Peroxide-induced Radical Research Articles

Radical Esterification of Unactivated Alkenes Using Formate as Carbonyl Source.

In recent years, methyl formate has received considerable attention as an ideal and green C1 building block to synthesize carboxylic esters. However, examples of a one-step route to esters with one-carbon elongation using methyl formate as a source of methoxycarbonyl radical are still rare. Herein, we present peroxide-induced radical carbonylation of N-(2-methylallyl)benzamides with methyl formate as the precursor of methoxycarbonyl radical and RuCl3 as catalyst, affording a series of biologically valuable 4-[(methoxycarbonyl)methyl]-3,4-dihydroisoquinolinones with good tolerance and insensitivity to moisture in one pot under simple and mild conditions.

Peroxide-Induced Radical Relay Carbocyclization towards Polycyclic Benzimidazole[2,1-a]isoquinolines

Peroxide-Induced Radical Relay Carbocyclization towards Polycyclic Benzimidazole[2,1-<i>a</i>]isoquinolines

Mechanisms Involved in the Modulation of Astroglial Resistance to Oxidative Stress Induced by Activated Microglia: Antioxidative Systems, Peroxide Elimination, Radical Generation, Lipid Peroxidation

Microglia and astrocytes are the cellular key players in many neurological disorders associated with oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Previously, we have shown that microglia activated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induce the expression of antioxidative enzymes in astrocytes and render them more resistant to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In this study, we examined the mechanisms involved with respect to the cellular action of different peroxides, the ability to detoxify peroxides, and the status of further antioxidative systems. Astrocytes were treated for 3 days with medium conditioned by purified quiescent (microglia-conditioned medium, MCM[-]) or LPS-activated (MCM[+]) microglia. MCM[+] reduced the cytotoxicity of the organic cumene hydroperoxide in addition to that of H2O2. Increased peroxide resistance was not accompanied by an improved ability of astrocytes to remove H2O2 or an increased expression/activity of peroxide eliminating antioxidative enzymes. Neither peroxide-induced radical generation nor lipid peroxidation were selectively affected in MCM[+] treated astrocytes. The glutathione content of peroxide resistant astrocytes, however, was increased and superoxide dismutase and heme oxygenase were found to be upregulated. These changes are likely to contribute to the higher peroxide resistance of MCM[+] treated astrocytes by improving their ability to detoxify reactive oxygen radicals and oxidation products. For C6 astroglioma cells a protective effect of microglia-derived factors could not be observed, underlining the difference of primary cells and cell lines concerning their mechanisms of oxidative stress resistance. Our results indicate the importance of microglial-astroglial cell interactions during neuroinflammatory processes.

Peroxide-induced radical formation at TYR385 and TYR504 in human PGHS-1

Prostaglandin H synthase isoforms 1 and -2 (PGHS-1 and -2) react with peroxide to form a radical on Tyr385 that initiates the cyclooxygenase catalysis. The tyrosyl radical EPR signals of PGHS-1 and -2 change over time and are altered by cyclooxygenase inhibitor binding. We characterized the tyrosyl radical dynamics using wild type human PGHS-1 (hPGHS-1) and its Y504F, Y385F, and Y385F/Y504F mutants to determine whether the radical EPR signal changes involve Tyr504 radical formation, Tyr385 radical phenyl ring rotation, or both. Reaction of hPGHS-1 with peroxide produced a wide singlet, whereas its Y504F mutant produced only a wide doublet signal, assigned to the Tyr385 radical. The cyclooxygenase specific activity and K(M) value for arachidonate of hPGHS-1 were not affected by the Y504F mutation, but the peroxidase specific activity and the K(M) value for peroxide were increased. The Y385F and Y385F/Y504F mutants retained only a small fraction of the peroxidase activity; the former had a much-reduced yield of peroxide-induced radical and the latter essentially none. After binding of indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, hPGHS-1 produced a narrow singlet but the Y504F mutant did not form a tyrosyl radical. These results indicate that peroxide-induced radicals form on Tyr385 and Tyr504 of hPGHS-1, with radical primarily on Tyr504 in the wild type protein; indomethacin binding prevented radical formation on Tyr385 but allowed radical formation on Tyr504. Thus, hPGHS-1 and -2 have different distributions of peroxide-derived radical between Tyr385 and Tyr504. Y504F mutants in both hPGHS-1 and -2 significantly decreased the cyclooxygenase activation efficiency, indicating that formation of the Tyr504 radical is functionally important for both isoforms.

