Intracellular Oxygen Concentration Research Articles

Time‐resolved Singlet Oxygen Phosphorescence Measurements from Photosensitized Experiments in Single Cells: Effects of Oxygen Diffusion and Oxygen Concentration

Time-resolved singlet oxygen, O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)), phosphorescence experiments have been performed in single cells upon pulsed laser irradiation of a photosensitizer incorporated into the cell. Data recorded as a function of the partial pressure of ambient oxygen to which the cell is exposed reflect apparent values for the intracellular oxygen diffusion coefficient and intracellular oxygen concentration that are smaller than those found in neat H(2)O. This conclusion is supported by O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)) phosphorescence data and sensitizer triplet state absorption data recorded in control experiments on sucrose solutions with different viscosities. We recently demonstrated that the intracellular lifetime of O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)) is comparatively long ( approximately 3 micros) and does not differ significantly from that in neat H(2)O ( approximately 3.5 micros). Despite this long lifetime, however, our estimate of an apparent intracellular oxygen diffusion coefficient in the range approximately 2-4 x 10(-6) cm(2) s(-1) means that the spatial domain of intracellular O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)) activity will likely have a spherical radius of approximately 100 nm. This latter point helps reconcile seeming inconsistencies between our direct O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)) lifetime data and results obtained from independent photobleaching experiments that show a limited translational diffusion distance for O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)) within a cell.

Entrapment of Ionic Tris(2,2′-Bipyridyl) Ruthenium(II) in Hydrophobic Siliceous Zeolite: O2 Sensing in Biological Environments

Synthesis of the ionic dye, tris(2,2'-bipyridyl) ruthenium(II) chloride (Ru(bpy) 3 2+.2Cl (-)) within the supercages of a highly hydrophobic zeolite Y is reported. Use of the neutral precursor Ru(bpy)Cl 2(CO) 2 allowed for high loading levels of Ru(bpy) 3 2+ (1 per 7 and 25 supercages). The emission quenching of the Ru(bpy) 3 2+-zeolite crystals dispersed in polydimethoxysiloxane (PDMS) films by dissolved oxygen in water was examined. The quenching data as a function of oxygen concentration was fit to a linear Stern-Volmer plot ( R2 = 0.98). Using the Stern-Volmer plot as calibration, changes in concentration of dissolved oxygen due to reaction with glucose in the presence of glucose oxidase was monitored. Human monocyte-derived macrophages internalized the submicron-sized Ru(bpy) 3 2+-zeolite crystals, and intracellular oxygen concentrations initiated by zymosan-mediated oxidative burst could be monitored by measuring the emission from Ru(bpy) 3 2+ by confocal fluorescence microscopy.

Regulation of adult erythropoiesis by prolyl hydroxylase domain proteins

AbstractPolycythemia is often associated with erythropoietin (EPO) overexpression and defective oxygen sensing. In normal cells, intracellular oxygen concentrations are directly sensed by prolyl hydroxylase domain (PHD)–containing proteins, which tag hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) α subunits for polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation by oxygen-dependent prolyl hydroxylation. Here we show that different PHD isoforms differentially regulate HIF-α stability in the adult liver and kidney and suppress Epo expression and erythropoiesis through distinct mechanisms. Although Phd1−/− or Phd3−/− mice had no apparent defects, double knockout of Phd1 and Phd3 led to moderate erythrocytosis. HIF-2α, which is known to activate Epo expression, accumulated in the liver. In adult mice deficient for PHD2, the prototypic Epo transcriptional activator HIF-1α accumulated in both the kidney and liver. Elevated HIF-1α levels were associated with dramatically increased concentrations of both Epo mRNA in the kidney and Epo protein in the serum, which led to severe erythrocytosis. In contrast, heterozygous mutation of Phd2 had no detectable effects on blood homeostasis. These findings suggest that PHD1/3 double deficiency leads to erythrocytosis partly by activating the hepatic HIF-2α/Epo pathway, whereas PHD2 deficiency leads to erythrocytosis by activating the renal Epo pathway.

