Influence of glutathione peroxidase on coronary artery responses to alterations in PO2 and H2O2.

Our previous work suggests that relaxation of endothelium-removed bovine coronary arteries (BCA) to posthypoxic reoxygenation is mediated by NADH oxidase-dependent superoxide anion-derived H2O2 and cGMP. The purpose of this study was to investigate if altering BCA GSH peroxidase activity by enhancing its activity with a GSH peroxidase-mimetic (0.1 mM Ebselen) or by inhibiting its activity with an inhibitor of GSH peroxidase [10 mM mercaptosuccinic acid (MS)] causes a selective modulation of responses to exogenously (1 microM-1 mM H2O2) and endogenously generated (reoxygenation and 1-10 mM lactate) H2O2. Ebselen inhibited and MS enhanced all of the responses that are thought to be mediated by H2O2, without having significant effects on relaxation to hypoxia or a nitric oxide donor [1 nM-10 microM S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP)]. Thus enhancement of BCA GSH peroxidase activity with Ebselen inhibits relaxation to reoxygenation, lactate, and H2O2, whereas inhibition of GSH peroxidase with MS causes potentiation of responses thought to be mediated by H2O2 in BCA. Inactivation of catalase by pretreatment of BCA with 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (50 mM, 30 min) inhibited relaxation to H2O2 and the potentiation by MS. Whereas the actions of these probes are not consistent with a role for oxidation of GSH in the relaxation to H2O2, their effects are potentially a result of modulating the metabolism of H2O2 by endogenous catalase, which is thought to mediate the stimulation of the cytosolic or soluble form of guanylate cyclase.