One-electron oxidation pathway of thiols by peroxynitrite in biological fluids: bicarbonate and ascorbate promote the formation of albumin disulphide dimers in human blood plasma.

Recent studies have shown that peroxynitrite oxidizes thiol groups through competing one- and two-electron pathways. The two-electron pathway is mediated by the peroxynitrite anion and prevails quantitatively over the one-electron pathway, which is mediated by peroxynitrous acid or a reactive species derived from it. In CO2-containing fluids the oxidation of thiols might follow a different mechanism owing to the rapid formation of a different oxidant, the nitrosoperoxycarbonate anion (ONOOCO2(-)). Here we present evidence that in blood plasma peroxynitrite induces the formation of a disulphide cross-linked protein identified by immunological (anti-albumin antibodies) and biochemical criteria (peptide mapping) as a dimer of serum albumin. The albumin dimer did not form in plasma devoid of CO2 and its formation was enhanced by ascorbate. However, analysis of thiol groups showed that reconstituting dialysed plasma with NaHCO3 protected protein thiols against the oxidation mediated by peroxynitrite and that the simultaneouspresence of ascorbate provided further protection. Ascorbate alone did not protect thiol groups from peroxynitrite-mediated oxidation. ESR spin-trapping studies with N-t-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone (PBN) revealed that peroxynitrite induced the formation of protein thiyl radicals and their intensity was markedly decreased by plasma dialysis and restored by reconstitution with NaHCO3. PBN completely inhibited the formation of albumin dimer. Moreover, the addition of iron-diethyldithiocarbamate to plasma demonstrated that peroxynitrite induced the formation of protein S-nitrosothiols and/or S-nitrothiols. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that NaHCO3 favours the one-electron oxidation of thiols by peroxynitrite with formation of thiyl radicals, ;NO2, and RSNOx. Thiyl radicals, in turn, are involved in chain reactions by which thiols are oxidized to disulphides.