CytochromebdfromAzotobacter vinelandii: Evidence for High-Affinity Oxygen Binding

Cytochrome bd from Azotobacter vinelandii is a respiratory quinol oxidase that is highly efficient in reducing intracellular oxygen concentration, thus enabling nitrogen fixation under ambient aerobic conditions. Equilibrium measurements of O2 binding to ferrous heme d in the one-electron-reduced form of the A. vinelandii enzyme give Kd(O2) = 0.5 microM, close to the value for the Escherichia coli cytochrome bd (ca. 0.3 microM); thus, both enzymes have similar, high affinity for oxygen. The reaction of the A. vinelandii cytochrome bd in the one-electron-reduced and fully reduced states with O2 is extremely fast approaching the diffusion-controlled limit in water. In the fully reduced state, the rate of O2 binding depends linearly on the oxygen concentration consistently with a simple, single-step process. In contrast, in the one-electron-reduced state the rate of oxygen binding is hyperbolic, implying a more complex binding pattern. Two possible explanations for the saturation kinetics are considered: (A) There is a spectroscopically silent prebinding of oxygen to an unidentified low-affinity saturatable site followed by the oxygen transfer to heme d. (B) Oxygen binding to heme d requires an "activated" state of the enzyme in which an oxygen channel connecting heme d to the bulk is open. This channel is permanently open in the fully reduced enzyme (hence no saturation behavior) but flickers between the open and closed states in the one-electron-reduced enzyme.

The role of singlet oxygen and oxygen concentration in photodynamic inactivation of bacteria

New antibacterial strategies are required in view of the increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. One promising technique involves the photodynamic inactivation of bacteria. Upon exposure to light, a photosensitizer in bacteria can generate singlet oxygen, which oxidizes proteins or lipids, leading to bacteria death. To elucidate the oxidative processes that occur during killing of bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus was incubated with a standard photosensitizer, and the generation and decay of singlet oxygen was detected directly by its luminescence at 1,270 nm. At low bacterial concentrations, the time-resolved luminescence of singlet oxygen showed a decay time of 6 +/- 2 micros, which is an intermediate time for singlet oxygen decay in phospholipids of membranes (14 +/- 2 micros) and in the surrounding water (3.5 +/- 0.5 micros). Obviously, at low bacterial concentrations, singlet oxygen had sufficient access to water outside of S. aureus by diffusion. Thus, singlet oxygen seems to be generated in the outer cell wall areas or in adjacent cytoplasmic membranes of S. aureus. In addition, the detection of singlet oxygen luminescence can be used as a sensor of intracellular oxygen concentration. When singlet oxygen luminescence was measured at higher bacterial concentrations, the decay time increased significantly, up to approximately 40 micros, because of oxygen depletion at these concentrations. This observation is an important indicator that oxygen supply is a crucial factor in the efficacy of photodynamic inactivation of bacteria, and will be of particular significance should this approach be used against multiresistant bacteria.

Heterologous Expression of Vitreoscilla Hemoglobin (VHb) and Cultivation Conditions Affect the Alkaloid Profile of Hyoscyamus muticus Hairy Roots

Fast-growing hairy root cultures of Hyoscyamus muticus induced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes offer a potential production system for tropane alkaloids. Oxygen deficiency has been shown to limit growth and biomass accumulation of hairy roots, whereas little experimental data is available on the effect of oxygen on alkaloid production. We have investigated the effect of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) expression and cultivation conditions on the complete alkaloid profile of H. muticus hairy roots in shake flasks and in a laboratory scale bioreactor. We optimized the growth medium composition and studied the effects of sucrose, ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate on growth and alkaloid production. Maximum biomass accumulation was achieved with the highest and maximum hyoscyamine content with the lowest sucrose concentration. The optimum nitrate concentration for growth was higher for the VHb line than the control. Neither VHb expression nor aeration improved the hyoscyamine content significantly, thus suggesting that hyoscyamine biosynthesis is not limited by oxygen availability. Interestingly, the effect of VHb expression on the alkaloid profile was slightly different from that of aeration. VHb expression did not affect the concentrations of cuscohygrine, which was increased by aeration. Therefore, the effect of VHb is probably not related only to its ability to increase the intracellular effective oxygen concentration.

