Superoxide-dependence of the short chain sugars-induced mutagenesis.

Short chain sugars such as glycolaldehyde are produced at the initial stages of nonenzymatic glycosylation. Because their carbonyl groups cannot be blocked by cyclization, such compounds tautomerize to enediols, which are prone to autoxidation. Superoxide radical serves as an initiator and a propagator of this autoxidation. The biological importance of the involvement of superoxide in sugar autoxidation in vivo was examined using superoxide dismutase (SOD)-deficient and SOD-replete strains of Escherichia coli. Glycolaldehyde, glyceraldehyde, and dihydroxyacetone greatly enhanced the mutation rates in SOD-deficient E. coli. The effect was oxygen-dependent and was suppressed by SOD or by a SOD mimetic. The mutagenic effect of glycolaldehyde coincided with intracellular accumulation of glyoxal, a product of glycolaldehyde autoxidation.