Inhibition of peroxide-induced radical generation by plant polyphenols in C6 astroglioma cells

Plant polyphenols like flavonoids and hydroxystilbens have been found to possess radical scavenging/antioxidative activity, especially when studied in cell-free systems. A positive effect in such assays, however, does not necessarily indicate a protective activity against deleterious effects of oxidative stress in intact cells. In fact it has been shown that polyphenols can act as anti-oxidants as well as pro-oxidants. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether and with what potency selected polyphenols are able to inhibit cellular radical generation in C6 cells and whether they can induce oxidative stress themselves. Cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) was used as a model to induce radical generation which was measured by means of a fluorometric 2',7'-dichlorodihydro-fluorescein assay. CHP-induced, time and concentration dependent, a manifold increase of DCF fluorescence indicating intracellular radical generation. This process was inhibited by all the flavonoids and the hydroxystilben resveratrol, at low micromolar concentrations. The most potent compounds, luteolin and galangin, already at concentrations of 5 to 10 microM nearly completely abolished the radical generation in the presence of 500 microM CHP. The following ranking of anti-oxidative potency was obtained: luteolingalangin>kaempferol>quercetin>resveratrolgenisteintaxifolin. This ranking is completely different from that obtained by means of a trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay in a cell-free system, thus putting the biological relevance of the latter in question. Remarkably, one compound induced oxidative stress itself, namely genistein. This flavonoid inhibited the cellular radical generation in the presence of CHP while it significantly enhanced it in the absence of the peroxide.

Synthesis and chiro-optical properties of copolymers from N-Boc-O-methacryloyl-(S)-serine benzhydryl ester and methyl methacrylate

The synthesis of the homopolymer of N-Boc-O-methacryloyl-(S)-serine benzhydryl ester and a series of copolymers with methyl methacrylate by benzoyl peroxide-induced radical polymerisation is reported. All of the polymers are optically active, but both the magnitude and the sign of the specific rotation varies with the composition of the polymers. At low incorporations of the serine-derived monomer, the specific rotation is positive, but a maximum value is reached at approximately 35% serine-derived monomer incorporation. As more serine-derived monomer is incorporated into the polymers, the specific rotation falls and becomes negative at 70% serine-derived monomer incorporation. The molecular weight and molecular weight distributions of the copolymers were determined by GPC. The protecting groups could be removed from the copolymers, giving a class of zwitterionic, chiral polymers some of which are soluble in aqueous solvents.

Characterization of the tyrosyl radicals in ovine prostaglandin H synthase-1 by isotope replacement and site-directed mutagenesis.

Several free radical species, attributed to tyrosyl radicals, have been previously observed by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy during reaction of pure ovine prostaglandin H synthase-1 (PGHS-1) with hydroperoxide or fatty acid substrates. The identity and location of amino acid residue(s) involved in formation of these radicals has been investigated using wild type and mutant PGHS-1 expressed in transfected COS-1 cells. Upon reaction with hydroperoxide, detergent extracts from microsomes of cells expressing wild type ovine PGHS-1 rapidly produced EPR signals made up of a broad component, resembling either the wide doublet or the wide singlet seen in reactions of the purified ovine enzyme, mixed with a variable proportion of a narrow component. Isotope replacement with perdeuterated tyrosine and phenylalanine in wild type PGHS-1 caused no change in enzymatic activity or capability to form a peroxide-induced radical, but the radical was an isotropic singlet without any wide features. This loss of splitting in the deuterated enzyme establishes that the wide radical signal in PGHS-1 is indeed a tyrosyl radical, validating the earlier assignment based on spectral similarities with a tyrosyl radical in ribonucleotide reductase. A Y385F mutation abolished cyclooxygenase but not peroxidase activity, and the peroxide-induced EPR was narrowed to a singlet essentially identical with that obtained with indomethacin-treated ovine enzyme. Isotopic replacement with perdeuterated tyrosine and phenylalanine in the Y385F mutant led to further narrowing of the peroxide-induced EPR to an isotropic singlet, establishing that this radical also involved a tyrosine residue. A Y355F mutant exhibited some decrease in cyclooxygenase activity, but the peroxidase activity and the peroxide-induced radical characteristics were not significantly different from those of the wild type enzyme, indicating that Tyr355 is not involved in tyrosyl radical formation in PGHS-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Heme spin states and peroxide-induced radical species in prostaglandin H synthase.

We have examined the optical, magnetic circular dichroism, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of pure ovine prostaglandin H synthase in its resting (ferric) and ferrous states and after addition of hydrogen peroxide or 15-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid. In resting synthase, the distribution of heme between high- and low-spin forms was temperature-dependent: 20% of the heme was low-spin at room temperature whereas 50% was low-spin at 12 K. Two histidine residues were coordinated to the heme iron in the low-spin species. Anaerobic reduction of the synthase with dithionite produced a high-spin ferrous species that had no EPR signals. Upon reaction with the resting synthase, both hydroperoxides quickly generated intense (20-40% of the synthase heme) and complex EPR signals around g = 2 that were accompanied by corresponding decreases in the intensity of the signals from ferric heme at g = 3 and g = 6. The signal generated by HOOH had a doublet at g = 2.003, split by 22 G, superimposed on a broad component with a peak at g = 2.085 and a trough at g = 1.95. The lipid hydroperoxide generated a singlet at g = 2.003, with a linewidth of 25 G, superimposed on a broad background with a peak at g = 2.095 and a trough around g = 1.9. These EPR signals induced by hydroperoxide may reflect synthase heme in the ferryl state complexed with a free radical derived from hydroperoxide or fragments of hydroperoxide.