HIF-1 mediates adaptation to hypoxia by actively downregulating mitochondrial oxygen consumption

The HIF-1 transcription factor drives hypoxic gene expression changes that are thought to be adaptive for cells exposed to a reduced-oxygen environment. For example, HIF-1 induces the expression of glycolytic genes. It is presumed that increased glycolysis is necessary to produce energy when low oxygen will not support oxidative phosphorylation at the mitochondria. However, we find that while HIF-1 stimulates glycolysis, it also actively represses mitochondrial function and oxygen consumption by inducing pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1). PDK1 phosphorylates and inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase from using pyruvate to fuel the mitochondrial TCA cycle. This causes a drop in mitochondrial oxygen consumption and results in a relative increase in intracellular oxygen tension. We show by genetic means that HIF-1-dependent block to oxygen utilization results in increased oxygen availability, decreased cell death when total oxygen is limiting, and reduced cell death in response to the hypoxic cytotoxin tirapazamine.

An Optical Multifrequency Phase-Modulation Method Using Microbeads for Measuring Intracellular Oxygen Concentrations in Plants

A technique has been developed to measure absolute intracellular oxygen concentrations in green plants. Oxygen-sensitive phosphorescent microbeads were injected into the cells and an optical multifrequency phase-modulation technique was used to discriminate the sensor signal from the strong autofluorescence of the plant tissue. The method was established using photosynthesis-competent cells of the giant algae Chara corallina L., and was validated by application to various cell types of other plant species.

Regulation of Oxidative Stress by ATM Is Required for the Self-Renewal of Haematopoietic Stem Cells.

It has been hypothesized that a signaling pathway for regulating aging and longevity may be involved in stem cell functions. To address the hypothesis we investigate roles of molecules that regulate aging on self-renewal capacity of HSC.Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutational inactivation of the ATM. ATM has a central role in maintenance of genomic stability via regulating cell cycle checkpoint in response to DNA damage, stability of telomere and oxidative stress. A-T patients display variety of sympotoms including high incidence of lymphoma and premature aging. In this study we investigated the effects of ATM deficiency on the hematopoietic system.ATM−/− mice have normal numbers of peripheral blood cells and colony-forming cells in the bone marrow (BM) at the age of 8 weeks. A frequency of KSL in the ATM−/− BM was similar to that of wild-type mice. However, the number of colony-forming cells derived from ATM−/− KSL cells after 6 weeks co-culture of stromal cells was significantly decreased. To directly assess a repopulating ability of the HSC in vivo, we performed a competitive reconstitution assay with congenic mice. Short-term (4-weeks) repopulation was not affected. However, there were dramatically fewer hematopoietic cells derived from ATM−/− BM at 16 weeks post-transplant, indicating that ATM has an essential role in the self-renewal of adult HSCs, but is not required for the differentiation or proliferation of hematopoietic progenitor cells.We next evaluated the effects of ATM deficiency on hematopoiesis in older mice. All ATM−/− mice older than 20 weeks exhibited a progressive pancytopenia with hypocellularity in bone marrow. The numbers of myeloid and erythroid precursors among ATM−/− BM MNCs were markedly decreased, KSL cells had disappeared, and co-culture on stromal cells showed that ATM−/− cells were no longer able to form any colonies after 2 weeks of culture. Taken together, our data indicate that chronic ATM deficiency in vivo results in progressive multi-lineage BM failure due to defective maintenance of the adult HSC pool.ATM is involved in oxidative defense, and the loss of ATM results in oxidative damage in several tissues. To elucidate the mechanism underlying the regulation of the HSC pool by ATM, we next evaluated ROS generation in HSC, and were able to demonstrate that the intracellular concentration of radical oxygen was higher in KSL cells from ATM−/− mice than from WT animals. Two members of CDK inhibitors, p16 and p19, were highly elevated in ATM−/− KSL cells after 2 days in vitro incubation with cytokines. Treatment with the permeant thiol N-acetylcysteine (NAC) abrogated the upregulation of p16 and p19 expression and BM failure corresponding to decrease in the level of intracellular ROS.The numbers of colonies formed from ATM−/− HSCs were restored to near-WT levels by treatment with either NAC or catalase in long term culture. Furthermore we found that NAC treatment of ATM−/− mice dramatically restored the repopulation capacity comparable to that of the WT. We conclude that self-renewal capacity of HSCs depends on ATM-mediated inhibition of oxidative stress. Our data support a model in which master regulator molecules govern the disparate processes of stem cell self-renewal, normal aging and tumor development.

