During apoptosis, cytochrome c (cyt c) is released from intermembrane space of mitochondria into the cytosol where it triggers caspase-dependent machinery. We discovered that cyt c plays another critical role in early apoptosis as a cardiolipin (CL)-specific oxygenase to produce CL hydroperoxides required for release of pro-apoptotic factors. We quantitatively characterized the activation of peroxidase activity of cyt c by CL and hydrogen peroxide. At low ionic strength and high CL/cyt c ratios, peroxidase activity of CL/cyt c complex was increased >50 times. This catalytic activity correlated with partial unfolding of cyt c monitored by Trp 59 fluorescence and absorbance at 695 nm (Fe-S(Met 80) band). The peroxidase activity increase preceded the loss of protein tertiary structure. Monounsaturated tetraoleoyl-CL (TOCL) induced peroxidase activity and unfolding of cyt c more effectively than saturated tetramyristoyl-CL (TMCL). TOCL/cyt c complex was found more resistant to dissociation by high salt concentration. These findings suggest that electrostatic CL/cyt c interactions are central to the initiation of the peroxidase activity, while hydrophobic interactions are involved when cyt c's tertiary structure is lost. In the presence of CL, cyt c peroxidase activity is activated at lower H 2 O 2 concentrations than for isolated cyt c molecules. This suggests that redistribution of CL in the mitochondrial membranes combined with increased production of H 2 O 2 can switch on the peroxidase activity of cyt c and CL oxidation in mitochondria-a required step in execution of apoptosis.

Laser therapy based on the stimulating and healing action of light of low-intensity lasers (LIL), along with laser surgery and photodynamic therapy, has been lately widely applied in the irradiation of human tissues in the absence of exogenous photosensitizers. Besides LIL, light-emitting diodes are used in phototherapy (photobiostimulation) whose action, like that of LIL, depends on the radiation wavelength, dose, and distribution of light intensity in time but, according to all available data, does not depend on the coherence of radiation.

The central role of mitochondria in metabolic pathways and in cell death mechanisms requires sophisticated signaling systems. Essential in this signaling process is an array of lipid mediators derived from polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, the molecular machinery for the production of oxygenated polyunsaturated fatty acids is localized in the cytosol and their biosynthesis has not been identified in mitochondria. Here we report that a range of diversified polyunsaturated molecular species derived from a mitochondria-specific phospholipid, cardiolipin, are oxidized by the intermembrane space hemoprotein, cytochrome c. We show that an assortment of oxygenated cardiolipin species undergoes phospholipase A2-catalyzed hydrolysis thus generating multiple oxygenated fatty acids, including well known lipid mediators. This represents a new biosynthetic pathway for lipid mediators. We demonstrate that this pathway including oxidation of polyunsaturated cardiolipins and accumulation of their hydrolysis products – oxygenated linoleic, arachidonic acids and monolyso-cardiolipins – is activated in vivo after acute tissue injury.

Activation of peroxidase catalytic function of cytochrome c (cyt c) by anionic lipids is associated with destabilization of its tertiary structure. We studied effects of several anionic phospholipids on the protein structure by monitoring (1) Trp59 fluorescence, (2) Fe-S(Met80) absorbance at 695 nm, and (3) EPR of heme nitrosylation. Peroxidase activity was probed using several substrates and protein-derived radicals. Peroxidase activation of cyt c did not require complete protein unfolding or breakage of the Fe-S(Met80) bond. The activation energy of cyt c peroxidase changed in parallel with stability energies of structural regions of the protein probed spectroscopically. Cardiolipin (CL) and phosphatidic acid (PA) were most effective in inducing cyt c peroxidase activity. Phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2) displayed a significant but much weaker capacity to destabilize the protein and induce peroxidase activity. Phosphatidylinositol trisphosphate (PIP3) appeared to be a stronger inducer of cyt c structural changes than PIP2, indicating a role for the negatively charged extra phosphate group. Comparison of cyt c-deficient HeLa cells and mouse embryonic cells with those expressing a full complement of cyt c demonstrated the involvement of cyt c peroxidase activity in selective catalysis of peroxidation of CL, PS, and PI, which corresponded to the potency of these lipids in inducing cyt c's structural destabilization.

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Application of chemiluminescence (CL) for study of free-radical reactions in human and animal cells and tissues is considered in this review. Historically, the study of intrinsic (ultraweak) luminescence gave place to the measurement of CL in the presence of chemical activators (CL probes) and physical activators (sensitizers) of luminescence, which made the method much more sensitive and specific. The methods of CL and EPR are direct methods of radical investigation, though the advantage of the CL method consists in the fact that CL intensity is directly proportional to a steady-state concentration of the radicals responsible for luminescence (first of all, lipid and oxygen radicals) irrespective the activity of these radicals. The mechanisms of CL reactions in the absence of activators and in the presence of luminol and lucigenin are considered. Examples of various applications of the CL method in medical, biological, and clinical investigations are given including those for estimation of the phagocytic activity of cells, antioxidant activity, determination of toxicity, and other purposes.