form, and an in-excess of GSH molecules. The interaction between Cu(I)–[GSH] 2 and added GSH molecules led to an substantial exacerbation of the ability of the former to generate superoxide anions. Removal of superoxide from a solution containing the Cu(I)–[GSH] 2 complex, by addition of Tempol, led to the formation and accumulation of Cu(II)–GSSG. Interaction between the latter complex and GSH molecules permitted the re-generation of the Cu(I)–[GSH] 2 complex and led to a concomitant recovery of its superoxide-generating capacity. Some of the potential redox and biological implications arising from these interactions are discussed.

Isolation and purification of a vertebral hemoglobin, the chicken hemoglobin, and its interaction with copperglutathione complex

Hemoglobin was isolated from chicken blood and purified by biochemical methods.This hemoglobin was allowed to interact with copperglutathione (CuGSH) and the interaction pattern was monitored by spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric techniques. The interaction ratio was found to be 1:0.7 in both the cases. The equilibrium constant data suggested associative binding and a fluorimetric study revealed that such association occurred around tryptophan residues of hemoglobin.

Effects of copper ions on the free radical-scavenging properties of reduced gluthathione: implications of a complex formation

The interaction between glutathione (GSH) and copper ions was investigated in vitro to determine whether such interaction could affect the free-radical scavenging properties of the tripeptide. To this end, the bleaching (decrease in OD734 nm) of a coloured solution containing the stable free-radical cation ABTS+, (which results from the addition of thiols to such a solution) was employed as an in vitro indication of the ability of the tripeptide to scavenge free radicals. While GSH bleached concentration-dependently (1.0-7.5 gM) the ABTS+-containing solution, its prior incubation (5 microM) in the presence of Cu+1 or Cu+2 ions (1-7.5 M) led to a metal concentration-dependent decrease of the bleaching capacity. At a ratio equal to one (5 microM each), the bleaching capacity of the copper plus GSH mixture was 50% of that seen for GSH alone. Further additions of copper (reaching ratios up to 2) did not result in greater decreases in the GSH-bleaching capacity. Noteworthy at the ratio of onewas that the copper plus GSH solutions maintained their bleaching capacity despite the lack of any DTNB-reactivity, i. e., the complete absence of thiols in the mixture. Mixtures of increasing concentrations of a fixed ratio (equal to 2) of copper plus GSH, which were found not to exhibit any DTNB-reactivity, showed a linear and concentration-dependent increase in bleaching capacity. The bleaching capacity remained unaltered when TRIEN, EDTA or histidine were added to pre-incubated (1:1) mixtures of copper plus GSH. However, the incubation of copper with TRIEN or EDTA (but not histidine) prior to GSH addition, totally prevented the loss of the original GSH-bleaching capacity. The present data supports the formation of a copper-glutathione complex which is stable to the presence of some copper-chelators, lacks all thiol reactivity, but fully conserves the free-radical scavenging properties of GSH.

Reconstitution of Ceruloplasmin by the Cu(I)-Glutathione Complex: EVIDENCE FOR A ROLE OF Mg2+ AND ATP

The copper-glutathione complex (Cu(I)-GSH) efficiently acted in vitro as the source of Cu(I) in the reconstitution of apoceruloplasmin. Copper was found to reinstate in the various sites in a multistep process, with metal entry into the protein in a first phase, and a second step involving conformational changes of the protein leading to the recovery of the native structural and functional properties. This latter phase was found to be strongly facilitated by Mg2+ or Ca2+ and by ATP. Both Mg2+ and ATP had to be present for optimal reconstitution. These results may shed some light on the mechanisms governing the biosynthesis of ceruloplasmin in vivo. Cu(I)-GSH was the only complex able to reconstitute ceruloplasmin at neutral pH. Glutathione may thus function to shuttle the metal from the membrane copper pump, as the Wilson disease ATPase, and ceruloplasmin in the secretory compartments of the cell. The finding that ceruloplasmin acquires the native conformation after metal entry through a complex pathway triggered by Mg2+ and ATP suggests that they may act as physiological modulators of this process in vivo.

Effect of tetrakis-mu-3,5-diisopropylsalicylatodiaquodicopper(II) on the status of reduced glutathione in freshly isolated hepatocytes.