Redistribution of intracellular oxygen in hypoxia by nitric oxide: effect on HIF1alpha.

Cells exposed to low oxygen concentrations respond by initiating defense mechanisms, including the stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1alpha, a transcription factor that upregulates genes such as those involved in glycolysis and angiogenesis. Nitric oxide and other inhibitors of mitochondrial respiration prevent the stabilization of HIF1alpha during hypoxia. In studies of cultured cells, we show that this effect is a result of an increase in prolyl hydroxylase-dependent degradation of HIF1alpha. With the use of Renilla luciferase to detect intracellular oxygen concentrations, we also demonstrate that, upon inhibition of mitochondrial respiration in hypoxia, oxygen is redistributed toward nonrespiratory oxygen-dependent targets such as prolyl hydroxylases so that they do not register hypoxia. Thus, the signaling consequences of hypoxia may be profoundly modified by nitric oxide.

A Mechanism of Oxygen Sensing in Yeast: MULTIPLE OXYGEN-RESPONSIVE STEPS IN THE HEME BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAY AFFECT Hap1 ACTIVITY

Heme plays central roles in oxygen sensing and utilization in many living organisms. In yeast, heme mediates the effect of oxygen on the expression of many genes involved in using or detoxifying oxygen. However, a direct link between intracellular heme level and oxygen concentration has not been vigorously established. In this report, we have examined the relationships among oxygen levels, heme levels, Hap1 activity, and HAP1 expression. We found that Hap1 activity is controlled in vivo by heme and not by its precursors and that heme activates Hap1 even in anoxic cells. We also found that Hap1 activity exhibits the same oxygen dose-response curves as Hap1-dependent aerobic genes and that these dose-response curves have a sharp break at approximately 1 microM O2. The results show that the intracellular signaling heme level, reflected as Hap1 activity, is closely correlated with oxygen concentration. Furthermore, we found that bypass of all heme synthetic steps but ferrochelatase by deuteroporphyrin IX does not circumvent the need for oxygen in Hap1 full activation by heme, suggesting that the last step of heme synthesis, catalyzed by ferrochelatase, is also subjected to oxygen control. Our results show that multiple heme synthetic steps can sense oxygen concentration and provide significant insights into the mechanism of oxygen sensing in yeast.

