This work presents an assay for total thiols and total disulfides in biological samples via HPLC quantification of 5-thio-2-nitrobenzoic acid (TNB) derived from the reaction of thiols with 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB, Ellman’s reagent). This method also provides simultaneous quantification of glutathione (GSH) via the measurement of the GSH DTNB adduct (GSH-TNB). By using 326 nm as the detecting wavelength, the HPLC detection limit for TNB and the GSH-TNB adduct was determined to be 15 pmol and 7.5 pmol respectively. A recovery study with OVCAR-3 cells revealed that the recovery yields for TNB in the procedures for determining non-protein thiols, protein thiols, non-protein disulfides, and protein disulfides were 99.4±1.2% (n = 3), 98.1±5.0% (n = 3), 95.6±0.9% (n = 3), and 96.6±2.3% (n = 3) respectively. The recovery yield for GSH-TNB in the procedures for determining non-protein thiols, protein thiols, non-protein disulfides, and protein disulfides were 99.0±0.3% (n = 3), 95.1±4.9% (n = 3), 96.8±0.6% (n = 3), and 95.1±2.9% (n = 3) respectively. The reproducibility, expressed as the relative standard deviation for the analyte, for TNB was determined to be 2.8% (n = 6) for non-protein thiols, 3.9% (n = 6) for protein thiols, 3.6% (n = 6) for non-protein disulfides and 4.6% (n = 6) for protein disulfides. The reproducibility for GSH-TNB was determined to be 1.6% (n= 6) for non-protein thiols and 2.6% (n = 6) for non-protein disulfides. By comparing the amount of GSH determined in a biological sample before NaBH4 reduction with that after the reduction, this method can provide information associated with thiol glutathionylation which would be useful for protein glutathionylation study. This method should be applicable to cellular, subcellular, protein, or other biomatrix samples for thiol and disulfide quantification and will be a useful analytical method in the study of thiol redox state and thiol glutathionylation.

Thiol redox state (TRS) is an important parameter to reflect intracellular oxidative stress and is associated with various normal and abnormal biochemical processes. Agents that can be used to increase intracellular TRS will be valuable tools in TRS-related research. Glutathione reductase (GR) is a critical enzyme in the homeostasis of TRS. The enzyme catalyzes the reduction of GSSG to GSH to maintain a high GSH:GSSG ratio. Inhibition of the enzyme can be used to increase TRS. Despite the reports of various GR inhibitors, N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosourea, an anticancer drug with IC 50 ‫؍‬ 647 M against yeast GR, remains the most commonly used GR inhibitor in the literature. However, the toxicity caused by nonspecific interactions, as well as inhibition of DNA synthesis, complicates the use of N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosourea as a GR inhibitor. We report 2-acetylamino-3-[4-(2-acetylamino-2-carboxyethylsulfanylthiocarbonylamino)phenylthiocarbamoylsulfanyl]propionic acid (2-AAPA) as a novel irreversible GR inhibitor. 2-AAPA was prepared by one-step synthesis from commercially available reagents. The K i and k inact of 2-AAPA against yeast GR were determined to be 56 M and 0.1 min ؊1 , respectively. At the concentration that produced >80% yeast GR inhibition, 2-AAPA showed no inhibition against glutamylcysteine synthetase, glutathione synthetase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase, but minimal inhibition against glutathione S-transferase and glutathione peroxidase. In CV-1 cells, 2-AAPA (0.1 mM) produced 97% GR inhibition, 25% GSH reduction, and a 5-fold increase in GSSG in 20 min. The compound can be a useful tool in TRS-related research.

Although inhibition of glutathione reductase (GR) has been demonstrated to cause a decrease in reduced glutathione (GSH) and increase in glutathione disulfide (GSSG), a systematic study of the effects of GR inhibition on thiol redox state and related systems has not been noted. By employing a monkey kidney cell line as the cell model and 2-acetylamino-3-[4-(2-acetylamino-2-carboxy-ethylsulfanylthio-carbonylamino)phenylthiocarbamoylsulfanyl]propionic acid (2-AAPA) as a GR inhibitor, an investigation of the effects of GR inhibition on cellular thiol redox state and related systems was conducted. Our study demonstrated that, in addition to a decrease in GSH and increase in GSSG, 2-AAPA increased the ratios of NADH/NAD+ and NADPH/NADP+. Significant protein glutathionylation was observed. However, the inhibition did not affect the formation of reactive oxygen species or expression of antioxidant defense enzyme systems [GR, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase)] and enzymes involved in GSH biosynthesis [γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase and glutathione synthetase].

