Effect of oxidative stress on the structure and function of human serum albumin.
OBJECTIVE
Human serum albumin (HSA) was mildly oxidized by a metal-catalyzed oxidation system (MCO-HSA), chloramine-T (CT-HSA) or H2O2 (H2O2-HSA), and the effects of these treatments on the structural, drug-binding and esterase-like properties were studied.


METHODS
Protein conformation was examined by calorimetric, chromatographic, electrophoretic and spectroscopic techniques. Drug binding was studied by ultrafiltration method, and esterase-like activity was determined using p-nitrophenyl acetate as a substrate.


RESULTS
Far-UV and near-UV CD spectra indicated that significant structural changes had occured as the result of treatment with MCO-HSA and CT-HSA but not with H2O2-HSA. However, SDS-PAGE analysis does not provide precise information on gross conformational changes such as fragmentation, cross-linking and SDS-resistant polymerisation. The results of differential scanning calorimetry, the fluorescence of the hydrophobic probe 1,1-bis-4-anilino-naphthalene-5,5-sulfonic acid and the elution time from a hydrophobic HPLC column indicated that MCO-HSA and CT-HSA in particular, have a more open structure and a higher degree of exposure of hydrophobic areas than unoxidized HSA. In all cases, high-affinity binding of warfarin remained unchanged for all the oxidized HSAs. However, high-affinity binding of ketoprofen to CT-HSA and, especially, MCO-HSA was diminished. In addition, the esterase-like activity of these proteins were all decreased to the same low level.


CONCLUSIONS
Mild oxidation of HSA has no detectable effect on the binding of drugs to site I in subdomain IIA. In contrast, both the ligand binding property of site II and the esterase-like activity of oxidized HSAs are decreased, most probably due to conformational changes in subdomain IIIA.
Anraku
M
M
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Japan.
Yamasaki
K
K
Maruyama
T
T
Kragh-Hansen
U
U
Otagiri
M
M
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D004228:Dithionitrobenzoic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D004950:Esterases / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008715:Methionine / Q000737:chemistry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000737:chemistry*; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry
D000596:Amino Acids; D012709:Serum Albumin; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D004228:Dithionitrobenzoic Acid; D008715:Methionine; D004950:Esterases