Imaging fluorescence lifetime modulation of a ruthenium-based dye in living cells: the potential for oxygen sensing

Fluorescence lifetime measurements of long excited-state lifetime, oxygen-quenched ruthenium dyes are emerging as methods for intracellular oxygen sensing. Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) studies in cells have been reported previously. Many current FLIM systems use high repetition rate (∼107 Hz) lasers optimized for nanosecond lifetime measurements, making measurement of long, microsecond lifetime fluorophores difficult. Here, we present an experimental approach for obtaining a large temporal dynamic range in a FLIM system by using a low repetition rate (101 Hz), high output, nitrogen pumped dye laser and a wide-field, intensified CCD camera for image detection. We explore the feasibility of the approach by imaging the oxygen-sensitive dye tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)dichloro-ruthenium(II) hexahydrate (RTDP) in solution and in living cells. We demonstrate the ability of the system to resolve 60% variations in RTDP fluorescence lifetime upon oxygen cycling in solution. Furthermore, the FLIM system was able to resolve an increase in RTDP fluorescence lifetime in cultured human epithelial cells under diminished oxygen conditions. The technique may be useful in developing methods for quantifying intracellular oxygen concentrations.

Plasma membrane cholesterol: a possible barrier to intracellular oxygen in normal and mutant CHO cells defective in cholesterol metabolism.

The effect of the cholesterol content of the plasma membrane on the intracellular concentration of oxygen in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and their mutants was investigated by EPR oximetry. Total and free cholesterol content was significantly higher in 25 RA CHO cells as compared to wild-type and M 19 CHO cells, with most of the free cholesterol in normal and mutant CHO cells located in the plasma membrane. The plasma membrane cholesterol content also was altered by various biochemical means, and the effect on the oxygen gradient was studied. Comparing the three cell lines, the gradient was larger with increased content of cholesterol in the plasma cell membrane. This result also is supported by an additional increase in the oxygen gradients with the incorporation of additional cholesterol in the plasma membrane and a decrease in the oxygen gradient when the cholesterol was depleted from the plasma membrane. The results indicate that the concentration of cholesterol in the plasma membrane can be an important factor for the magnitude of the oxygen gradient observed across the cell membrane.

A Model of the Coupling between Brain Electrical Activity, Metabolism, and Hemodynamics: Application to the Interpretation of Functional Neuroimaging

In order to improve the interpretation of functional neuroimaging data, we implemented a mathematical model of the coupling between membrane ionic currents, energy metabolism (i.e., ATP regeneration via phosphocreatine buffer effect, glycolysis, and mitochondrial respiration), blood–brain barrier exchanges, and hemodynamics. Various hypotheses were tested for the variation of the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO 2): (H1) the CMRO 2 remains at its baseline level; (H2) the CMRO 2 is enhanced as soon as the cerebral blood flow (CBF) increases; (H3) the CMRO 2 increase depends on intracellular oxygen and pyruvate concentrations, and intracellular ATP/ADP ratio; (H4) in addition to hypothesis H3, the CMRO 2 progressively increases, due to the action of a second messenger. A good agreement with experimental data from magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI and MRS) was obtained when we simulated sustained and repetitive activation protocols using hypotheses (H3) or (H4), rather than hypotheses (H1) or (H2). Furthermore, by studying the effect of the variation of some physiologically important parameters on the time course of the modeled blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal, we were able to formulate hypotheses about the physiological or biochemical significance of functional magnetic resonance data, especially the poststimulus undershoot and the baseline drift.