Aspirin's potential as a drug continues to be evaluated for the prevention of colorectal cancer (CRC). Although multiple targets for aspirin and its metabolite, salicylic acid, have been identified, no unifying mechanism has been proposed to clearly explain its chemopreventive effects. Our goal here was to investigate the ability of salicylic acid metabolites, known to be generated through cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes, and its derivatives as cyclin dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors to gain new insights into aspirin's chemopreventive actions. Using in vitro kinase assays, for the first time, we demonstrate that salicylic acid metabolites, 2,3-dihydroxy-benzoic acid (2,3-DHBA) and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,5-DHBA), as well as derivatives 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,4-DHBA), 2,6-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,6-DHBA), inhibited CDK1 enzyme activity. 2,3-DHBA and 2,6-DHBA did not inhibit CDK2 and 4; however, both inhibited CDK-6 activity. Interestingly, another derivative, 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzoic acid (2,4,6-THBA) was highly effective in inhibiting CDK1, 2, 4 and 6 activity. Molecular docking studies showed that these compounds potentially interact with CDK1. Immunoblotting experiments showed that aspirin acetylated CDK1, and pre-incubation with salicylic acid and its derivatives prevented aspirin-mediated CDK1 acetylation, which supported the data obtained from molecular docking studies. We suggest that intracellularly generated salicylic acid metabolites through CYP450 enzymes within the colonic epithelial cells, or the salicylic acid metabolites generated by gut microflora may significantly contribute to the preferential chemopreventive effect of aspirin against CRC through inhibition of CDKs. This novel hypothesis and mechanism of action in aspirin's chemopreventive effects opens a new area for future research. In addition, structural modification to salicylic acid derivatives may prove useful in the development of novel CDK inhibitors in cancer prevention and treatment.

Flavonoids have emerged as promising compounds capable of preventing colorectal cancer (CRC) due to their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It is hypothesized that the metabolites of flavonoids are primarily responsible for the observed anti-cancer effects owing to the unstable nature of the parent compounds and their degradation by colonic microflora. In this study, we investigated the ability of one metabolite, 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzoic acid (2,4,6-THBA) to inhibit Cyclin Dependent Kinase (CDK) activity and cancer cell proliferation. Using in vitro kinase assays, we demonstrated that 2,4,6-THBA dose-dependently inhibited CDKs 1, 2 and 4 and in silico studies identified key amino acids involved in these interactions. Interestingly, no significant CDK inhibition was observed with the structurally related compounds 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid (3,4,5-THBA) and phloroglucinol, suggesting that orientation of the functional groups and specific amino acid interactions may play a role in inhibition. We showed that cellular uptake of 2,4,6-THBA required the expression of functional SLC5A8, a monocarboxylic acid transporter. Consistent with this, in cells expressing functional SLC5A8, 2,4,6-THBA induced CDK inhibitory proteins p21Cip1 and p27Kip1 and inhibited cell proliferation. These findings, for the first time, suggest that the flavonoid metabolite 2,4,6-THBA may mediate its effects through a CDK- and SLC5A8-dependent pathway contributing to the prevention of CRC.

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Depletion of reduced form glutathione (GSH) has been extensively studied for its effect on sensitizing cancer to radiation. However, little is known about the effect of thiol oxidative stress created through an increase in glutathione disulfide (GSSG) on cancer sensitivity to radiation. In this study, an increase in GSSG was effectively created by 2-acetylamino-3-[4-(2-acetylamino-2-carboxyethylsulfanylthiocarbonylamino)phenylthiocarbamoylsulfanyl]propionic acid (2-AAPA), an irreversible glutathione reductase (GR) inhibitor. Our results demonstrate that the GSSG increase significantly enhanced cancer sensitivity to X-ray irradiation in four human cancer cell lines (A431, MCF7, NCI-H226 and OVCAR-3). When cells were pretreated with 2-AAPA followed by X-ray irradiation, the IC50 values of X-ray for A431, MCF7, NCI-H226 and OVCAR-3 cells were reduced from 24.2±2.8, 42.5±3.0, 43.0±3.6 and 27.8±3.5 Gy to 6.75 ±0.9, 8.1±1.1, 6.75±1.0, and 12.1±1.7 Gy respectively. The synergistic effects observed from the combination of X-ray plus 2-AAPA were comparable to that from the combination of X-ray plus buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), a reference compound known to increase cancer sensitivity to radiation. The synergistic effect was correlated with an increase in cell thiol oxidative stress which was reflected by a 5–6 fold increase in GSSG and 25% increase in total disulfides. No change in GSH and total thiols was observed as a result of GR inhibition.