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Bilirubin Links Heme Metabolism to Neuroprotection by Scavenging Superoxide.

ABSTRACT: Bilirubin is one of the most frequently measured metabolites in medicine, yet its physiologic roles remain unclear. Bilirubin can act as an antioxidant in vitro, but whether its redox activity is physiologically relevant is unclear because many other antioxidants are far more abundant in vivo. Here, we report that depleting endogenous bilirubin renders mice hypersensitive to oxidative stress. We find that mice lacking bilirubin are particularly vulnerable to superoxide (O2?-) over other tested reactive oxidants and electrophiles. Whereas major antioxidants such as glutathione and cysteine exhibit little to no reactivity toward O2?-, bilirubin readily scavenges O2?-. We find that bilirubin's redox activity is particularly important in the brain, where it prevents excitotoxicity and neuronal death by scavenging O2?- during NMDA neurotransmission. Bilirubin's unique redox activity toward O2?- may underlie a prominent physiologic role despite being significantly less abundant than other endogenous and exogenous antioxidants.

SUBMITTER: Vasavda C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6893848 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Bilirubin Links Heme Metabolism to Neuroprotection by Scavenging Superoxide.

Vasavda Chirag C Kothari Ruchita R Malla Adarsha P AP Tokhunts Robert R Lin Anthony A Ji Ming M Ricco Cristina C Xu Risheng R Saavedra Harry G HG Sbodio Juan I JI Snowman Adele M AM Albacarys Lauren L Hester Lynda L Sedlak Thomas W TW Paul Bindu D BD Snyder Solomon H SH

Cell chemical biology 20190725 10

Bilirubin is one of the most frequently measured metabolites in medicine, yet its physiologic roles remain unclear. Bilirubin can act as an antioxidant in vitro, but whether its redox activity is physiologically relevant is unclear because many other antioxidants are far more abundant in vivo. Here, we report that depleting endogenous bilirubin renders mice hypersensitive to oxidative stress. We find that mice lacking bilirubin are particularly vulnerable to superoxide (O<sub>2</sub><sup>⋅-</sup ...[more]

PMID: 31353321

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Project description:Heme oxygenase (HO), in conjunction with biliverdin reductase, degrades heme to carbon monoxide, ferrous iron and bilirubin (BR); the latter is a potent antioxidant. The induced isoform HO-1 has evoked intense research interest, especially because it manifests anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects relieving acute cell stress. The mechanisms by which HO mediates the described effects are not completely clear. However, the degradation of heme, a strong pro-oxidant, and the generation of BR are considered to play key roles. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of BR on vital functions of hepatocytes focusing on mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The affinity of BR to proteins is a known challenge for its exact quantification. We consider two major consequences of this affinity, namely possible analytical errors in the determination of HO activity, and biological effects of BR due to direct interaction with protein function. In order to overcome analytical bias we applied a polynomial correction accounting for the loss of BR due to its adsorption to proteins. To identify potential intracellular targets of BR we used an in vitro approach involving hepatocytes and isolated mitochondria. After verification that the hepatocytes possess HO activity at a similar level as liver tissue by using our improved post-extraction spectroscopic assay, we elucidated the effects of increased HO activity and the formed BR on mitochondrial function and the ER stress response. Our data show that BR may compromise cellular metabolism and proliferation via induction of ER stress. ER and mitochondria respond differently to elevated levels of BR and HO-activity. Mitochondria are susceptible to hemin, but active HO protects them against hemin-induced toxicity. BR at slightly elevated levels induces a stress response at the ER, resulting in a decreased proliferative and metabolic activity of hepatocytes. However, the proteins that are targeted by BR still have to be identified.

Project description:The advancement of neural prostheses requires implantable neural electrodes capable of electrically stimulating or recording signals from neurons chronically. Unfortunately, the implantation injury and presence of foreign bodies lead to chronic inflammation, resulting in neuronal death in the vicinity of electrodes. A key mediator of inflammation and neuronal loss are reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). To mitigate the effect of RONS, a superoxide dismutase mimic compound, manganese(III) meso-tetrakis-(N-(2-aminoethyl)pyridinium-2-yl) porphyrin (iSODm), was synthesized to covalently attach to the neural probe surfaces. This new compound showed high catalytic superoxide scavenging activity. In microglia cell line cultures, the iSODm coating effectively reduced superoxide production and altered expression of iNOS, NADPH oxidase, and arginase. After 1 week of implantation, iSODm coated electrodes showed significantly lower expression of markers for oxidative stress immediately adjacent to the electrode surface, as well as significantly less neurons undergoing apoptosis. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: One critical challenge in the translation of neural electrode technology to clinically viable devices for brain computer interface or deep brain stimulation applications is the chronic degradation of the device performance due to neuronal degeneration around the implants. One of the key mediators of inflammation and neuronal degeneration is reactive oxygen and nitrogen species released by injured neurons and inflammatory microglia. This research takes a biomimetic approach to synthesize a compound having similar reactivity as superoxide dismutase, which can catalytically scavenge reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, thereby reducing oxidative stress and decreasing neuronal degeneration. By immobilizing the compound covalently on the surface of neural implants, we show that the neuronal degeneration and oxidative stress around the implants is significantly reduced.

Dataset Information

Bilirubin Links Heme Metabolism to Neuroprotection by Scavenging Superoxide.

Publications

Bilirubin Links Heme Metabolism to Neuroprotection by Scavenging Superoxide.

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