The mechanism of Zn-phthalocyanine photosensitized lysis of human erythrocytes

The phthalocyanines have recently been suggested as one of most effective possible sensitizers for photodynamic therapy and the blood viral inactivation. The further characterisation of the mechanism of human red blood cell lysis and membrane alterations upon photodynamic treatment in the presence of Zn-phthalocyanine was the aim of this study. It was found that there were (2.7±0.4)·10 7 dye binding sites per red blood cell with the association constant equal to (1.4±0.3)·10 4 M −1. Two types of the photosensitized haemolysis: haemolysis during irradiation (“light” haemolysis) and post-irradiation haemolysis (“dark” haemolysis) were studied. The erythrocyte membrane hyperpolarisation, membrane fluidisation and cell swelling preceded the “light” haemolysis. The modification of the erythrocyte membrane band 3 protein by DIDS (an inhibitor of anion exchange) increased the rate of the “light” haemolysis. The rate of “dark” haemolysis was higher and that of “light” haemolysis was lower in potassium media in comparison to sodium ones. The rates of photohaemolysis depended on the erythrocyte membrane potential: a decrease of membrane potential inhibited both types of haemolysis. The cell shrinkage in the presence of sucrose (up to 15 mM) inhibited the “dark” haemolysis but significantly increased the “light” haemolysis. Oxidation of intracellular oxyHb to metHb by nitrite, which drastically decreases intracellular oxygen concentration, as well as GSH concentration, inhibited the rate of the “light” haemolysis. The results allow for the conclusion that the mechanism of photochemical (“light”) haemolysis is not of a colloid-osmotical type, in contrast to the post-irradiation (“dark”) haemolysis. The photochemical oxidation or denaturation of band 3 protein plays a significant role in the formation of haemolytic holes. The membrane lipid peroxidation, as well as glutathione oxidation, does not participate in the process of photosensitized haemolysis. From the inhibition of “dark” haemolysis by sucrose the apparent pore radius was estimated to be about 1.1 nm. The pores appear to be transient short-lived ones, the average pore number per cell was 0.02.

Novel fluorescent oxygen indicator for intracellular oxygen measurements.

Intracellular oxygen concentration is of primary importance in determining numerous physiological and pathological processes in biological systems. In this paper, we describe the application of the oxygen sensing indicator, ruthenium dibipyridine 4-(1"-pyrenyl)-2,2'-bipyridine chloride [Ru(bpy-pyr)(bpy)(2)], for molecular oxygen measurement in J774 murine macrophages. Ru(bpy-pyr)(bpy)(2) exhibits strong visible absorption, efficient fluorescence, long excited state lifetime, large Stokes shift, and high photo- and chemical stability. The fluorescence of Ru(bpy-pyr)(bpy)2 is efficiently quenched by molecular oxygen. It is 13 fold higher in a nitrogenated solution than in an oxygenated one. The dye passively permeates into cells and maintains its oxygen sensitivity for at least 5 h when the cells are stored in a phosphate buffered saline solution at pH 7.4. The oxygen sensitivity, photostability, and chemical stability of the indicator and the effect of hypoxia and hyperoxia on the intracellular oxygen level in single macrophages are discussed.

Light elements quantification in stimulated cells cryosections studied by electron probe microanalysis

The quantification of intracellular light elements such as carbon, nitrogen and oxygen may be useful in understanding the biological mechanisms, for example the generation of nitric oxide which is involved in apoptosis and inflammatory reaction. Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) coupled with scanning transmission electron microscopy is a useful method to detect light elements in thin cryosections. Recent developments of X-ray detectors with ultra-thin protection windows allows the detection of such elements by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. In the present study, we have demonstrated using both methods that the stimulation of BV-2 murine microglial cell line by γ-interferon and lipopolysaccharide leads to the increase of intracellular oxygen concentration and no change in the intracellular nitrogen concentration. This indicates the use of exogeneous molecular oxygen in response to the stimulation. But the increase of oxygen concentration detected could not be only due to NO expression because the NO production was 1000 times less than the oxygen concentration increase observed.

Oxygen-dependent Regulation of in VivoReplication of Simian Virus 40 DNA Is Modulated by Glucose

