Inhibition with spontaneous reactivation of carboxyl esterases by organophosphorus compounds: paraoxon as a model.

In this work kinetic data were obtained for different paraoxon concentrations incubated with chicken serum and the soluble fraction of chicken peripheral nerve. A kinetic model equation was deduced by assuming a multienzymatic system with three different simultaneously occurring molecular phenomena: (1) inhibition; (2) simultaneous spontaneous reactivation; (3) "ongoing" inhibition (inhibition during the substrate reaction). A three-dimensional fit of the model was applied to analyze the experimental data versus the concentration of the inhibitor and the preincubation time in an inhibition experiment. The best-fitting model in the soluble fraction of chicken peripheral nerve was compatible with a resistant component (22%) and with two sensitive enzymatic entities (37 and 41%). The corresponding second-order rate constants of inhibition (k(i) = 1.8 × 10(-3) and 5.1 × 10(-3) nM(-1) min(-1), respectively) and the spontaneous reactivation constants (k(r) = 0.428 and 0.011 min(-1), respectively) were estimated. The best-fitting model in chicken serum was compatible with a resistant component (5.6%) and with two sensitive enzymatic entities (22.1 and 72.3%). The corresponding second-order rate constants of inhibition (k(i) = 5.8 × 10(-2) and 2.0 × 10(-3) nM(-1) min(-1), respectively) and the spontaneous reactivation constants (k(r) = 0.0044 and 0.0091 min(-1), respectively) were estimated. These parameters were similar to those observed in spontaneous reactivation experiments with preinhibited paraoxon samples. The consistency of the results of all the experiments is considered an internal validation of the methodology. The results are also consistent with a significant ongoing inhibition. The proportion of enzymatic components shown in this work by the inhibition and reactivation of paraoxon is similar to that previously observed in inhibition experiments with mipafox in both tissues, demonstrating that this kinetic approach provides consistent results in complex enzymatic systems. The high sensitivity (at nanomolar concentrations) of these esterases suggests that they may either play a role in toxicity in low-level long-term exposure of organophosphate compounds or have a protective effect related with the spontaneous reactivation.