title: Nitric oxide as a cellular antioxidant: a little goes a long way.
abstract: Nitric oxide (NO*) is an effective chain-breaking antioxidant in free radical-mediated lipid oxidation (LPO). It reacts rapidly with peroxyl radicals as a sacrificial chain-terminating antioxidant. The goal of this work was to determine the minimum threshold concentration of NO* required to inhibit Fe2+ -induced cellular lipid peroxidation. Using oxygen consumption as a measure of LPO, we simultaneously measured nitric oxide and oxygen concentrations with NO* and O2 electrodes. Ferrous iron and dioxygen were used to initiate LPO in docosahexaenoic acid-enriched HL-60 and U937 cells. Bolus addition of NO* (1.5 microM) inhibited LPO when the NO* concentration was greater than 50 nM. Similarly, using (Z)-1-[N-(3-ammoniopropyl)-N-(n-propyl)amino]diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate as a NO* donor we found that an average steady-state NO* concentration of at least 72 +/- 9 nM was required to blunt LPO. As long as the concentration of NO* was above 13 +/- 8 nM the inhibition was sustained. Once the concentration of NO* fell below this value, the rate of lipid oxidation accelerated as measured by the rate of oxygen consumption. Our model suggests that a continuous production of NO* that would yield a steady-state concentration of only 10-20 nM is capable of inhibiting Fe2+ -induced LPO.
authors.affiliation: Free Radical and Radiation Biology & ESR Facility, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1101, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hummel
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Sean M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Freya Q
authors.initials: FQ
authors.lastname: Schafer
authors.forename: Garry R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Buettner
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018922:HL-60 Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000494:pharmacology; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000187:drug effects; D020298:U937 Cells / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D007501:Iron; D010100:Oxygen