Simian virus 40 (SV40)-infected CV1 cells exposed to hypoxia show an inhibition of viral replication. Reoxygenation after several hours of hypoxia results in new initiations followed by a nearly synchronous round of SV40 replication. In this communication, we examined the effect of glucose on inhibition of viral DNA replication under hypoxia. We found that glucose stimulated SV40 DNA replication under hypoxia in two different ways. First, the rate of DNA synthesis, i.e. the fork propagation rate, increased. This effect seemed to be mediated by inhibition of mitochondrial respiration by glucose (Crabtree effect). Inhibition of mitochondrial respiration probably resulted in a higher intracellular oxygen concentration and an activation of oxygen-dependent ribonucleotide reductase, which provides the precursors for DNA synthesis. This glucose effect was consequently strongly dependent on the strength of hypoxia and the extent of intracellular respiration; hypoxic gassing with 10 ppm instead of 200-400 ppm O(2) or treatment of hypoxic cells with a mitochondrial uncoupler (carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone) reduced the glucose effect on replication, whereas antimycin A, an inhibitor of respiration, increased it. The second effect of glucose concerned initiation, i.e. stimulation of unwinding of the viral origin. This effect was not influenced by the strength of hypoxia or the extent of cellular respiration and seemed, therefore, not to be mediated through a Crabtree effect. No evidence for a direct correlation between the cellular ATP concentration and the extent of SV40 replication under hypoxia was found. The effect of glucose on replication under hypoxia was not restricted to SV40-infected CV1 cells but was also detectable in HeLa cells. This suggests it to be a mechanism of more general validity.

Molecular oxygen-sensitive fluorescent lipobeads for intracellular oxygen measurements in murine macrophages.

Intracellular oxygen concentration is of primary importance in determining numerous physiological and pathological processes in biological systems. This paper describes the development and application of micrometer-sized oxygen-sensitive fluorescence lipobeads for intracellular measurements of molecular oxygen in J774 murine macrophages. A ruthenium diimine complex [Ru(bpy-pyr)(bpy)2]C12 (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, bpy-pyr = 4-(1"-pyrenyl)-2,2'-bipyridine) is used as the oxygen indicator. The indicator exhibits high chemical and photostability and high sensitivity to oxygen. The indicator molecules are immobilized in a phospholipid membrane that coats polystyrene microparticles. The fluorescence of the lipobeads is effectively quenched by molecular oxygen. The fluorescence intensity of the oxygen-sensitive lipobeads is 3 times higher in a nitrogenated solution than in an oxygenated solution. The lipobeads are internalized by murine macrophages through phagocytosis. They maintain their spectral properties for 24 h in living cells when the cells are stored in phosphate-buffered saline at pH 7.4. The photostability, reversibility, and effect of hypoxia, hyperoxia, and oxidative stress on the intracellular level of oxygen in J774 murine macrophages are described.

Regulation of expression of terminal oxidases in Paracoccus denitrificans.

In order to study the induction of terminal oxidases in Paracoccus denitrificans, their promoters were fused to the lacZ reporter gene and analysed in the wild-type strain, in an FnrP-negative mutant, in a cytochrome bc1-negative mutant, and in six single or double oxidase-negative mutant strains. The strains were grown under aerobic, semi-aerobic, and denitrifying conditions. The oxygen-sensing transcriptional-regulatory protein FnrP negatively regulated the activity of the qox promoter, which controls expression of the ba3-type quinol oxidase, while it positively regulated the activity of the cco promoter, which controls expression of the cbb3-type cytochrome c oxidase. The ctaDII and ctaC promoters, which control the expression of the aa3-type cytochrome c oxidase subunits I and II, respectively, were not regulated by FnrP. The activities of the latter two promoters, however, did decrease with decreasing oxygen concentrations in the growth medium, suggesting that an additional oxygen-sensing mechanism exists that regulates transcription of ctaDII and ctaC. Apparently, the intracellular oxygen concentration (as sensed by FnrP) was not the only signal to which the oxidase promoters responded. At given extracellular oxygen status, both the qox and the cco promoters responded to mutations in terminal oxidase genes, whereas the ctaDII and ctaC promoters did not. The change of electron distribution through the respiratory network, resulting from elimination of one or more oxidase genes, may have changed intracellular signals that affect the activities of the qox and cco promoters. On the other hand, the re-routing of electron distribution in the respiratory mutants hardly affected the oxygen consumption rate as compared to that of the wild-type. This suggests that the mutants adapted their respiratory network in such a way that they were able to consume oxygen at a rate similar to that of the wild-type strain.