Effects of different concentrations of tetrakis-mu-3,5-diisopropylsalicylatodiaquodicopper(II) (Cu(II)2(3,5-DIPS)4(H2O2)2) on the reduced status of glutathione (GSH), the major nonprotein thiol in tissues, were investigated using freshly isolated hepatocytes. Cu(II)2(3,5-DIPS)4 below 100 microM did not have any significant effects on either the GSH content or viability of the hepatocytes, but at 150-250 microM it decreased both parameters after 1 h of incubation. The decrease in cellular GSH was not followed by an increase in the oxidized form of GSH (GSSG) in the cell suspension. The addition of deferoxamine with Cu(II)2(3,5-DIPS)4 to the hepatocyte suspension prevented depletion in GSH content and loss of cell viability by Cu(II)2(3,5-DIPS)4. Both GSH depletion and loss of cell viability were found to be Cu(II)2(3,5-DIPS)4 dose dependent. From these results, it appears that Cu(II)2(3,5-DIPS)4 penetrated the cell membrane and acted by decreasing the GSH level by forming a copper-glutathione complex.

Glutathione-mediated transfer of copper(I) into American lobster apohemocyanin.

Copper in the cytosol of the hepatopancreas of the American lobster, Homarus americanus, occurs as copper-metallothionein [Cu(I)-MT] and as a copper-glutathione complex [Cu(I)-GSH]. The latter can act in vitro as the source of Cu(I) in the reconstitution of lobster apohemocyanin, whereas Cu(I)-MT cannot. Here we report on the mechanism of the GSH-mediated reconstitution. Binding of Cu(I) to apohemocyanin was measured by its effect on the protein's fluorescence, by ultrafiltration experiments and size-exclusion HPLC. Reconstitution of CO and O2 binding was studied using the [Cu(I)...Cu(I)-CO] fluorescence of hemocyanin and its Cu-O2-Cu charge-transfer band as spectral probes. The hemocyanin oligomer has 1 (1.02 +/- 0.09) high-affinity (apparent Kdiss = 1.67 +/- 0.40 microM) external binding site for ionic Cu(I) per subunit. Binding of Cu(I) to this site is fast and reversible and is followed by a slow, irreversible incorporation of copper into the protein matrix. Movement of the first copper through the matrix to the active site is the rate-limiting step in the reconstitution process. Mononuclear copper sites, once formed, are rapidly converted into biologically active, binuclear copper sites. In accordance with this reaction sequence, the restoration of CO/O2 binding by hemocyanin is a first-order reaction with a half-time of 100 +/- 5 min at pH 6.0. Reconstitution is extremely pH-dependent and proceeds best at those pH values where the architecture of the copper pocket of hemocyanin is open as judged from its extremely low affinity for oxygen and its very fast oxygen dissociation rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Interaction of copper-metallothionein from the American lobster, Homarus americanus, with glutathione

Organisms have harnessed the unique chemistry of copper for a variety of purposes. However, that same chemistry makes this essential metal toxic at elevated concentrations. Metallothioneins (MTs), a family of small metal-binding proteins, are thought to play a crucial role in the regulation of this reactive ion. Here we report that copper-metallothioneins from the American lobster, Homarus americanus, interact with the tripeptide glutathione (γ-GluCysGly). Glutathione in the cytosolic fraction prepared from the digestive gland of the American lobster coelutes with copper-metallothionein during size-exclusion chromatography. The latter protein can be separated into three isoforms by anion-exchange chromatography. All three isoforms belong to the class I MTs. CuMT-I and -II are very similar, whereas CuMT-III is distinct from isoforms I and II. The interaction between glutathione and MT isoforms was examined by ultrafiltration experiments and size-exclusion HPLC. CuMT-III forms a stable 1:1 complex with glutathione, with a dissociation constant of 1 μ m. CuMT-I/II makes a transient complex with glutathione, which releases copper as a copper-glutathione complex. This complex can function as the source of Cu(I) in the restoration of the oxygen-binding capacity of copper-free hemocyanin. These studies suggest that metallothionein and glutathione are intricately linked in the biochemistry of copper regulation.

Intracellular copper transport in cultured hepatoma cells

The distribution of copper in lysates prepared anaerobically from copper-resistant hepatoma cells radiolabeled with 67Cu was examined in pulse-chase experiments. Initially, the majority of the radioactivity (>85%) coeluted with copper-metallothionein. As the chase time increased there was a gradual loss of 67Cu from metallothionein, with a concomitant increase in the level of 67Cu-labeled glutathione. There was also an increase in 67Cu incorporation into superoxide dismutase. These results suggest that the chelation of copper by metallothionein from a copper-glutathione complex ( Freedman, J. H., Ciriolo, M. R., and Peisach, J. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 5598–5605) is a reversible process. Further, they demonstrate that the copper bound to metallothionein is not permanently sequestered, but can be incorporated into other copper proteins.