Publications by authors named "Radi R"

3-Hydroxyglutaric acid (3HGA) accumulates in the inherited neurometabolic disorder known as glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency. The disease is clinically characterized by severe neurological symptoms, frontotemporal atrophy and striatum degeneration. Because of the pathophysiology of the brain damage in glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency is not completed clear, we investigated the in vitro effect of 3HGA (0.

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Tyrosine nitration is a posttranslational modification observed in many pathologic states that can be associated with peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) formation. However, in vitro, peroxynitrite-dependent tyrosine nitration is inhibited when its precursors, superoxide (O(2)*(-)) and nitric oxide ((*)NO), are formed at ratios (O(2)*(-)/(*)NO) different from one, severely questioning the use of 3-nitrotyrosine as a biomarker of peroxynitrite-mediated oxidations. We herein hypothesize that in biological systems the presence of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the facile transmembrane diffusion of (*)NO preclude accumulation of O(2)*(-) and (*)NO radicals under flux ratios different from one, preventing the secondary reactions that result in the inhibition of 3-nitrotyrosine formation.

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Synthesis and biological characterization of a series of alpha-tocopherol analogs with NO-releasing capacity are reported. The selected NO-donor moieties were nitrooxy and furoxan. All products were tested for their in vitro NO-releasing capacities, vasodilating properties, and antiplatelet activity.

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Alpha-lipoic acid (LA) and dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA) may have a role as antioxidants against nitric oxide-derived oxidants. We previously reported that peroxynitrite reacts with LA and DHLA with second-order rate constants of 1400 and 500 M(-1) s(-1), respectively, but indicated that these direct reactions are not fast enough to protect against peroxynitrite-mediated damage in vivo. Moreover, the mechanism of the reaction of peroxynitrite with LA has been recently challenged (J.

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Cytochrome c-dependent electron transfer and apoptosome activation require protein-protein binding, which are mainly directed by conformational and specific electrostatic interactions. Cytochrome c contains four highly conserved tyrosine residues, one internal (Tyr67), one intermediate (Tyr48), and two more accessible to the solvent (Tyr74 and Tyr97). Tyrosine nitration by biologically-relevant intermediates could influence cytochrome c structure and function.

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Atherosclerosis is one of the most common diseases and the principal cause of death in western civilization. The pathogenesis of this disease can be explained on the basis of the 'oxidative-modification hypothesis,' which proposes that low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation represents a key early event. Nitric oxide (*NO) regulates critical lipid membrane and lipoprotein oxidation events by a) contributing to the formation of more potent secondary oxidants from superoxide (i.

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Peroxynitrite is the product of the diffusion-controlled termination reaction between two radicals, nitric oxide and superoxide and is a strong oxidant and nitrating intermediate. Critical biomolecules like proteins, lipids and DNA react with peroxynitrite via direct or radical-mediated mechanisms, resulting in alterations in enzyme activities and signaling pathways. The biological consequences of peroxynitrite-mediated oxidative modifications depend on the levels of oxidant achieved in vivo and its cellular site of production.

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Nitric oxide (*NO) has been proposed to play a relevant role in modulating oxidative reactions in lipophilic media like biomembranes and lipoproteins. Two factors that will regulate *NO reactivity in the lipid milieu are its diffusion and solubility, but there is no data concerning the actual diffusion (D) and partition coefficients (KP) of *NO in biologically relevant hydrophobic phases. Herein, a "equilibrium-shift" method was designed to directly determine the *NO and O2 partition coefficients in liposomes and low density lipoprotein (LDL) relative to water.

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We studied the capacity of macrophage-derived peroxynitrite to diffuse into and exert cytotoxicity against Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas' disease. In two types of macrophage-T. cruzi co-cultures, one with a fixed separation distance between source and target cells, and another involving cell-to-cell interactions, peroxynitrite resulted in significant oxidation of intracellular dihydrorhodamine and inhibition of [(3)H]thymidine incorporation in T.

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Peroxynitrite is a powerful oxidant implicated as a mediator in nitric oxide ((*)NO)- and superoxide (O(2)(*)(-))-dependent toxicity. Peroxynitrite homolyzes after (i) protonation, yielding hydroxyl ((*)OH) and nitrogen dioxide ((*)NO(2)) free radicals, and (ii) reaction with carbon dioxide (CO(2)), yielding carbonate radical anion (CO(3)(*)(-)) and (*)NO(2). Additionally, peroxynitrite reacts directly with several biomolecules.

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Objective: Decreased diaphragmatic contractility and organ failure observed during sepsis is mediated by an overproduction of nitric oxide ((.)NO)-derived species, mitochondria being a major target of oxidative and nitrative stress. We tested the potential protective effects of (a) a novel synthetic antioxidant, the manganese(III) 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N-ethylpyridinium-2-yl) porphyrin (MnTE-2-PyP(5+)) and (b) the inducible (.

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Human recombinant copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) was inactivated by peroxynitrite, the product of the reaction between nitric oxide and superoxide. The concentration of peroxynitrite that decreased the activity by 50% (IC(50)) was approximately 100 microM at 5 microM CuZnSOD and the inactivation was higher at alkaline pH. Stopped-flow determinations showed that the second-order rate constant for the direct reaction of peroxynitrite with CuZnSOD was (9.

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Trypanosoma cruzi invades a diversity of nucleated cells in the mammalian host. Macrophages are among the first cells to be parasitized and, after activation by inflammatory stimuli, they participate in the control of infection. However, some parasites manage to evade the immune response and establish a chronic infection in differentiated cells.

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Although the binding of xanthine oxidase (XO) to glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) results in significant alterations in its catalytic properties, the consequence of XO/GAG immobilization on interactions with clinically relevant inhibitors is unknown. Thus, the inhibition kinetics of oxypurinol for XO was determined using saturating concentrations of xanthine. When XO was bound to a prototypical GAG, heparin-Sepharose 6B (HS6B-XO), the rate of inactivation for uric acid formation from xanthine was less than that for XO in solution (k(inact) = 0.

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Macrophage activation is one of the hallmarks observed in trypanosomiasis, and the parasites must cope with the resulting oxidative burden, which includes the production of peroxynitrite, an unusual peroxo-acid that acts as a strong oxidant and trypanocidal molecule. Cytosolic tryparedoxin peroxidase (cTXNPx) has been recently identified as essential for oxidative defense in trypanosomatids. This peroxiredoxin decomposes peroxides using tryparedoxin (TXN) as electron donor, which in turn is reduced by dihydrotrypanothione.

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The occurrence of protein tyrosine nitration under disease conditions is now firmly established and represents a shift from the signal transducing physiological actions of (.)NO to oxidative and potentially pathogenic pathways. Tyrosine nitration is mediated by reactive nitrogen species such as peroxynitrite anion (ONOO(-)) and nitrogen dioxide ((.

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The iron chelating agent desferrioxamine inhibits peroxynitrite-mediated oxidations and attenuates nitric oxide and oxygen radical-dependent oxidative damage both in vitro and in vivo. The mechanism of protection is independent of iron chelation and has remained elusive over the past decade. Herein, stopped-flow studies revealed that desferrioxamine does not react directly with peroxynitrite.

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Drug resistance and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are in part related to the pathogen's antioxidant defense systems. KatG(-) strains are resistant to the first line tuberculostatic isoniazid but need to compensate their catalase deficiency by alternative peroxidase systems to stay virulent. So far, only NADH-driven and AhpD-mediated hydroperoxide reduction by AhpC has been implicated as such virulence-determining mechanism.

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Oxidative alteration of mitochondrial cytochrome c (cyt c) has been linked to disease pathophysiology and is one of the causative factors for pro-apoptotic events. Hydrogen peroxide induces a short-lived cyt c-derived tyrosyl radical as detected by the electron spin resonance (ESR) spin-trapping technique. This investigation was undertaken to characterize the fate and consequences of the cyt c-derived tyrosyl radical.

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Previous reports proposed that peroxynitrite (ONOO-) oxidizes alpha-tocopherol (alpha-TOH) through a two-electron concerted mechanism. In contrast, ONOO- oxidizes phenols via free radicals arising from peroxo bond homolysis. To understand the kinetics and mechanism of alpha-TOH and gamma-tocopherol (gamma-TOH) oxidation in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (direct vs.

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Background: Human serum albumin is used clinically to maintain colloid osmotic pressure and is viewed to serve an antioxidant role in the vascular compartment via binding of redox-active metal complexes, transport of nitric oxide, and the oxidant-scavenging reactions of the single thiol of human serum albumin, cys34. Because of these potentially desirable adjunctive actions, we evaluated the purity and thiol redox state and compared the relative effects of clinically available 25% human serum albumin preparations with a starch-derived colloid, 6% hydroxyethyl starch, in in vitro models of inflammatory vascular injury.

Methods: Bovine aortic endothelial cell responses to chemical, enzymatic, and cell-derived reactive inflammatory mediators in the presence of human serum albumin or hydroxyethyl starch were assessed.

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Nitration of protein tyrosine residues to 3-nitrotyrosine (NO2Tyr) serves as both a marker and mediator of pathogenic reactions of nitric oxide (*NO), with peroxynitrite (ONOO-) and leukocyte peroxidase-derived nitrogen dioxide (*NO2) being proximal mediators of nitration reactions in vivo. Cytochrome c is a respiratory and apoptotic signaling heme protein localized exofacially on the inner mitochondrial membrane. We report herein a novel function for cytochrome c as a catalyst for nitrite (NO2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-mediated nitration reactions.

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Peroxynitrite, the product of the fast reaction between nitric oxide ((*)NO) and superoxide O(2)(*-) radicals, is an oxidizing and nitrating agent which is able to traverse biological membranes. The reaction of peroxynitrite with proteins occurs through three possible pathways. First, peroxynitrite reacts directly with cysteine, methionine and tryptophan residues.

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We have studied the role of three Mn(III)porphyrins differing in charge, alkyl substituent length and reactivity, on LDL exposed to low fluxes of peroxynitrite (PN) in the presence of uric acid. Mn(III)porphyrins (5 microM, MnTE-2-PyP(5+), MnTnOct-2-PyP(5+), and MnTCPP(3-)) plus uric acid (300 microM) inhibited cholesteryl ester hydroperoxide formation, changes in REM as well as spared alpha- and gamma-tocopherol. MnTnOct-2-PyP(5+), the more lipophilic compound, was the most effective in protecting LDL lipids, while MnTCPP(3-) exerted the lesser protection.

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Human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant protein in plasma, has been proposed to have an antioxidant role. The main feature responsible for this property is its only thiol, Cys34, which comprises approximately 80% of the total free thiols in plasma and reacts preferentially with reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Herein, we show that the thiol in HSA reacted with hydrogen peroxide with a second-order rate constant of 2.

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